Growing up Greek-American, to Peter, meant amazing food and great senses of humor.  His family was big, close, and hilarious — doting uncles and aunts, lots of younger cousins to play with.  It also meant trudging to the Greek Independence Day ceremony each year in New York City for photo- ops with civic leaders and the very non-Greek Mayor of NYC, John Vliet Lindsay.  (In the photo at the top right, Peter is the uneasy-looking kid holding onto the pamphlet for dear life.)

Sensing Brooklyn was no place for young writers, Peter’s parents moved the family to Freeport, New York.  His first two experiences with fiction: playing a dog in a production of “Jack and the Beanstalk” while wearing a penguin suit … and trying to convince his parents that the “U” on his report card in Self-Control meant Useful instead of Unsatisfactory.  He began writing novels during math class, in little notebooks tucked into his textbook.

(Click to enlarge)In high school, Peter was a band kid — marching band, jazz band, concert band — until a friend told him the girls in the chorus were better looking.  He thus discovering singing, an affliction that was to last the rest of his life.  He performed in plays and musicals (to stay out of trouble) and on the school radio station (to stay out of home room).  But he didn’t think much about writing until he was asked to contribute to the April Fools issue of the school newspaper (its name, Flashings, was changed to Flushings for the occasion).  Peter’s piece (left) started a long tradition of writing under false names.

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