Hometown Book Signing! For Caroline Giammanco, author of Bank Notes: The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit!

True Brew Internet Cafe, 130 East Washington Avenue, Ava, Missouri  65608

November 20, 2015 from 1:00-3:00 pm

Come on admit it, this country loves an “Insider Trade” deal. Boy do I have one for you. Before I invite you inside my virtual office and shut the door, let me tell you why I have such a vested interest in this author and her story. I admit I am a close friend of Ms. Caroline for over thirteen years. I helped edit the book this summer. While I will have no financial gain, I sure do want this book to be a best seller. Are there other deeper and darker reasons; of course; why would I invite you over to a closed door session?

Where to begin? Begin with the inner workings of Ms. Caroline’s mind. She has always been a survivor from her hungry, neglected childhood to her reaching out for love in all the wrong places, at least with all the wrong types- she survived and achieved. She paid her own way through college and became an expert in her field to the point when I met her, she ran the whole department in our high school. Anything she touches, or attacks I should say, she does to the best of her ability and then goes back over and does it even better. Her secret writing project for the past two years is a prime example.

In order to understand how exceptional this project is, and the courage it takes to expose eyewitness information she has on the Missouri justice system and team up with, unbelievably, the Boonie Hat Bandit to write their story, is to share the fear for her life and the safety of her love, still incarcerated. Despite the danger, both agreed they had to let the outside world know what the view is from inside the courts to inside the prison walls. For this reason alone, the book is well worth reading.

Let me let you in on another dirty little secret- these two are so in “sync” with each other’s writing you can’t tell where one stops and the other starts. They are the ultimate writing team when it comes to smooth transitions and dramatic revelations. They tell a great tale of woe with such class you won’t want to put the book down. Taking turns, each shares a part of their heart and soul as you follow the Bandit’s descent into hell and Ms. Caroline’s close escape from hers.

Behind different closed doors, separated physically for years, they face a reality not many would choose to endure. They are willing to share this reality with readers across the world in hopes of making a difference, regardless of the consequences. Another little secret: every statement, every experience, every feeling is from firsthand knowledge of either the bandit or Ms. Caroline. There is no fiction in this book, no poetic license; even though it is shocking at times, there is no question it is true.

Final tip from the “Inside Trader”, this book is well written, honorably honest, intended for someone who just wants a good read, to the advocate for prison reform and for reasonable justice for those trapped inside. If you have ever been tempted to use inside information to cut a great deal, this is the time to do it. I sure am.

– Norma L. Garrett

Caroline Giammanco’s Bank Notes: The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit on What’s Going On http://www.wgnu920am.com/index.php/st-louis-urban-forum/sermon/14-bnr-2015b/popup?tmpl=component  LLA https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/caroline-giammanco/ www.booniehatbandit.com

Author Jack Martin’s interview with David Clarke’s Different Strokes for Different Folks Blog Talk Radio – Author never gave up and dedicated his first book to his deceased wife http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authordavidclarke/2015/11/09/author-never-gave-up-and-dedicated-his-first-book-to-his-deceased-wife

Jack is the author of John Brown’s Body, Battle Cry of Freedom, Marching Through Georgia, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Hail Columbia and Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/jack-martin   www.jacksmartin.com

New book trailer for Caroline Giammanco’s nonfiction Bank Notes: The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit 

Bank Notes Trailer http://youtu.be/ljro0F8oxg0

So, look no further for that unique Christmas present!

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Know-About-Learned-James/dp/069248020X/

For ALL the men and/or women in your life that love James Bond, Friday, November 6th is a book launch buy day for Dr.s John Flynn and Bob Blackwood’s Everything I Know About Life I Learned From James Bond, a light-hearted but thoroughly researched look into the world of Bond. www.john-flynn.com www.blackwood.org

Library Tales Publishing www.librarytalespublishing.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/john-flynn

Recently there was a Bond Marathon on cable. I had just finished reading the manuscript and was picking up on all the detailed nuances in each movie. What a great companion book! I have most of the movies, but now it is my quest to own them all and display my Bond book with them. SPECTRA is debuting this week and it is included. Love all my Bond men, and I have always wanted to be a Bond girl.

• Jeanie Loiacono, President Loiacono Literary Agency

“This incredibly powerful account of how the most detrimental recession our country has faced since the Great Depression pushes a middle-class, single father of twin teenage girls to make the leap from successful Stock Day Trader to becoming one of the most notorious bank robbers in Missouri history is nothing short of gut wrenching. The musings of intelligent and articulate first-time offender Keith Giammanco, communicating through the pen of the woman who is able to see beyond society’s mark of Cain and falls in love with the man beneath the “boonie hat”, provides fascinating insight into not only the inter-workings of the correctional system, but the psychological and societal impacts this excessively corrupt prison industrial complex has on our nation as a whole.

