Before becoming a full-time author, ghostwriter, editor, and writing coach, I had two parallel careers. One was in the courtroom as a business litigation and trial attorney where I delighted in the art of legal writing and advocacy storytelling for clients. The other was in the gymnasium as a basketball coach, primarily at the high school level, coaching both girls and boys in public and private schools. I relished teaching the game and the enduring lessons inherent in value-based sports competition.
My life-long passion for reading, the written word, and storytelling drove me into the literary world several years ago. Since then, I have authored, co-authored, ghostwritten, edited, and coached in multiple genres: memoir (true crime, business, spiritual quest, personal, military, and life-coaching and motivational); sports (basketball and high school athletics); web content; blogs; and fiction.
I have many favorite idioms and expressions, but the one that anchors me is from the late legendary coach John Wooden: “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” The quest is perpetually invigorating.
I grew up in the streets of the Bronx, in its Mott Haven and Highbridge neighborhoods, where I can comfortably claim, I “made my bones.” Later, I served in the military from 1968-1970, taught in a Manhattan art and music program for preschool children after graduating from the City University of New York, and moved to San Francisco to attend law school (graduating from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law). I play guitar, hold a black belt in karate, and am an avid hiker, workout junkie, and pickleball player.
I live in Marin County, California and have two adult sons, both of whom teach grade school and coach high school basketball.
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Latest Blog Posts
Sustaining Tension in Fiction
Michael J. Coffino shows how to keep your readers glued to the page by cranking up the tension....
Reimaging Reality: When Fiction Derives From Actual Events
The debut novelist grounded her story in a personal battle with trauma, driven by a need to tell...
How Much Disbelief Should Novelists Suspend?
How Much Disbelief Should Novelists Suspend explores the balance novelists must strike between creative license and realism in storytelling. Using an example of a minor historical inaccuracy in a novel set in 1959 and the exaggerated science in the film Armageddon, the post examines how much disbelief audiences are willing to suspend. It argues that while writers have creative freedom, consistency is key. Stories should adhere to internal logic, genre expectations, emotional authenticity, and measured realism to maintain credibility. Ultimately, professional feedback can help refine a story, but authors should embrace imagination in their craft.