By Kelly Loudenberg
As a graduate of St. Fidelis School in College Point, Cotoggio never attended college for writing, but she has been developing her writing skills for 17 years. She said writing did not always come natural to her, but she has fought her way to success.”My first writing project I handed over to my dad and he handed it right back to me and told me I need to fix everything. I had to teach myself,” Cotoggio said. After 15 years and 11 rewrites, Cotoggio finally got her first novel, “A Spirit of Evil,” published. Cotoggio said she spent seven months researching the book and almost a year writing it. Getting the book published, however, took convincing a publishing company to pick it up. Cotoggio said she is happy that her book came out at just the right time. “Fortunately, the horror market is a hot market right now and that makes my novel perfect,” said Cotoggio.Her novel is a piece of crime writing that Cotoggio said she hopes will appeal to Stephen King and James Patterson readers. Cotoggio uses elements of psychological complexity in her exploration of good and evil along with female characters not seen before in this genre. The book begins when 24-year-old Angela Roccanelli returns home from a two-week lecture series to find her 26-year-old cousin, Nicole Caruso, missing. When she turns to the police for help, Angela is ignored by Lieutenant Michael Steiner as he investigates the death of an unidentified priest. The priest's death is suspected to be a murder because rosary beads were twisted through his fingers and a cross was pushed through his throat. Soon Nicole is suspected by the police for the priest's murder and Angela must join with her college professor in order to save Nicole. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Steiner runs into trouble with the Catholic church for not providing them with information of the priest's murder. Readers will be immersed in this story of crime and suspense as they enjoy the vibrant characters, clever dialogue and heavy pacing.Many readers who are familiar with the New York City area will be pleased to find references to places in Queens such as St. Agnus High School and Whitestone. Although street names are different, Cotoggio says that her readers will recognize the places she mentions in the book.Cotoggio said she also used people in her life as characters in the book. “In a Spirit of Evil,” for example, Jonathan Trenton is a reporter who leaks information to the press. Cotoggio said she modeled Trenton's character after a reporter she knows at the Daily News.Cotoggio has also done work in screenwriting. She was a Top Ten Winner in the 2002 Nevada Film Office Annual Screenwriters Competition for her screenplay, “Alien Legacy.” Cotoggio is enthusiastic about her novel that was released on June 24. “When I see my novel on bookshelves at Barnes and Noble Bookstores, it will really hit me,” Cotoggio said.Also, Cotoggio has just completed her second novel, another crime thriller called “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” She will be signing books at Barnes & Noble in Bayside on July 10 at 1 p.m and at Border Books in Westbury on July 21 at 8 p.m.
