James J Antonio

I live in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where I was born. I went to St. Joseph's school and attended Notre Dame high in Welland. I worked on my B.A. at Brock University and graduated in 1972. I wandered around for several years, unsure as to what to do in life, and worked at a number of jobs in the interim. I was leaning towards becoming a teacher and did so: elementary French. It was mostly an unsatisfying experience, with very few grade-school students wanting to learn the subject. My mind all the while was never far away from writing and the desire to become a writer. I had a large number of short stories published in a local newspaper not far from where I lived. It was quite a thrill to see these stories, one every week. I was paid $3 each! I left teaching and worked as a manager in the family business, selling produce to local restaurants in our tourist-oriented area. I wrote and wrote until I felt the writing good enough to be published (now). My belief is that artists of any kind know when something is good and when it's not. all that is required is practice and practice to hone your craft.