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Gianni DeVincent-Hayes
 Gianni DeVincent-Hayes, who has been writing professionally for over twenty years, received her Ph.D. (summa cum laude)
in creative writing and literature from the University of Maryland
College Park; both of her master's degrees from Duquesne University,
with honors; and her bachelor's degree from Gannon University where she
was awarded The Distinguished Alumni Honor. Additionally, she attended the University of Pittsburgh for two years where she earned The Letter of Highest Commendation
and was endowed to the University of Rochester's Writing Program for
eight summers and Middlebury College's prestigious Bread Loaf Writing
Program.
In
addition to her byline, she writes under various pen names and has
appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including A&E’s Biography Series.
An internationally recognized author, recipient of many tributes,
college professor, and highly published author, Hayes does book tours
and readings of her work, along with public speaking.
As a
professional writer, Hayes has had 14 books published by royalty
publishers, including four novels; over 100 articles printed in
publications such as Redbook, US, People, Brides, Parade, Woman’s Day, Writer's Digest, and a host of others; as well as numerous newspaper articles.
She has
taught for two writers’ correspondence schools and owns a writing
critique business that offers line and overall structural editing,
complete with a very detailed explanatory report. Over the last
fifteen-plus years, she has literally critiqued thousands of short
stories, articles, full-length novels, and nonfiction books.
Additionally, Gianni has served as a college English department chair
and an associate professor.
She has
had two of her screenplays optioned for movies and she speaks on her
books all over the world, as well as having appeared on PCN
(Pennsylvania Cable Network) with 145 state-wide stations and 9 million
viewers.
When not working, Gianni enjoys painting, listening to classical music, and spending time with her husband and two daughters.
LISTING OF GIANNI'S PUBLISHED BOOKS
Five books in the "Images of America" series for Arcadia Publishing:
 22 FRIAR STREET
A Coming of Age story set in the 70's amid racial unrest
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 This
is a story about a White female college student who's placed with an
elderly Black couple when the college runs short of dorm space; it's an
account of a young woman's growing up years amid drugs, sex, and
uncertainty in the home of an older man and woman when such a racial
situation raised eyebrows. The story makes readers laugh and cry, but
above all, it offers hope for our young, our old, our various races,
and our diverse cultures and philosophies.
It's a
narrative on how we can all co-exist in spite of our prejudices and
stereotypes. As a "clean," down-to-earth homespun tale, it's a good
book for families and readers of all ages.
Flower Valley Press, Inc.
P.O. Box 452
Glen Echo, MD 20812
Ph: 301-654-1996 Fax: 301-654-1905
Reviews
Gianni
Devincent Hayes portrays characters that jump right off the page and
make you alternately want to hug or shake them. Peggy Dana is a brave
modern-day (if one can still call the seventies "modern") heroine who
surmounts unbelievable obstacles to become a well educated, generous,
ethical young women. Peggy Dana is born to a mother who succumbs to
such despair after the death of her husband that she subjects herself
and her children to an existence beneath mere poverty, a life without a
shred of laughter or hope or affection lived under the same roof with
George. The scene in which her live-in boyfriend nearly rapes
16-year-old Peggy is harrowing. The reader can feel the pain searing
both Peggy's flesh and her psyche. The maternal blessing Peg receives
when she leaves for college to take advantage of her basketball
scholarship is "One less mouth to feed." Due to a dorm shortage Peg is
"forced" to live with Martin and Missus Ellen, a black couple the
reader will never forget. It's not a smooth start with the Ellens,
especially with Martin who likes to goad Peg into learning more about
black history by telling her that his still living father served in the
Revolutionary War. Furious at being had, Peg "gets even" by reading up
on black history and inviting the Ellens to a party where Margaret
Garner will be speaking. Martin Ellen pretends to know exactly who
Margaret Garner is until Missus calls him on it, telling him Margaret
Garner has been dead for a couple of hundred years. Martin stops
quizzing Peg, but he continues trying to prod her into learning the
most she can and being the best she can be. The Missus is just the
giving, empathetic, and classy person the reader feels Peg deserves as
her surrogate mother. And Martin Ellen, although often coming across as
cantankerous, especially after being forced into early retirement, is
constantly proving the meaning of integrity and self-sacrifice. Martin
Ellen has a theory about the "cycle of life," something about
everything one does coming back eventually, a theory that always guides
him in what is right and what is wrong. Whether he's going out for
pizza after attending one of Peg's basketball games or plunging into
icy cold water to rescue a young neighbor girl, Martin is guided by his
"Cycle of Life." "22 Friar Street" put me in mind of my favorite
Grateful Dead Song "Wheel": "You can't go back and you can't stand
still; if the thunder don't get you, then the lightning will. Big wheel
turns by the grace of God. Every time that wheel goes round bound to
cover just a little more ground." A thoroughly good-humored song, it
resounds with all the issues at the heart of life and death. So does
"22 Friar Street."
