MEET THE AUTHOR

DAVE GIOIA

I was born in 1950 and the decade of the ‘60s was an important period in my development as a person and a writer. I began writing at age five and continued writing through high school. I majored in English/Creative Writing at Emerson College in Boston, where I studied with Russell Banks. After graduating from Emerson, I attended Boston University’s one-year Masters Creative Writing Program and studied with Donald Barthelme and Dan Wakefield. I was a short story fiction writer at the time and had my work published in The Emerson Review and Ploughshares.

A Girl with a Bad Reputation follows 16-year-old Colleen as she wends her way through the turmoil of coming of age in a time of social change and unrest. Her sexual exploits are numerous and sometimes lead to more questions than answers for Colleen. A difficult, but often unexpectedly fun path unfolds, and as the story progresses, we watch Colleen mature as her understanding of life and love grows.

Goodreads Reader Review

A great read to get an understanding of how reputations can be affected with and without our desire for them to.Choices have consequences, but they don’t have to be lifelong. A wonderful read.

Amazon Reader Review

Dave Gioia’s substantial debut novel, Valley of Saint Anne, tells an unsettling story in an easygoing style that belies the gravity of the themes he addresses…Gioia unflinchingly examines topics often considered taboo for adult discussion, such as domestic violence, alcoholism, and incest…Gioia manages to show a difference between sexually abusive relationships and healthy relationships that nonetheless necessitate breaking some of society’s rules.

Foreward Clarion Reviews

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