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- Faith and Physics released
Event Description
My latest book, Faith and Physics, will be generally available on 5/1/2007 - Interview on NPR
Event Description
I will be interviewed by radio personality Gandalf on WJFF radio sime time in late June, 2007/ - Book signing
Event Description
I'll be taking part in several book signings following my interview on NPR. - Article in Forest City News:
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Pleasant Mount Resident has Many Talents
By Jennifer Butler
Joseph Befumo is multi-talented to say the least - a writer, a painter and a musician, just to name a few of the hats that the Pleasant Mount resident wears.
If you really want to know who he is, read his most recently published book, "Ariadne's Clew." The writer takes about 90 percent of the Linwood character from himself.
"Well, I can't manage bilocation...yet, but I am a long-time martial artist, guitarist and painter - canvases, not houses," he laughs.
Not surprisingly, Linwood shows up in his next two books as well, "Survival Skills," and "The Sibylline Prophesies,": which are anticipated to be released in 2006.
"Specifically, that whole story line in the beginning of Ariadne's Clew, when Linwood runs afoul of the law, is almost 100% factual. The main difference is that although my wife was kicked by one of our horses, and did rupture her liver, she thankfully survived. And, of course, my two children where not ultimately taken away," he reveals about the storyline.
His prior publications include several short stories in the new defunct Stygian Articles magazine; his first novel, "The Oranur Conspiracy" (http://www.oranur.com), and "Exotic Scales: New Horizons for Jazz Improvisation." The former is temporarily out of print, but Pleasant Mount Press is going to re-release it later this year. The latter is published by Superior Books.
"I've also written another book on guitar improvisation called "Boxes Beyond the Blues," which I distribute for free in ebook format to drive traffic to my websites, Befumo explains.
"Actually, the first book I wrote was "Survival Skills," a novel, which I have also sighed with Pleasant Mount Press, however, they are trying to pace things and not flood the market with a bunch of my material all at once. We sort of worked around that by publishing "Science and Spirit" under a nom de plume - Angelo Parodi," he noted.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the youth was raised in Monroe, N.Y. He later moved back to Brooklyn when he began high school. His parents relocated to Betheny in Wayne County when his father retired.
Mr. Befumo originally moved here in 1992 to be closer to his parents, bought a house in Pleasant Mount, and went to work for Glenbrook Software in Scranton. When they went out of business in 1995, he tried to find a job locally, but was ultimately forced to relocate.
"I kept my house, however, and rented it out while I was gone. I was hired by AT&T Solutions in Vienna, VA, where I remained for several years before striking out on my own as a technology consultant," he said.
He moved back here when his father was diagnosed with lung cancer, and took up residence once again in his home in Pleasant Mount. After his father's death, his mother moved to Missoula, MT, to be near Mr. Befumo's younger brother and his children.
This past August, the author finished up an 18-month engagement at Knovel Corporation in Binghamton, N.Y., and is planning to take his time before having to think about looking for another engagement. He provides computer consulting services in the Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Binghamton, Rochester, and New Jersey areas, with primary interests in process improvement, UML modeling, and integrating Windows/Linux operating system.
"I'm dividing my time right now between writing, painting, and composing music. Most of my time at present is being devoted to promoting my new novel. "Ariadne's Clew," he noted. "As I mentioned previously, "Ariadne's Clew" has a lot of biographical material in it (not as much as "Survival Skills"). I often use tarot cards to help me break writer's block, and that where a lot of the story came from - I just deal out several cards and look for the story they're telling me. I did a lot of writing when I was traveling on business to help pass those long lonely nights in hotel rooms," he stated.
He is a member of Pleasant Mount Emergency Services, and formerly served as Captain of Fire Police for the former Pleasant Mount Fire Company (now Pleasant Mount Emergency Services.)
In his spare time, he is an avid sailboat enthusiast. For several years between 1975 and 1977, he and his wife lived aboard a 50', 1916 Sailboat in Gravesend bay, south of the Verrazano Bridge in Brooklyn. He really enjoys his time on the water, but is currently not the owner of a vessel, and deems himself landlocked for now.
He has also been giving some thought to forming another Jazz-Fusion band, if he can find the right musicians to play in it. His brother in Plymouth is a bass player, so all the group would need are keyboard and percussion players. "As remote as we seem to be, we're actually in a pretty good location for hitting venues in Philadelphia and New York City," he explained.
In the realm of painting, Mr. Befumo began painting when he moved to Pleasant Mount, and his first painting, "Spiral Staircase," wound up being displayed at the Springfield Museum of Fine Art, and also took a prize, and was featured on the back cover of their catalog. The second, "The Peat Bog," was displayed at the Mari Gallery in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and subsequent efforts have also spent some time in various galleries.
Those interested in learning more about this Pleasant Mount Resident can go to his website at: http://www.rootwerx.com