Reviewer: Allora Popen from Rochester NY USA
What a Masterpiece! Check it Out.
I am forever
changed and inspired by this story so wonderfully captured in print.
The issues of race, poverty, neglect, abuse, age-discrimination,
betrayal, and vulnerability were all handled so skillfully . .
.skillfully enough to allow any reader to consider the "other side" of
any one of these problems. I read this book in three sittings, and was
on the edge of my seat the whole time. For example, my heart leapt for
joy when the Ellens went to Peg's house in Pittsburgh to make sure
she'd continue her education back in Bethesda. I found myself pulling
for Mr. Ellen when he was forced into retirement. I held my breath with
Peg and Mrs. Ellen when the neighbor and his wife brought over an apple
pie for Mr. Ellen. I wept with Peg as she held Mr. Ellen in her arms
and whispered, "I love you, daddy!" I could go on and on, but I won't.
I want to be careful not to spoil the ending for those of you who will
consider buying this book. I will go as far to say that you must
experience this story, because I know that you won't be disappointed.
In fact, I am positive I will read it again. What a wonderful
celebration of how two lives intermingled with one life to form such
eternal results. I am forever changed.
Reviewer: Suzanne T. Street from Crisfield, Maryland
GRAMMAR & DIAGRAMMING SENTENCES
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 A
great review of grammar and sentence diagramming! It's been said that
you can't build an engine unless you know what its parts are and how
they fit together. This is also true for writing proper sentences,
paragraphs and papers. The "old" system of diagramming worked for
generations as a way of showing how to write sentences, and now it's
gaining popularity again as the best means of teaching grammar and
writing. If students don't know what verbs, nouns, prepositions, or
modifiers are, how, then, can they be expected to put sentences...
Garlic Press
Eugene, OR
JACOB'S FIRE
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 Jacob's
Fire deals with a university professor/ scientist who has found a
formula for a cure for AIDS. But if the formula is improperly used, it
causes mass destruction. The government and a private pharmaceutical
firm want Jacob's formula, and go to murderous means to get it, using a
pharmaceutical rep (Isleen Johnson) to cajole him into selling the
formula to her firm. But Isleen refuses to exert the unethical means
she is ordered to do so. In fact, she and Jacob become friends during a
time when war is breaking out, with Russia allied with China against
Israel. The rep tries telling Jacob that what is taking place in the
world follows biblical prophecy.
The AIDS
formula does fall into the wrong hands, and plague-like devastation is
wreaked on the world. In the meantime, both Jacob and Isleen learn that
they must escape from the government which wants the formula to use in
battle to implement a one-world government with a globally political,
religious, and economic system. Throughout the book, suspense is
entwined between Paolo Cardinal Borgoni and Louis Cardinal Romano, who
play double-agents to and against each other, and the most powerful man
on earth–the new president of the one-world government. The book weaves
mystery with politics as this new president attempts to form a "New
World Order" and have every human on the face of the earth bow to him
and worship and praise him.
Jacob
accidentally gets caught up in this web of shadow secret organizations
through his daughter marrying a young man who Jacob later learns works
for the Vatican as well as for the new global president. The ending of
the novel deals with Jacob's final decision, one he makes as he
watches, from the rocks of Petra, a huge mushroom cloud billowing in
the far distance. The book has overt action but yet not one profane
word.
