Born in Brooklyn from Italian/Greek descent, Peter is indeed a man of many professions — including a microfilm clerk, an environmental and pharmaceutical chemist, a theatre actor, a freelance news camera operator, an NBC Page for The Tonight Show, a camera technician for NBC/Universal Studios, and, from 2004-2009, Owner/Managing Editor of Ex Machina Press,LLC, the proud parent of Silent Voices: A Creative Mosaic Of Fiction, until he finally discovered his niche: speculative fiction writer, playwright, freelance journalist, SEO web content copywriter, and copyeditor. His early literary influences include Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Harlan Ellison, Edgar Allen Poe, Rod Serling, and many others. His theatrical influences include Neil Simon, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Donald Mergulies, David Mamet, Brian Friel, and Shakespeare, of course.
His fiction and poetry have been published internationally. His gothic horror novella, "The Chameleon's Addiction" was a semi-finalist in the 2004 Glacier Press Writing Contest and is now published in Bardic Tales and Sage Advice,Volume Two by Bards and Sages Publishing, who also published his short novel, The Grandmaster, a supernatural thriller that takes place during the Holocaust. Originally his graduate master’s thesis, The Grandmaster ranked second in Bards and Sages nationwide Speculative Fiction Novel Contest, and has been awarded 2007 Best Science Fiction Novel by the Hollywood and New England Book Festivals. It is now on sale at amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. His short story collection, the PUSHCART PRIZE NOMINATED In Our House, has also been published by Bards and Sages and is now available on amazon.com. His short story, "Chamber Music" was awarded 2012 Best Short Story by the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition(EPIC).
Peter has also transitioned into playwriting. His short play, "Call These Delicate Creatures Ours, and Not Their Appetities," was a finalist at Theatre Odyssey's Eleventh Annual Ten-minute Play Festival. His other short play, "Confessions at the Avenue P Barber Shop," was a finalist at the Weathervane Playhouse's 8X10 Theatrefest. But the third time was proven to be the charm when his short play, "The Boulder of Sisyphus Rolls Over Me Yet Again," (aka. "The 12 Dates of Christmas") was not only a finalist at the TheatreOne Play Festival at the Catherine Hickman Theatre, it was voted "Best Play/Audience Favorite" by the end of the production run. Because of this success, his playwriting has increased to 7 full length plays and 25 short plays. Whether they are good or not...well, the jury is out on that one.:) Fortunately, Peter got his answer during the month of February 2019 when his full-length play, "Out of the Mouths of Poets," was produced by Lab Theater Project in Tampa. The production was a huge success, leading to several sold-out shows. The prodcution also resulted in Peter being nominated for Creative Loafing's Best of the Bay 2019 in the Playwright Category. We'll see what happens in the future when it comes to his playwrighting path.
He also often serves as a freelance journalist for Montage Magazine, Newport Beach Magazine, Bespoke Magazine, Laguna Beach Magazine ,and LA Splash Magazine. Peter is now living in Florida, surrounded by a copious number of geckos named Harry...and for those who watch the British comic/drama "Death in Paradise," you'll understand the connection. :)
