Joanna believes that there are many people who have extraordinary stories to tell and she gets very excited when she has the opportunity to spend time with old friends and family and meet new people. It is an informal and fun hobby. Everyone has voluntarily consented with written permission to allow Joanna to put their stories on her website and in her upcoming book.

Joanna pays for her own radio advertising, banner ads, and newspaper ads. Also, she is covering the cost  of publishing her book.   However, this project has brought her a lot of joy. Most of all, she appreciates the people who have made room for her at their table during this fun and rewarding project.  She always looks forward to all of the warm and sincere emails which she receives daily from her readers throughout Fairfield County, CT, the Northeast, and other parts of the United States and the world.

Send  her an email directly to JMARIA165@hotmail.com. She would love to hear from you, or you may log in and send her a message or write a review through this site, www.authorsden.com/joannamleone. That's not all, you may even log into www.drcfm.com and click on her banner ad, which will also lead you to her website and all of the titles of her stories and poems.

Most importantly, she wants to extend a special "Thank you" to Attorney Paul Fattibene of Southport, Connecticut, for providing her with guidance and advice.  His intelligence, wisdom, and patience have made things so much easier.  

Everyone who she has written about has granted her the authority to place their stories factually and fictionally on her website and in my upcoming book by signing a release form for the  "Slices of Life" Collective Memoirs. She loves socializing with friends, acquaintances, and making new friends along the way. 

Joanna has already signed a contract with a self-publishing company called Author House, which is located in Indiana, as of August 13th, 2009. Author House is not affiliated with Authors Den ( they are two different companies) However,she still has time to write a few more new stories from now until December 8th. Although her work will be published, Joanna will still own the rights to her own work.  The emails, reviews and phone calls have continued to make her smile each day. As a matter of fact, she has enough material to write Volume 2 after her first book is published.

   
Joanna knows that her passion for writing stems from her mother, Antonetta Fabrizio-Leone, and her father, the late Donato Leone.  Her mother's family, the Fabrizio's, are artists and poets. Many of the Fabrizio's have the creative talent of painting, drawing, or designing. Also, her  father's family are very bright, and hard working skilled laborers.  She believes that her love of Italian food, great conversations, funny quotes,  and the way she spends her free time stems from her parents, which has motivated  her to write, and talk about being an Italian-American. She will always remember her Italian American dining room, kitchen and livingroom, especially during the mid to late 1970's.  She remembers the scent of pizza fritta, frittata, and home made Italian cookies at her house.   Since she was 13 years old, she was inspired to write. "I have saved every journal and notebook from the age of 13 until now," she said.  She always felt that the best time to write was after her relatives or family had gone home when the house was quiet.  The best time for Joanna to write was after a holiday, meeting someone new, or after a family discussion.  

During the past few years, Joanna enjoyed writing from the balcony of her maternal grandmother's house in San Donato Val di Comino during her vacations there.  Sometimes, she would take a walk to the nearby town of Settefrati, Italy to relax and enjoy the simple times. The sounds and sights of Italy continue to touch her heart and inspire her to write. The animation and sounds of the people bantering near the flea markets in San Donato, the sight of gelato, pastries, and the people who extended their arms to hug her touched her heart and kept her creative juices flowing.  Also, the serenity of Forca D'acero Mountain is engraved in her heart and mind. 
 
 
Her parents and grandparents instilled Italian traditions into her life and showed her many things about the Italian culture. It was not just the food, wine, and gatherings which inspired Joanna to write about her memories and the memories of others. Most importantly it is the constant  love which surrounds her that inspires her to write.  Joanna believes that it is rewarding to spend time with people who share her passion about keeping the Italian traditions alive. 

Sometimes Joanna's simple memories of her father's brown pick up truck with buckets of cement in the back of the truck make her smile. It seems like just yesterday that she  heard her father  pull up into the driveway after a hard day's work as a stone mason. Most people that she has met remember her parents and grandparents. They all say the same thing: "Be proud of your family. They are honest, hardworking and loving people." It seems that most people who knew her dad mention that they loved talking to him.  The Fabrizio and Leone family are known to be honest, hard working, and loving people.  She loves spending time with people and writing about them.  The main point of her writing is to show how people still remain close to their Italian traditions as well as how many memories still are in their hearts. Most importantly, she loves getting "snap shots" or vivid details of the special memories which are locked in everyone's hearts.
 
