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"Every book, every volume you see here has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strenghtens."
Carlos Ruiz Zanon (The Shadow of the Wind)
Self published author Ron Costello with author James Joyce in Dublin. Ron is working on his sixth book, Alone in the Fight
Contact Ron Costello
Phone or text: 610-241-0256
144ashland@gmail.com
I am searching for a publisher interested in my series of books. Are they perfect books? No. Are they good stories? They're damn good stories. Unputdownable.
I was a poor kid who grew up on the Hill. When I met my future wife, she said, you're too intelligent and creative not to go to college. So, the day after we got married, we moved to Mansfield. I went to Mansfield University and Penn State for journalism and worked my way through school as a reporter for the Elmira Star Gazette, Elmira, NY. I taught high school American History for five years. I had an incredible career at Penn State, Temple, and Drexel Universities. In 2010, I began writing my first book. I couldn't get it published — I didn't have the time, so I self-published it. I wanted to feel it in my hands. When I did — feel it in my hands — I was hooked.
I retired in 2015 and wrote Darkness They Could Not See. I love that book, although Columbus books are rare today. Two years later, I started the Hill series and, just recently, the Detective Rausher series. I love to write and do everything myself, from proofreading (my wife) to manuscript design, cover design, uploading to Amazon, and designing and creating this website. I have a small but loyal following for my Hill series. Thank you for reading my book site.
This website was designed by the author Ron Costello. Everything, from the book photos, to the videos, and of course the writing.
The three book 'On the Hill' Series
First book in the Detective Rausher Series,
(Or, it could be Book Four in the 'On the Hill' series — due out June 1, 2024).
We hired a driver to take us from Rome airport to Salerno on our last and seventh trip to Italy — just after the pandemic. It was a four-hour drive. The driver said he researched me and read one of my books.
He told me that I portrayed the mafia accurately. I told him I would like to involve the Camorra mob of Naples/Salerno in my next book. He was confident that if I did that, I would need a unique business for them — because they wouldn't want to compete with the Sicilians or the mobs in America.
During our month-long stay in Salerno, I came up with the idea of the dead business. On the way back to Rome, the driver, who drove a new Mercedes Benz SUV and I suspected had ties with Camorra, said it was perfect. The driver said, "An excellent business for the Camorra."
He asked how I came up with it. Like all of the plots in my books, I replied, it just popped into my head. I said that from our balcony in Salerno, I could look out at the Port of Salerno, thinking it would be the perfect place to ship bodies to Europe and America. We mingled with the people on the streets, markets, and restaurants for a month. Seeing the sights of Italy is nice, but it's the people we've gotten to know and love.
He said it was a perfect idea — the dead business (Alone in the Fight). See the Alone in the Fight above in the header.
The books are not kids' books; they contain adult language and adult situations.
Alone in the Fight — how the dead business idea
'popped' into my head
In 2016 I wrote a book about Columbus's first voyage; see below: Darkness They Could Not See. I researched for two years before I wrote a word. It's an unusual book — told by three characters in first person, present tense, not easy to do with a story over five hundred years old. It's historical fiction. All the parts about Columbus — his sailing techniques, his route, problems with the crew, and his relations with the Tiaino, the people he encountered in the Caribbean — are based on what facts there are on his 1492 voyage. I had the book published in Italian, and is on sale at Amazon, Italy. Columbus is not a popular historical figure today. He is blamed for the genocide of the Tainos.
Available at Amazon-Italy.
Darkness is a historical fiction story of Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage. The Tiano, who inhabited the Caribbean, disappeared following the Spanish conquest. Until his death, Columbus thought he found a western route to the West Indies. See the excerpt below.
In the book Darkness They Could Not See, the narrative is told by three voices: Columbus, the cabin Pedro, and Higuamota (the Bloodwoman, and Tiano princess). The excerpt below is from the cabin boy several days before sighting land at Guanahani, or what Columbus named San Salvador.
When I enter the Admiral's cabin for the officers' meeting, the crew is on the verge of mutiny. My meetings with them are still rolling around in my head. I need time to think. If I report my meetings to the Admiral, I'll lose the support and respect of the sailors. I'd put myself on the 'other side' if they overthrew the ship; I'd follow the Admiral into the sea — head first. The Admiral gives me a look but doesn't speak.
