Though his family hails from Southern Italy, and in summer he can attain epidermal hues much darker than most caucasians, he is just that: an over-represented, under-marginalized male seeking representation from a literary agency. He also has boring pronouns and only engages in heterosexual sex, albeit rather infrequently. However, he tries his best to make this world the inclusive place that we all so very much deserve.

After San Francisco, he returned to the East Coast to obtain a Master’s Degree in English Lit and Education from a slightly better state school, also in upstate New York. During that time, he was the frontman and principal songwriter for such illustrious, unknown punk rock bands as Pulsing Stump, Master Disaster and Fecal Piñata. He made it absolutely nowhere musically, but must confess he had one hell of a good time. Oh yeah, he also worked with emotionally disturbed children for a few years.

During his lifetime, he has worked every job possible to pay the bills: bag boy, barista, bar manager, construction worker, groundskeeper, security guard, waiter, etc. He even sold shoes in Texas. However, he finally settled on English teaching as it allowed him to work and travel throughout the world.

Though he had been using it to communicate for most of his life, it wasn’t until he traveled that he realized he had a knack for language. In his travels working and living in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe, he has always learned the language of his host country. He has native fluency in Spanish and also speaks French, Italian and Moroccan Arabic. He even finally mastered English.

Back in New York, he taught in various colleges, organizations and programs to help recently arrived people from all over the world adapt and thrive in the US. He also worked for eight years as a contributing editor for a now defunct website called: Fifty is the New Fifty. In addition to his editing duties, he wrote many humorous articles about life and politics. After 30 years of teaching and scribbling, he retired in order to write full time for the screen and page. Since then, he hasn’t looked up from his computer. 

He is happily married to a wonderful Spanish woman who is at least 8.5 times smarter and wiser than he is. He currently spends his days between New York City and northern Spain writing various projects in both English and Spanish .

Donato’s one true super-power is the ability to make people laugh. Though he’s not sure whether that laughter is with him or at him, with a feather plucked from some gawky bird of rare plumage, he is determined tickle the world.

In case you doubted the veracity of anything I said in my bio.

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