Lo MonacoLo Monaco lived in Sicily, Italy for 16 years and recently returned to California. She was trained as an operatic soprano, and has worked for numerous Opera Companies in America and was director of the Schola Cantorum for the Church of Sant'Anna in te town where she lived with her two dogs (including Tim, the overgrown Fox Terrier that co-stars in the Terry Strong, P.I., series) and three canaries. In order to pay for the years of vocal study, she worked for five years as a Fingerprint Technician for a sheriff's department and five years as a Group Counselor for a probation department working with juvenile offenders. She started writing fiction in November, 1998. She started her first Terry Strong, P.I., novel, "Lethal Relations," in January, 2013. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Private Eye Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society and Sisters In Crime--Los Angeles Chapter. The first Luigi Mancuso story, "Oil in a Day's Work," was published in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2002 issue of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine. The second Luigi Mancuso story, "Hearts and Diamonds," was published in the April/May/June 2004 issue of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine. Among other short stories originally published in Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine were: "A Man of Honor," Feb/Mar 2001 and, "Saturday Night Reruns," April/May 2001. In July 2001, "A Man of Honor" (translated into Italian), won second place in the Akery National Literary Competition in Acerra, Italy (V Edizione Concorso Letterario Nazionale di Narrativa "Akery"). In November 2001, it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is a former Managing Director of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine print and ezine and is currently a reviewer for the FMAM ezine. The first novel in the Terry Strong, PI, series, "Lethal Relations" was short-listed in the Chanticleer 2018 Murder and Mayhem international competition. Read More Read Less