Meet the Author

Just like the main characters in The Chaco Vendetta, I split my life in the space between the First World complications of Chicago and the Third World simplicity of Asuncion, Paraguay.

My storylines are born from the diverse locations and quirky people I have met in my travels on both continents. The landscape may be unique, the cultures are consuming and the people are kind.

I hope you enjoy experiencing these "exotic" First World/Third World locations and the endless clash of cultures as much as I enjoy living in them.

Check out the FAQ section if you want to get more personal.

Real Places, Real Stakes

The Chaco Vendetta is fiction, but the settings are very real.

• In Chicago: We navigate neighborhoods of Old Town and Lincoln Park. Only a true Chicagoan knows about the blinding morning sun on the Oak Street curve, our winter "dibs" system for parking, or the history of Daley’s Midnight Raid.

• In South America: We journey through the Paraguayan Chaco, Mariscal Estigarribia, Ciudad del Este and the lawless Triple Frontier. This is where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina share a border.

SPOILER ALERT: Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguacu will never be the same once our heroes execute the gold heist.

Culture Clash & Chaos

Terrorism, mob figures and military operations are serious business. But the characters have a dark sense of humor that lighten the mood and distract from all the death and destruction.

You’re in for a constant diet of cultural collisions. Lucy and Ricky have nothing on Joe Parra and his fiancé, Gorda - a slim, Ariana Grande-styled force of nature.

Special thanks to my long-suffering Paraguayan wife for unknowingly being my inspiration for some of the screwball dialog.

Fact vs. Fiction

The places we go in Chicago and Paraguay really do exist. For example, that massive airstrip the United States built in the middle of nowhere? It’s not some figment of my imagination or a conspiracy theory. It is real.

This isolated landing strip is in Mariscal Estigarribia an isolated town of 2500 located in the Chaco. The airstrip is the second largest in all of South America and watched very closely by neighboring countries. It serves as the perfect backdrop for international intrigue.

We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Quick profile notes for Asuncion. Thank goodness for all the speed bumps and cobbled streets because traffic signs are suggestions, there’s more cars than there is ‘street’, and motorcycles buzz in and out of traffic like flies. The bikes also have no qualms about using the sidewalks as an extra driving lane.

My favorite piece of Guarani inspired culture? As the weekend approaches, sometimes Friday becomes "Too Friday" meaning workers stay home to drink tereré. Why not? If France can have a four-day work week, why can’t Paraguay have ‘Too Friday’.

Speaking of tereré and Guarani culture … when you’re sick, you’re handed a yuryu (thermos filled with cold water), a guampa (hollowed out cattle horn) packed with a mix of herbs and a bombilla (straw).

“Tereré solves everything.”

Ready for the next adventure?

Click the link in the footer to grab The Chaco Vendetta on Amazon.

Once you’ve survived the brutal isolation of the Chaco and the chaotic masses of the Triple Frontier, get ready for the next book in the series: La Tormenta. We’re trading the Chaco for the "Hamptons of South America" - the exclusive, glamorous, and stormy Punta del Este in Uruguay. Pack your tux. This one is a black-tie affair.