He Knows Whereof He Writes

elements, Mila crafted Fugitive in Paradise, his sixth novel in the Terry and Joe Manetta thriller series.

frizzo@antonmediagroup.com

A specimen that at one point he thought was a human jawbone, found on a beach in North Carolina, was the spark for Paul Mila’s latest fictional effort.

(Spoiler alert: It turned out to be a more prosaic item. But fiction writers don’t have to conform to reality.)

That, and seeing a “Private Property” sign on a stretch of pristine, previously public tropical beach. Or meeting a retired U.S. Marshal who had been a part of the Witness Protection Program. And knowing a former federal prosecutor who started out as an advisor on the gangster classic Goodfellas, but was invited to play himself because he was out of “central casting.” From all these

The Carle Place resident parlayed his knowledge of diving, underwater photography and the island of Cozumel, off the east coast of Mexico, into a series of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books.

The book concerns a Mafia accountant who steals millions, enters the Witness Protection Program and escapes the feds’ embrace. He winds up in Cozumel under a new identity, joining other mobsters in backing a casino development the Manettas are trying to stop. They discover that the resort will destroy a Mayan burial ground as well as a sea turtle nesting area on a stretch of unspoiled beach. Can the heroes stop the ruthless mafiosi and their bought politicians? That’s the crux of the story.

The Manettas are based on actual people Mila knows, and in fact, his books are peopled by characters based on friends. The former prosecutor is Ed McDonald and in the book he deals with the wayward mob accountant turned federal witness. Carle Place resident (and the hamlet’s unofficial historian) Bob Greco makes an appearance as well, playing his actual occupation—attorney. Under an assumed name, of course.

In 2002, months after witnessing the horrific events of September 11 from a skyscraper in Queens, Mila decided to make the most of his remaining life. He retired to start a second career plying the oceans, championing the causes of the giant sea turtles and the environment. As he likes to joke, he traded his banker’s suit for a wetsuit.

Mila began his writing career with two non-fiction books, Bubbles Up: Adventures in the Panet Ocean, and Basic Underwater Photography. He said he always loved writing and wanted to pen a novel one day. “The transition from non-fiction to fiction is not truth and beauty, say yes to resurrection. Believe in the power of language now used to uplift and inspire. Singer provides an example, the fruits of his work and countless others: an easy one,” he agreed. “I found non-fiction to be relatively easy as long as you were writing about a topic in which you were an expert. The challenge was to make it interesting and readable. But fiction writing requires a lot more...You have to worry about character development, pacing, and making sure the story arc makes sense and is interesting. After I finish a novel I feel drained, like my mental plug has been pulled.”

The Jewish people appears to be an exception among peoples…In the long history of our people, we have had our country for only a relatively short time. We used to and continue to live in many different lands, just as we have spoken and still speak innumerable languages. Thousands of mighty states have perished since our history began. Many languages and cultures have been forgotten. But we continue to live and show the power of resurrection. Only now, after two thousand years, have we begun to build up our ancient land. We have revived the Hebrew language, which for two thousand years was considered dead. We brought Aramaic with us into the Diaspora, a language which is spoken by no one today, and which has survived at all because of us.

For more information visit www.milabooks.com. For a longer version of this story visit www.longislandweekly.com.