"Everybody here?" Columbus asks and then surveys the nods around the room. "Everybody's here, everybody's here, Padrino dei venti," Tonna repeats. (Tonna is the Admiral's pet parrot, described in earlier chapters).
The Admiral looks at me and motions his head toward the cage. I pick up the covering of Tonna's cage and approach the annoying parrot.
“Oh, no, Padrino, oh no, oh no, oh no...” As soon as I cover the cage, the yapper is silent. Just outside the Admiral's cabin, on the poop deck, two trusted sailors watch over the crew and maintain communication with the helmsman.
The Admiral gets right to the point. "We're two, three days away from spotting land," he says. The officers in the room exchange glances. The boatswain, Master Diego, speaks first. "And your reasoning is, Admiral?" he asks.
"Birds, master," Columbus says. "Land birds. Terns and ring-tails, and pelicans."
"You seen pelicans, Admiral?" Juan de La Cosa asks.
"Last night, I saw two perched on top of the bonnet above the crow's nest just after a sailor came down. They rested there a few minutes, then flew off."
"Which way did they fly, Admiral," Diego asks.
"West," Columbus answers. "Straight ahead, the same direction we sail. They were heading home to their trees, where they sleep."
"You're sure about that, Admiral?" de La Cosa asks.
"As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow," Columbus answers.
"That's a pretty good indication," Diego said. Has anybody else seen pelicans?" The officers again exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"I seen some ring-tails, two straight days now," de La Cosa says. "They land above our sails looking for handouts. Then they fly off."
"Which direction?" Diego asks again.
De La Cosa looks at Columbus and motions with his hand straight out from his chest. "West," he says, "just like the Admiral said."
"And there's plenty of weed," Columbus says. "Large beds of it. I ordered the helmsman to stay away from them. The men don't like going through weeds, never did, even down Africa's coast where they could see land."
"They think it's a bad omen," de La Cosa adds. "They don't like anything different in the water, weeds, sticks, dead bodies..."
The officers chuckle.
"Just so it's not our dead bodies," Diego declares, getting another chuckle.
The Admiral, who doesn't chuckle or even smile, continues: "What's your take on the seamen? What's the morale of the ship?"
Quiet overtakes the officers again before Rodrigo de Escobedo, Secretary of the Fleet, speaks. "Not good, Admiral. Not good at all, Sir." "You can't help but notice them meeting in little groups," de La Cosa says. That isn't a good sign."
"Boatswain," Columbus asks, "what's your take on this?"
Diego steps forward. "I sailed on many ships, Admiral, you know that, sir."
Columbus nods and says, "Master Diego, indeed you have."
"I ain't seen nothing as bad as this, Admiral," Diego says.
"What do you think they're talking about?" Columbus asks.
"How they going to get this ship back to Spain once they throw us off it?" Diego replies.
No one responds. Most of the officers have their heads down. "Cabin boy," Columbus demands, "I see you talking to the little groups of seamen; what are you talking to them about?"
Surprised at being called on, I composed myself, looked around at the officers and said, "Well, they want to know if you still want to sail west and when are you going to turn around and go back."
"And what do you tell them, boy?" Columbus asks.
"Well," I reply, my voice quivering slightly, "I tell them to ask the officers that I'm just a cabin boy."
Several of the officers nod and smile.
"Tomorrow," the Admiral says, "at the half hour before the hot meal, I want all hands on deck. I will address the men from the poop. Get 'em all lined up in front of the Forecastle. I'll talk, then we'll eat. Understand?"
"Sí, señor, Almirante," they respond together.
"This meeting is over. Cabin boy, stand where you are."
After the officers had left the cabin, the Admiral addressed me as he sat at his desk. "Tomorrow," the Admiral says, "when I speak to the crew, I want you to join me on the poop. Stand behind me. Bring Tonna out of the cabin with you. Keep his cage covered. Set him down on the deck and stand next to him. Understand?"
“Sí, señor, Almirante,” I respond.
"And boy," the Admiral adds, "tomorrow, do exactly as I tell you, no matter what it is, do you understand me? Exactly."
"Yes, Sir, I understand," I answer.
"Very well, you may go about your duties."
"Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir. Good night."
"Good night, boy."
A would love to write a story about the second
Columbus voyage — he took 17 ships and 1,000 men.They set sail on October 13, 1493
See the review and video of Darkness at the end of the Verified Amazon Reviews Page
The order of my books. Each one is better than the previous one.
1
2
3
4
5
Coming — June 1