Reviews
Dr. Hayes
introduces us to the main character, Jacob, just before the halfway
point in the seven-year tribulation spoken of in the New Testament book
of Revelation. It's amazing, but our hero is totally unaware of God's
plan for Salvation and the Tribulation because of the religious
tradition in which he was raised. This gifted professor/scientist has
everything to look forward to: a formula to cure AIDS that's worth
billions, a wonderful wife and a darling daughter. But under the dark
cloud of the antichrist system, all these joyful blessings are in great
jeopardy. I worried about all of them constantly. Strap on your seat
belts because the action is swift; the scenes constantly change. What I
liked most about the book is the author's ability to make the scenes so
real, the people so alive, the tension so dramatic that I hated to lay
the book down. I suspect that all fiction novels will become more
real...more intimate if you read them in long settings. If I were a
reader, I wouldn't start reading "Jacob" again unless I could have two
or more hours to devote to it. It is obvious that a lot of research
went into the writing of this book. The author's knowledge of the
Eschatology she used is reflected in the plot and subplots with great
detail. Her knowledge of the Vatican, Israel, and the Italian and
Yiddish language is impressive. We are privy to several Machiavellian
conversations between the charismatic Anti-Christ and his ruthless
False Prophet. And we cringe anxiously as we endure our hero's
opportune and prophetic moments with them. As Jacob goes through his
fiery trials in these worst of times, he meets several new Christians
who keep showing him in the Scriptures that they are watching end-time
prophecy become living history. I kept wondering when Jacob would ever
receive Jesus Christ as his Lord, Saviour, and Messiah as the
non-Christians had. For someone so brilliant, Jake sure was slow about
believing in the Truth while seeing, and sometimes even participating
in, the fulfillments of prophesy. I think the author wanted her readers
to identify with our hero as he struggled between what he had believed
for over 60 years, and what the Bible was clearly revealing as living
history. Traditions die hard, but God is gracious and merciful. The
ending caught me off guard. That is not what I expected at all. In fact
it caught me so off guard that I gasped....I cried. What an ending!
Reviewer: Kenneth Uptegrove, from Springdale, Arkansas
Thy Brothers' Reaper
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 Thy
Brothers' Reaper is a thriller, sci-fi novel that looks at cloning from
an entirely different perspective. Gillian Montague has taken a job as
an apprentice P.I. that has her tracking down the cause of a series of
brutal and vicious deaths, where victims' skulls are punctured because
the assailants-created through research and development at twelve
underground labs owned by the government--need certain chemicals for
the brain. All of the assailants are attractive, huge, abnormally
powerful men, except for a handful who are mutants. Because the
aggressors have computer chips embedded in their brains, and require a
cerebral chemical to function normally, their behavior is often
erratic, especially when the chemical diminishes. Through the help of
her ex-husband, Mitchell, Gillian discovers that these men are clones
bred by the government to form an omnipotent military that will take
over the world when secret organizations form a "New World Order" on
the political, religious, and economical fronts. Some of this is
accomplished through water and food shortages, as well as the
machinations of high-level men pushing for control of the universe via
an umbrella of secret government conspiracies. Gillian is unaware that
a clone has passed himself off as his human counterpart, or that her
best friend is a part of the government's plans. The novel moves back
and forth among the key characters while holding readers' attention as
to whom really is or isn't a clone. It's a sci-fi/mainstream, medical
thriller combined with suspense, romance, espionage and mystery . . .
and based on current medical and political research. If you want to
find out what the potential is for human cloning, as well as learn
about shadowy government organizations desiring to bring the world
under one rule, this is the book to read.
Reviews
"Thy
Brothers' Reaper is a doozy of a yarn, full of a future made messy and
dangerous by the age-old vices of greed and a raging hunger for power.
Devin Centis writes of a world on the brink of war, of science loosed
from ethics, of monsters wrought from our need to be God, of an America
top heavy with technology. This is a novel that starts in high gear and
stays there, as good a read as any you're likely to snatch from a
bookshelf this year. Get ready, friends, to stay up late."
