In the March Author Spotlight ...
Dom DeLuise, author of
No Place Like Home,
The Pouch Potato, and Eat This Again!

Devoted family man, well known comedic actor, accomplished author. Dom DeLuise's resume is as wide as his familiar grin. AtlasBooks had the opportunity to talk to this amazing man about his career, his family and his current books, Eat This Again, The Pouch Potato, and No Place Like Home.

Mr. DeLuise's writing career began with a children's book, Charlie The Caterpillar. "I was always interested in writing. One of the things is I talk funny and if I talk funny and write it down, it becomes writing," he says. "Simon and Schuster asked me to write a book on a Thursday and I had it to them on Friday because it was already written."

"When my kids were growing up, I made up a story about Charlie the Caterpillar. I put two little dots on my fingers and I made a worm. Then I took a caterpillar that was made of plastic and put it on a wire and shook the wire. It looked like the butterfly was flying. And then I lit a candle in the middle of the room and my children were fascinated by the story," Mr. DeLuise explains.

Mr. DeLuise's three boys are the ones who stimulate his writing. "They were in one room, in bunk beds. I was a comedic actor and I made it my goal to be funny for my kids. I got really inventive. I would shut off all the lights and do a shadow show. I had the only kids who wanted to go to bed," he laughs. "I had a good time. A lot of energy went into my kids."

"Sometimes when you are exhausted and you say 'I can't think anymore' an idea comes to you in the middle of your tiredness and you think 'Oh that's great!'", he explains. "It's fun to build on that. Charlie is still my favorite character and I still get choked up at certain parts of the book.

The Pouch Potato tells the story of when Mrs. Kangaroo lost her little Joey. Dr. Chimpanzee, Mrs. Rabbit And Mrs. Skunk help find him. "When I wrote The Pouch Potato, I had a great time because it is filled with jokes," he explains. The book also includes recipes for Dr. Chimpanzee's Banana Bread and Mrs. Rabbit's Carrot Cake and Pancakes

No Place Like Home is the delightful story of two families of mice, one from the country and one from the big city, and their experiences visiting each other. "It was so much fun to write!", Mr. DeLuise says. "It is all about going to San Francisco. I was so worried about how they were going to get there. A squirrel's tale is what took them. It was like a ride at Disneyland."

Mr. DeLuise continues to write, including sharing his love for cooking. He is currently finishing up his next book, Pizza Anyone? He can also be heard every Saturday on the syndicated radio show "On the House," with the Carey Brothers, where he hosts his own radio cooking segment. Mr. DeLuise has been married for over 42 years to Carol Arthur. The two have three sons, Peter, Michael and David, all in the entertainment field, and three grandchildren.

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To purchase your copy of No Place Like Home, visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02004home.htm

To purchase your copy of The Pouch Potato, visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02004pouch.htm

To purchase your copy of Eat This Again!, visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/02004eat.htm

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