For The Almanac

writer@thealmanac.net

Even though he spends his days writing press releases as a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Bridgeville resident Jim Struzzi never grows tired of the written word.

Of course, he wrote the book during his free time from PennDOT and during quiet times at his home he shares with his wife, Christina, daughter, Aviana, 4, and sons, Talan, 2, and Zarek, 1.

"I wrote it at five in the morning before I went to work," Struzzi said. "Writing is my first love. I love to write because it helps me keep my sanity."

A former newspaper writer with an English writing degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Struzzi based the book on Christmas memories he had growing up in Western Pennsylvania.

"It was originally called 'The Magic Christmas Tree' and it contains the classic Christmas setting I experienced growing up," he said.

The book focuses on 7-year-old Josh Miller and his anticipation of receiving gifts for Christmas. But his father loses his job and Josh learns that gifts will not be plentiful during Christmas. Josh then receives seven snow globes from his grandmother that give him the power to fulfill his Christmas wishes. While Josh is enjoying having his own wishes fulfilled, he soon learns of a family tragedy. Will the family tragedy teach Josh the true meaning of Christmas?

"There's several different layers of secrets in the book," Struzzi admitted. "As I kept writing, it just kept growing and growing."

The book is aimed for ages seven and over, said Struzzi who started the book four years ago.

"The first draft took about a month to write and was 30 pages long," he recalled. "The second draft was 50 pages long. I let the book sit for about a year and when I wrote the final draft it was up to 104 pages long."

Struzzi's devotion to writing is paying off. He recently completed a book signing in New York, and "The Christmas Secret" has become a favorite with the Plum Borough School District, where teachers have read the book to students.

"They sent me pictures they had drawn from the book," he said. "That was nice because I want to tell a good story that makes the young reader turn the page."

Even with "The Christmas Secret" just hitting bookshelves this holiday season, Struzzi is finishing his second novel, "Jacob's Haunting," which is scheduled to be published in 2009. He has a third novel in the works.

"It takes an hour just to edit one page of my second novel," he said. "I write and rewrite and read and edit. Writing is like a muscle. Once you loosen up, the words just flow."

For information, visit www.pagesofwonder.com/struzzi.