During the next few months Joanna will be in Stamford, Norwalk, Fairfield, New Haven,  Trumbull, Rhode Island New York  Philadelphia,  Boston, New Jersey, Yonkers, and the Bronx  interviewing and writing many stories. Many people  have said, "Hey, Joanna, my friends want to talk to you, or you should write about so and so.." You'll notice her  bright colored writing journal from a mile away! She does not use a laptop or tape recorder during the interviews. She does it the old fashioned way, with a pen and notebook.  After she gathers the facts, she molds it into a beautiful story,nd adds her own creative thoughts and guided imagery and then types the story.  Everyone has been enthusiastic about the project.   Although she is not compensated for her work, writing brings her much joy.

Joanna said recently, "You can't put a price tag on someone's memories.  Everyone loves talking about themselves, so why not have fun doing so?" She knows that she will never be a famous author.  However, if she sells a few copies of her book, she will be happy.

In addition to Italy, Joanna loves the sights and sounds of Mulberry Street and Arthur Avenue. "The simple pleasures of sipping espresso as hundreds of people walk by brings me alot of joy.  Most of the time, I am spontaneous and love those last minute trips to the city. I always start talking to the people sitting at the next table. I love talking to people and I am grateful that so many people are talking to me about their special memories, traditions and experiences."

Joanna has spent time in Vermont on the weekends.  The fresh, mountain air, breath taking scenery, and rustic restaurants always fill her heart with joy. Also, she appreciates nature and the outdoors.

Some of Joanna's best memories are the times when she has kept her close knit circle of friends and family together at dinner parties which were usually held at her ski house rental in Vermont.  Sometimes, she loves getting everyone together in Connecticut at some of the local restaurants.

Although her hobby is writing, she works full time as  a Project Manager for the Inlingua School of Languages Translation and Interpretation Center on Summer Street in Stamford, CT. She had left her  job in the Trumbull Public School system and work solely for Inlingua in Stamford, CT.  She now works full time at Inlingua Monday through Saturday.   Although she coordinates translation and interpretation projects, her second role at Inlingua is teaching the English language to foreigners and professionals who want to improve their English.  Please send Joanna an email anytime, She would love to hear from you!

Joanna has won public speaking awards, which include

2nd Place at Fordham University against Columbia University 1988-1989. 

Also, she won 6th Place at Randolf Macon College and competed at the University of Toronto Canada Debate tournament in 1988. "It seems like just yesterday that I brought back shining trophies for Sacred Heart University from Fordham and Randolf Macon College," Joanna added.  Joanna said "I enjoyed being  President of  the Sacred Heart University Debate Team. It was an honor to be selected in the the World Tournament at Princeton University."   Joanna was the  Editor of Sacred Heart University Literary Magazine.

After college, she spent 10 years in the Telecommunications industry at Executone, which later became knows as Claricom and Matrix.  She won the Circle of Excellence Sales Award and smiled proudly when she mentioned that she was rewarded with a beautiful Sales trophy and an all expense paid trip with the other top salespeople. "We spent a few days in Las Vegas at the Four Season Hotel. It was a blast!" Joanna is proud of her accomplishments in the Sales field. She also assisted with the implementation of of Employee Incentive programs. 

Although she had won a scholarship to the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Stratford, CT, she never pursued a career in radio. "I do not think that I have the right personality for radio," she added. "However, I loved volunteering at WPKN and years ago I volunteered for CRIS Radio, which is a special frequency radio station for the blind. I used to read the local advertisements over the CRIS Radio airwaves." Although she does not have any plans to purse radio, she mentioned that she would love to get involved with volunteering at a radio station again soon, perhaps in the New Haven or Hartford area.  "I just love hanging out once in a while. I loved studying at the Connecticut school of Broadcasting and was honored to receive a scholarship there years ago. It helped my public speaking and creative writing skills. After successful completion of the program, she continued her career in Sales and Account Management. But, that's as far as it goes. "I am a creative writer and will probably never be famous, but volunteering is fun, so maybe sometime soon I will get involved on a volunteer basis once in a while, as long as it is the right fit for my style and personality,"she mentioned. 

Joanna is proud that her work has been published in a few literary publications. "I was honored that my work was published. My stories about ordinary people with extraordinary memories are well received among many groups," she added.

 "Cobblestone Roads that Lead me Home" published in "Treasury of Poems" 2007. Also, "Le Rose Rosse" was published in Italian Tribune, New Jersey on Feb. 12th, 2009, and "Nonna's Bedroom," was published in Primo, Italian American Magazine. She has also contributed her story, "Italian American Summer" to the The Italian American Historical Society of Connecticut's newsletter recently and plans on continuing with her contributions. 

Also, check out her other links below:

 www.onlineprimo.com