Meet Josie Naclerio | Action/romance author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josie Naclerio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’m a self-publishing author and after visiting Italy, for the third time, and meeting family that lived there, and having revisited the ancient ruins of Pompeii I decided to actually take the risk and write and publish a book. I was working full time and the writing offered a great way of distressing from my job along with the stressors that came along with my husband’s job as a police officer. After two back injuries that required a huge lifestyle and work change I began devoting more and more time to my writing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a self=publishing author who created my first story back around 2004, but it was simply a hobby to destress from work and being a police wife. There are no words to express the feelings of accomplishment when you hold your first published book in hand. It took a third trip to Italy and meeting my mom’s side of our family and revisiting the ancient ruins of Pompeii (my obsession since the fifth grade) to take the chance at actually publishing a book. I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting my grandmother’s cousin at our family villa. To this day I still can’t explain what prompted the book or the drive but I believe it was gaining that connection with my grandmother (whom I never met as she died when my mom was seven) and spending an entire day wondering Pompeii. I came home and started writing.

In 2018 I released Love in the Ruins. Days before the book released my author and editor friend Rebecca Norman suggested one of the characters having their own story. I hedged at first but made some quick changes and hence book two, Italian Love. Of course, book three, Carabinieri Love morphed into life along with two more projected stories in what is now The Carabinieri Series.

While working on books one and two, I revisited a book I’d started years prior, Skating on Love, and as happened with my originally published series this one spawned more books and saw the birth of The Hockey Series. My first hockey series has since brought to life future releases in two more projected hockey series’, The Carolina Hockey Series and The Hockey Traded Series.

Another series, The DEA Series also surfaced during the course of writing the first two books of The Carabinieri Series, two of which in this series saw birth around the same time I originally penned the first part of Skating on Love.
After suffering a back injury in the fall of 2019, and then another in 2020, working full time in the medical field came to an end in 2022. I have since been dedicating my time to my writing. I currently have six books published between The Carabinieri Series and The Hockey Series, and a short story in a military anthology – One Day At A Time featuring A Sniper’s Love, which will become a full length book within The Carabinieri Series.

It has not been easy being a self published author. All the marketing and promoting is on me, and I admit that’s not my strong point. I prefer hashing out the story and bringing the stories and characters to life. Editing is tough as it too is all on me, and my editor (Rebecca Norman) and my proofreaders (Rob Gutro and my aunt Carolyn Hoxworth).

The challenges of dealing with constant back pain from my injuries has hugely impacted my life regarding physical limitations and it was tough to deal with going from being active to very limited activities, but I looked at it as a sign that it was time to put my energy into my writing. My writing has helped considerably with the emotional struggles of dealing with the injuries.

I’ve learned that it’s important to reach out to those willing to offer help. We don’t have to do everything ourselves, which is a hard concept for me since I was raised around the military and being married to a police officer.
Never give up even when you start to lose confidence in your abilities. It’s important to have dreams, and chase them. My husband’s last police department brought us to a beach community and I feel I’ve finally found my place, where I belong.

I love Italy, reading, traveling, gardening, and my passion/obsession is learning all I can about ancient Roman history and of course hockey. I’m blessed to have family in Italy, along with awesome friends there. Hockey, has brought some fantastic people into my life and I’m thankful for them.

The players and team staff I’ve met have become friends as well as material research experts that help bring insider knowledge one does’t acquire through Google or just watching the sport. That also applies to my friends and family in Italy, especially my Carabinieri and Polizia friends there.

I also chose the pen name, Josie Naclerio in honor of my grandmother, Josephine Naclerio. I have her middle name and it made sense.

My goal is to bring great stories with believable, lovable characters to life and providing my readers with a book they can open and enjoy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First stop is the beach, since I live near it. We’d start out the morning sitting on the beach enjoying a breakfast sandwich. Lunch of course is at my favorite spot here, Whaley’s for some awesome Teriyaki wings and a side salad. The afternoon we’d spend on my back deck enjoying the peace and quiet of living right behind the state park (not part), oh (not capitalized), and a dip in the pool. Charleston has so many wonderful historical sites. A trip downtown is a definite to check out Rainbow Row, the outdoor market and strolling through the quaint side streets and old cemetery’s.
A day trip to Savannah, Georgia for a walk and shopping on the riverfront. Take your pick of eateries along the river or up in the historical area. The squares and old homes are awesome to stroll through and by.

Of course, we have our pick of plantations. Must sees are Magnolia, Middleton, and Drayton Hall. And, we can’t skip Boone Hall over in Mt. Pleasant and lunch at their off sight store.

No trip to Charleston, South Carolina is complete without a stop at my good friend from Naples, Italy, Ciro Damiano’s Antica Napoli Pizzeria. OMG, pizza just like you get in Italy. It’s a piece of heaven on this side of the Atlantic.

If you’re visiting in the winter months, then of course any day the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays are playing at home is a must for nightly entertainment.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Josephine Naclerio, my grandmother and my husband, Ken Dasen, retired police officer are my driving forces to continuing to improve my writing. Rebecca Norman, pen name Rosie Chapel, was the big push to keep plugging along and publish my first book. Rob Gutro, also an author and a medium, has continued to support me and keep me on track along with Rebecca. All my readers, followers, family, and research support folks also make up my growing support system to continue to write.

Instagram: jackiedasen

Facebook: Josie Naclerio – Author. or Jackie Wheeler Dasen

Other: email – josienaclerioauthor@gmail.com

Image Credits
Jackie Dasen Peter Viale Rebecca Norman Lisa Miller