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Diva's Fool—
Winner of 2008
Lovey Award in
Best Paranormal
Category.

A B O U T    S I L V I A

Silvia Foti grew up on the South Side of Chicago...

in Marquette Park, haven to more Lithuanians than anywhere else in the world, save the actual country. Her parents fled the Communists during World War II, finding refuge in America; she grew up a child of exiles, speaking the oldest living language on earth before she went to kindergarten, happily finding several other five-year-olds under the same parental philosophy. When she finally learned English at school, she escaped real life through books, an obsession that configured her toward a career in writing--or waitressing, depending on how you look at it.

High School Teacher

Silvia is currently a high school teacher at Proviso Mathematics and Science
Academy in Forest Park, Illinois, team-teaching freshmen ILASS (Integrated
Language Arts and Social Studies) classes. Having recently switched careers
from journalism and creative writing to teaching, she brings her experience
to the secondary educational arena relishing all those teen-age hormones
which she swears is the secret to keeping her young. She spent the last two
years acquiring her secondary education English certificate and is just a
few classes away from earning her Master's in Education from National Louis
University.

academy of general dentistry

Before she launched her own company, she worked at the Academy of General Dentistry for a dozen years as the managing editor of AGD Impact, newsmagazine of the Academy of General Dentistry, a socio-economic monthly publication. While there, she worked on several newsletters, pamphlets, brochures, advertisements, consumer reports, annual reports, annual meeting materials, and their web site. As a result, several clients seek her out to write copy on dentistry, which she is delighted to produce because it would be a shame to let all that dental knowledge go to waste.

freelance

As a full-time freelancer, she has written for Managed Dental Business Report, which covered the dental insurance industry, the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Hospital Association, Managed Care Pharmacy Practice, Health Newsletters Direct, Thomson Target Media, Mosby Inc., Chicago Parent Newsmagazine, the Chicago Tribune, TNTDental.com, the International Healthcare Journal, writing a monthly column on dentistry, and Curtis Marketing Group. Perhaps her largest project was writing a 300-page manual on compliance issues in emergency departments for the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

mystery

In 2002, her first mystery novel, Skullduggery, was published by Creative Arts Book Company. Skullduggery became available as an e-book with Echelon Press in 2006. Her second mystery novel, The Diva's Fool, will be published by Echelon Press in 2007. She deferentially serves as president of Love Is Murder, an annual multi-genre conference for writers and readers held in Chicago during the first weekend in February. In the anti-competitive ladder of volunteer writing organizations, she was also voted president of Sisters in Crime in Chicago, a local group of mystery writers for the year 2006.

personals

Walking on the beach, needlepoint, and killing off fictional characters....

Shortly after graduating from Northwestern University with a Master's degree in Journalism, she sojourned to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she freelanced for the Buenos Aires Herald, Polo Magazine, and Argentine News. Although she could never master polo, she learned Spanish and met her husband Franco Foti. In 2006, she and Franco celebrated 20 years of marriage with their two children, Alessandra, 12 years old, and Gabriel, 8 years old.

final pitch

As a journalist, she is trained to ask questions of experts and fools, to dig for the truth. As a novelist, she is trained to entertain and tell a story. As a teacher, she is sensitive to the awakening process of learners so that they unfold at their own pace. It's a powerful combination that when used reverently can help unlock your sacred story. Turn to Silvia Foti for your next writing project.

paul theroux

Paul Theroux wrote "People do not become writers out of healthy literary impulse, but out of a deep loneliness, a deficiency, a kind of dysfunction...and on the positive side, they turn to books for solace. It's all sorts of things. It's conceit. It's signaling for attention. People who are normal don't become writers."

I was born on a late summer day in 1961 on the South Side of Chicago. Here I'm four years old at the zoo with my one-year-old brother Ray.		At nine years old, I received my First Communion.
Ray and I just found our Easter baskets in 1973. (Shut up! I loved those pants!)		I grew up in a Lithuanian family, and everyone expected me to continue the old customs in the new land.
At seventeen years old, I was a debutante at the Lithuanian Amber Ball. Mom had her heart set on my marrying a Lithuanian man.		After graduating college in '84, I needed an adventure, so packed my bags and moved to Buenos Aires, to live with my aunt. While there, I met Franco, a nice Italian guy with an exuberant family.
Franco wanted me to stay with him in Argentina, but I said, "No way! Let's go to America." Franco and his Sicilian parents flew to Chicago to meet my family.  Oh boy!  (Franco's parents are the smiling ones.)		On August 23, 1986, Franco and I got married.
We had two kids: Alessandra in 1994 and Gabriel in 1998.		Here's Gabriel putting the finishing touches on a fresh order of empanadas.
Alesandra just before a recital.
		In 1997, Ray and I accompanied Mom to Lithuania so that she could receive an award from the President in honor of her patriotic father who was executed by the KGB after World War II. Mom was an opera singer who lived until she was 60 years old in the year 2000. I really miss her.
Flashback: Here's Jonas J. Noreika, Mom's father, the man she adored and longed for her entire life. He was known as General Storm during the resistance movement against the Communists. Although I've never met him, he has held a dominating presence in my life.
		We're relaxing in Michigan with Franco's mom who has generously and tirelessly helped us raise our kids. I couldn't have done my writing without her. Grazie Nonna!
Gabriel at nine years old.
		Alessandra at thirteen years old.