In 'Black Irish Blues', NYC Author Makes A Return To Glen Rock

GLEN ROCK, NJ — When the Brooklyn-based author Andrew Cotto speaks about his days growing up in Glen Rock, he does so with a certain reverence only reserved for places truly instrumental in growth.

His tales of friendship — and a fair bit of rabble-rousing — spark a sense of childlike adoration for a town that, he admittedly agrees, has changed a bit over the years.

Cotto, who had his wedding in Glen Rock and still visits often, said his childhood there set him on a path toward storytelling.

"It was the '70s, at the time much more of a middle class town," said Cotto. "Where we lived in the neighborhood was a very lower-middle class area of town and just full of characters and stories."

The town has changed, moving more toward upper middle class to upper class homes and an elevated status, but everything changes, including the character in Cotto's latest book, "Black Irish Blues".

Out Wednesday and set in a fictional Glen Rock, it's a follow-up to 2012's "Outerborough Blues: A Brooklyn Mystery" and follows protagonist Caesar Stiles.

Stiles returns to his hometown and purchases the town's only tavern, a fictional Glen Rock Inn, according to Cotto.

In his latest, Cotto said Stiles is "pursuing the venture of his life" in which he'll try to end the "Sicilian family curse that's blighting his family."

In the year 2020, many may feel as though a similar curse has been put over their life as the coronavirus pandemic continues to factor into how we move about our days and months.

Cotto, who said he had finished the book prior to the onset of the pandemic, didn't have to adapt to a new way of writing, but did alter how he went about promoting this latest effort.

In a YouTube series called Aperitivo Reading Hour, Cotto blends his two passions — food and writing — to give readers a laid back, virtual book reading live from his Brooklyn kitchen.

In this series, Cotto reads food-related excerpts from his published works and cooks a dish related to what he'd just read.

Born first out of circumstance, Cotto said the virtual readings have become something he enjoys.

He also sees them as a way forward, and perhaps even a benefit born out of the pandemic to his future promotional efforts.

"In some ways it's obviously a challenge when you can't have events with people in person," said Cotto. "But pivoting from that, it creates new opportunities. The people that are going to come out of [the pandemic] better off are the people who have been creative, not just with their work but with how they market their work."

The virtual readings will continue for Cotto, he told Patch, and he'll host a book release party via his Instagram and Facebook pages on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Cotto will read from the book accompanied by soul singer Bette Smith, and he'll also take a page from his Aperitivo efforts and cook a dish inspired by the reading.

"In actuality, those events will draw more eyes than in-person ones because you don't have to be in New York," said Cotto.

If that's the case, Glen Rock viewers can get a glimpse of Cotto's latest book — and even cook along with him — all from the comfort of their own home, and the one that inspired him.

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