Lee Abbott, Noted author of several novels
"In this
futuristic novel, Thy Brothers' Reaper, the Brave New World is
terrifying. The water can be deadly, the streets are full of clones,
and the military, in attempting to perfect itself, has manufactured
murderous beings who endanger everybody, especially those dedicated to
telling the truth about what is going on. In deft, crisp prose, Centis
imagines a world in which fertility clinics are often places that
plunder ova for experimentation, and where mutants and clones could be
wandering the mall or idling in the carpark. In fact, it is the
juxtaposition of the ordinary and the unthinkable that makes this novel
such a scary read. A generation ago it would have seemed science
fiction, pure and simple; today it seems all too horribly possible.
Dolly the sheep and DNA, as a tool for releasing the innocent from
Death Row, has a downside, and DeVincent-Hayes has imaginatively
chronicled it to perfection."
Mary Bringle, author of 10 novels
Troublesome Grammer
A Fast way to refresh your grammar skills!
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 The
easy-to-read and quick-to-understand format of this book makes learning
or refreshing grammar skills a snap! All those old troublesome areas
that make us cringe when we're faced with such points as whether to use
an apostrophe and an 's" or when to write "who" or "whom," are
explained here in this simple form via Garlic Press' slim English
Series printed in large edition. Brush up on how to make certain that
subject and predicate agree, that you're properly choosing a regular or
irregular verb, that you're improving passive voice to active, that
you're mastering object with case, and that you're differentiating
between a neologism and a malapropism, as well as other forms of usage
. . . along with much, much more. This is the kind of book every
teacher would love to have as a reference, every student would
appreciate as a supplement to English texts, and every business person,
public speaker, freelance writer, and anyone who interacts with others
or works in communications, absolutely needs! This is a must-have book
for those who want to sound and write properly, those who want to be
able to articulate ideas in a respected manner, and those who want to
get ahead in the world. Since you're judged by how you speak and write,
you'll want to have this book on hand!
Garlic Press
Eugene, OR
Reviews
I am a
teacher of 30+ years of elementary school and I have consistently used
Nan's grammar texts in my classroom. Specifically, when I taught junior
high, it was my "bible". Her content and directions are clear, easily
followed and best of all, sequential. I used many of Nan's examples in
classroom situations that I could not find in a standard textbook. She
covers ALL areas of troublesome grammar parts in a compact and concise
way. She ends each chapter with word drills that pertain to the
previous lesson. I particularly love the cumulative exam at the end of
the book. I have adapted it to many a test given to my students. Her
practical approach to grammar is essential to today's students, who let
good grammar fall to the wayside. She does not have to embellish her
text with pictures to attract the reader. Nan gets right to the heart
of the matter...strictly essential content and the all-important drill
work.
Amazon Reviewer
The Last of the Wallendas
(As Nan DeVincentis-Hayes)
 This
book offers a unique perspective of a world-renown family who make
their living walking across a thin wire between rooftops of
skyscrapers. It gives a rare view of what the people are like who are
products of the renown patriarch, Karl Wallenda, and how they,
themselves, struggle to maintain the art in the face of family feuds,
dwindling circus attendance, and the aging of the more experienced
veterans. The book also offers an exciting descriptiong of the fall of
the 7-man pyramid.
New Horizon Press
Far Hills, NJ
Reviews
High-sighing
story of the great high-wire artists, told by the granddaughter of
legendary trapeze-artist Karl Wallenda and by journalist
DeVincentis-Hayes (People, Redbook, etc.). Now that the Wallendas have
dwindled down to a precious few, the remaining legally named Wallendas
have wrangled with the author about her use of the Wallenda name in her
high-wire act--for her mother was Wallenda's child by a woman he
married after a Mexican divorce from his first wife, a divorce that the
US failed to recognize. ``I walk the wire because it's in my blood,''
she says, and, with several thrilling moments, her story shows just how
and why high-wire walking gets into your blood if you're a Wallenda.