Once upon a time, the average American citizen read memoirs like this for a rush of excitement, but always felt cozy in the confident thought that “this would never happen to me”. However, as we evolve more each day into a massive criminalized society – where so many laws are now on the books it is estimated the average citizen commits 2-4 prison-sentencable crimes a day – the US population is slowly waking up to the reality that Giammanco’s situation is not such a distant improbability for any of us. As the head of Joseph Stalin’s secret police famously stated, “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.” Granted, not many people are capable of successfully robbing eleven banks and only landing in prison after a mishap during heist #12, but when homes across America’s heartland were being foreclosed on by the neighborhoodfull and millions of middle-class workers suddenly found themselves laid off and drowning in debt, I’m willing to bet the thought of robbing a bank crossed the minds of more than a few.

The shock—cultural and physical—that comes with the destruction of a cookie-cutter suburban life, the entry into a life of crime, and the off-world character of prison life is wonderfully portrayed in this book. While serving his sentence, Giammanco’s self-deprecation and incredible ability to maintain his perspective and sanity in light of a dehumanizing situation, coupled with his and Caroline’s objective viewpoints of the prison system’s inter-workings is nothing short of fascinating.

Even though he has some moral weaknesses, Giammanco himself admits he is far from perfect and accepts full responsibility for his actions, so you can’t help but root for this dedicated father who ends up with the extremely short end of a twisted stick.

This book is a “MUST READ” for anyone who professes to have a social conscience in the arena of U.S. prison reform.”

• Amanda Matti

Bank Notes:The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit by Caroline Giammanco is now available!

Amazon

Bank Robber Extraordinaire

Bank Notes:The True Story of the Boonie Hat Bandit

St. Louis, Missouri is gripped by a rapid series of twelve bank robberies that leave local and federal authorities completely baffled. Dubbed the “Boonie Hat Bandit” by the fascinated public, this infamous criminal methodically robs banks in broad daylight leaving no clues, causing everyone to wonder, Who is this man? Law enforcement is scrambling, and the robberies make national news.

In September 2008, the gentleman bandit is apprehended and the stunned world finds out his shocking identity: Donald Keith Giammanco, a quiet, middle-class, single father of twin daughters. The big mystery remains: How and why would he enter a life of crime? In spite of repeated requests to tell his story, Keith Giammanco refuses to give any insight into his motivations for years—not, that is, until now.

Written by the woman he falls in love with while in prison, Bank Notes delves into the thoughts and motivations of a notorious bank robber who is anything but the typical criminal, and the disastrous results of his robbery spree.

Caroline and Keith Giammanco

Caroline Giammanco grew up on a farm in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. After high school, she attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, earning a Bachelor of Arts in political science. She later completed the post-baccalaureate education program at the University of Arizona. She has taught English in public schools for over twenty years in Arizona, New Mexico and now Missouri. She is the English Department Chairperson at her current high school. She is the mother of two sons, Rick and Kevin, and is active in the lives of Keith’s children, Marissa and Elise. Caroline and Keith plan on living on a small farm in rural Missouri upon his release. booniehatbandit@yahoo.com  www.booniehatbandit.com

Published by Argus Publishing www.a-argusbooks.com

Represented by Jeanie Loiacono, Loiacono Literary Agency www.llallc.net

Super Buy Day for Everything I Know About Life I Learned From James Bond Friday, November 6th!!

So, look no further for that unique Christmas present!

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Know-About-Learned-James/dp/069248020X/

For ALL the men and/or women in your life that love James Bond, Friday, November 6th is a book launch buy day for Dr.s John Flynn and Bob Blackwood’s Everything I Know About Life I Learned From James Bond, a light-hearted but thoroughly researched look into the world of Bond.

For the adolescent male growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, 007 was everything that young men were not. He was sexually irresistible to women. He was well dressed and well groomed, socially astute, clever and witty, athletic, debonair, dangerous, and heroic. He drove the coolest cars, possessed the greatest gadgets, traveled to the most exotic places, made love to the most beautiful women, and had the most fun of any cinematic hero. James Bond represented everything that authors John and Bob wanted to be. And now, as they look back over the years as middle-aged adults and college professors, both realize how much Bond helped re-define their understanding of what it meant to be manly, particularly at a time in our culture when the roles of men and women were becoming so fractured and confused. This book provides witty and insightful aphorisms about everyday things, ranging from girls to food and drink, cars to clothing and style, and life lessons to fun facts about culture and civilization, as reflected through the prism of James Bond, the world’s most stylish and cultured secret agent.

www.john-flynn.com www.blackwood.org

Library Tales Publishing www.librarytalespublishing.com

Represented by Loiacono Literary Agency https://loiaconoliteraryagency.com/authors/john-flynn

Recently there was a Bond Marathon on cable. I had just finished reading the manuscript and was picking up on all the detailed nuances in each movie. What a great companion book! I have most of the movies, but now it is my quest to own them all and display my Bond book with them. SPECTRE is debuting this week and it is included. Love all my Bond men, and I have always wanted to be a Bond girl.

• Jeanie Loiacono, President Loiacono Literary Agency