Leader of the pack was grandfather Karl, who insisted on topping
himself with ever more dangerous acts. He seems to have been his own
worst enemy, harboring one great dream: to skywalk Niagara Falls. But
New York State doesn't allow high-wire acts without a net, so Karl
invented the seven-man pyramid, in which six men form a pyramid with a
woman sitting in a chair on top--an act so dangerous that no one else
on earth dared do it. The Wallendas handled it safely for 16 years
until, one day in Detroit, the strain overcame one member, leaving two
dead and one paralyzed. But Karl survived and soon was back building
the pyramid: Courage is all to the Wallendas. Fate caught up with him
in Puerto Rico, however, when a poorly guyed wire and heavy winds
toppled him from a skywalk between two tall buildings. The young
author, meanwhile, had been taught by Karl and became the first woman
skywalker, successfully walking the very wire that killed her
grandfather. Circus lore--with suicides, bigamy, insanity and so
on--fills in the family history. A strong, if downbeat, read.
(Photographs) (First printing of 20,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. From Kirkus Reviews
Heartbroken Love
(As Gianni Bonanno)
 This
is a story about a couple who in order to find happiness must solve
their problems over their differences: She's big-city, widowed, a
mother of two young kids, and a working woman with a serious health
problem; he's country and farms, never-married. no children, and
petrified of anyone who has a health problem. Their
relationship starts out rocky. They meet in New York's Central Park and
exchange barbs. The heroine is glad she'll never see him again, after
she departs the Park, but the next day at work, where she is an
executive at a PR agency, he walks into a meeting she is holding.
There, she learns he's been hired as the director of security for a
major convention center where she holds many of her clients' affairs.
They
argue back and forth for months while yet falling in love, no matter
how much they try to prevent that. But everything she wants, he
doesn't, and visa versa. Because of a childhood illness that has left
her with a cardiac problem, she is always at risk for an infection,
which she fails to tell him about. When she ends up in a hospital, he
thinks--through miscommunication (the bane of our society) and lack of
total openness--she's dying, and wants to run from the problem.
Move It!
A Guide to quick, easy moving.
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 Relocating
family and house contents is not an easy chore; if anything, it creates
anxiety, confusion, and physical exhaustion. This compact book offers a
step-by-step guide on how to move the simple, easy, stress-free way. It
provides tons of information on how to disconnect old and connect new
services, how to notify everyone of your move in one fell swoop, how to
pack, how to hire the best mover at the best price, and a host of other
hard-to-find but much needed information that never goes out of date.
Barricade Books
New York , NY
Images of America: Ocean City
Volume I
(With John E. Jacob)
 An
exciting look into the history of Ocean City, Maryland! The resort of
Ocean City, Maryland, is a planned beach playground that has rapidly
grown since its inception, bringing in millions of tourists every
summer. This first volume is an account of how the resort came into
existence, how it has grown over the years, suffered hurricanes and
fires, and has built and re-built itself over and over. Attracting
visitors from all over the world--from London to Alaska--this book
shows it all from its birth through 1946 through rare, cherished old
photos and postcard images.
Arcadia Publishing
2 Cumberland Street
Charleston, SC 29401
1-888-313-BOOK
Images of America: Ocean City
Volume II
(With John E. Jacob)
 The
second half of the thrilling development of Ocean City! This
volume--number II--takes readers from circa 1946 right up to the year
2000, illustrating the town’s additions, deletions, and renovations,
along with all of its many obvious and yet some subtle changes. It
features a remarkable pictorial history on the rise and fall, and then
rebirth, of condo row in the 1970s when interest rates skyrocketed and
the economy collapsed, with condo developments receiving the brunt of
it. The demolition of the old boardwalk and the reconstruction of a new
one is also illustrated, along with the presentation of rare images of
the disastrous 1962 storm. Unique pictures of lighthouses, lifesaving
stations, boardwalk shops, and Coastal Highway restaurants and
businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation are
given special attention. And the famous Festival of Lights is pictured,
along with the various activities surrounding Ocean City, Maryland,
such as Ocean Downs harness racing.
Arcadia Publishing
2 Cumberland Street
Charleston, SC 29401
1-888-313-BOOK
Images of America:
Chincoteague and Assateague Islands
(With Bowen Bennett)
 Chincoteague
and Assateague Islands lie adjacent to each other on the Eastern Shore
of Virginia. As barrier islands, they move to a rhythm of their own,
offering both a pristine world and a growing resort area. Chincoteague
is famous for its "pony penning" days and the "Misty" book series by
Marguerite Henry; Assateague is renown for its prehistory beauty, feral
horses, old lighthouse, majestic wildlife and other natural inhabitants
existing in an undisturbed refuge. The two islands have a symbiotic
relationship: The ever-growing resort town of Chincoteague needs
Assateague for its sheltering function against gushing currents,
ravaging winds, and eroding and amassing forces; and the quiet,
slow-paced, almost antediluvian Assateague needs Chincoteague for its
pony auction and tourism. This book offers a taste of both forms of
life: the hot, popular resort town interlinked to the sedate,
nature-bound Assateague. This pictorial history is filled with rare and
vintage photos, postcards, and other images of both places, from their
origination to the present. In it, such classics as the Atlantic Hotel,
the railroad and its steamers, the ruddy-faced fishermen, and a host of
other people and places, as well as the colorful folklore, are
profiled. There is no other book like this. If you've never been to the
Eastern Shore of Virginia, now is the opportunity to visit it
vicariously and enjoy a venture you'll find nowhere else—a visit that
you'll want to make through the pages of this history before the rest
of the world beats you to it.Arcadia Publishing
2 Cumberland Street
Charleston, SC 29401
1-888-313-BOOK
Images of America:
NASA's Wallops Island:
The Government Love Affair
(With Bowen Bennett)
 Located
in Accomack County on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Wallops Island was once
a primitive swath of land, uncivilized but by the wild ponies and
mosquitoes that made its scrub-covered shores their home. But as the
centuries passed, the wildness of the island was radically altered by
the influx of colonists, then vacationers, and, eventually, some of the
brightest scientific minds in the country. In Wallops Island, authors
Nan DeVincent-Hayes and Bo Bennett share the diverse history of this
unique place, from its early days as a gentlemen’s hunting club to the
trials and triumphs, struggles and spirit of its scientific community.
Illustrated with archival photographs and other visual memorabilia from
the periods both before and after the island’s purchase by NASA, this
informative history showcases the amazing technological advances
brought forth on this small parcel of land as well as the men and women
whose determination and dedication made it all possible.
Arcadia Publishing
2 Cumberland Street
Charleston, SC 29401
1-888-313-BOOK
Rehoboth Beach
In Vintage Postcards
(With Bowen Bennett)
 Rehoboth
Beach is heralded as the “Nations Summer Capital”.” Located along the
Atlantic Coast within a 100 miles of Washington D.C., Baltimore and
Philadelphia. Delaware’s treasured resort has provided millions of
tourists with unforgettable memories along its one-mile boardwalk and
white, sandy beach.
Vintage
postcards and photographs will allow readers to experience the thrill
of the renowned beach and see why many have made Rehoboth their choice
for vacations, holidays and getaways, time and time again - and why
some call it home year round. This photo album features then-and -now
scenes of the beach, documents the rise of other attractions
surrounding the area, pays homage to storms that shook the seacoast,
and showcases some of the people, festivals, hotels, and motels that
make this a special place to visit.
Arcadia Publishing
2 Cumberland Street
Charleston, SC 29401
1-888-313-BOOK
Zambelli
The First Family of Fireworks: A Story of Global Success
(As Nan DeVincent-Hayes)
 The
story of the Zambelli family, the world's largest manufacturer and
exhibitor of fireworks, unfolds in this biography about an Italian
family that came to America in search of a better life and, through
hard work and determination, achieved extraordinary success in the
pyrotechnic industry. The Zambellis have been in charge of some of the
largest and most prestigious firework displays and have contributed to
more than 100 years of Fourth of July celebrations. The moving stories
behind the family and their business are intertwined with information
about how and where fireworks are made, what goes on behind the scenes
at a fireworks show, and what bigger and brighter fireworks will ignite
the future.
Reviews
Zambelli: The First Family Of Fireworks
is the success story of one of America's most successful immigrant
families and its flourishing business so closely associated with major
American holidays and celebratory events. Tracing the Italian roots of
the Zambelli family, as well as the prestige and beauty of their
colorful displays during traditional and holiday celebrations,
Zambelli: The First Family Of Fireworks is an engaging, informative,
and entertaining success story which is especially recommended reading
for fireworks buffs.
--Midwest Book Review
Available in bookstores or through Amazon.com
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