Author Symposium

Greg Dillon
Greg Dillon, who will discuss his book The Thin Blue Lie: An Honest Cop vs the FBI. After graduating from the University of New Haven in 1978, Greg joined the Branford, Connecticut, Police Department.  He left in 1985 to become an FBI special agent. He was first assigned to the Criminal Reactive Squad in Alexandria, VA, and was later transferred to the Violent Crime Squad in the Washington, D.C. Field Office. He left in 1990 to accept a position as an inspector in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, Division of Criminal Justice, in Connecticut. He retired in 2009 as a supervisory inspector after a 30-plus year career in law enforcement.

In 2002 Greg joined Shepherds, a non-profit, non-denominational charity that serves the needs of inner-city Connecticut high school students who wish to attend a private college preparatory high school under the guidance of a dedicated adult mentor. Since joining, Greg has mentored 9 students and currently sits on the board of directors.

10% of Greg’s book profits are donated to Shepherds.

D.W. Alder
Our second author, D.W. Alder, grew up in a small town in Connecticut. D.W.’s debut novel is “Reclaimed Life”, the first in the Tyler Mountain Valley series. When she’s not writing romance, she’s editing, reading, or spending time with family, including her son and new daughter-in-law. For more information on D.W. and her books, visit www.dwalder.com.

Toni Pensiero
Also joining our authors is Toni Pensiero, mother of poetry author Jaclyn Pensiero. Jaclyn Pensiero is an autistic adult who received a late diagnosis at the age of 24. Despite always feeling different, she struggled to understand the reasons behind it for many years. However, in the past year, her deep dive into learning about autism spectrum disorder has provided her with the tools to articulate her complex emotions. Through her poetry, she found solace during difficult times and finally managed to express the confusion that has persisted throughout her life. By sharing her collection of poems, she aims to create a sense of belonging for others, making them feel less alone, and encouraging them to process their own emotions.

Her first poetry book Poems of the Neurodivergent Experience was released in July 2023, just a few months after her diagnosis.  Her second poetry book Self-Love, Healing and Neurodivergence was released this past year in March. Her mother, Toni, will speak of the experiences they have had as a mother and daughter.

Greg Armstrong
Our fourth author will be Greg Armstrong, a long time Connecticut native hailing from Norwich. Over the years, he started a novel a time or two and gave up on it. After 30 years of raising a family that ever-present need to write gnawed at him again and he couldn’t ignore it anymore. With a shot of determination, he slowly discovered his own writing style, and found his storytelling voice. The result was the novel —a deeply, emotionally charged story of tragedy, personal reflection, and redemption, is Mad Season.

Fred Del Bianco
The fifth author will be Fred Del Bianco. Fred is the author of Late Boomer and 50 Favs of the ’60s ’70s ’80s. He grew up in Trumbull, Connecticut and he has been a lifelong resident of the state.

Nostalgic at an unusually young age, Mr. Del Bianco possessed a keen awareness and appreciation of the remarkable changes occurring during his formative years of the 1960s through the 1980s. He was born near the end of the baby boomer generation and the beginning of his life coincided with the dawn of Beatlemania in America.

Gary Scarpa
Our final author will be author and actor, Gary Scarpa. a lifelong resident of Shelton, Connecticut. He enjoyed a lengthy and fulfilling career in secondary education as an English teacher and a guidance counselor, and along with his wife, Francesca, founded a non-profit theater in Connecticut in 2005. After his retirement from both education and theater, he reinvented himself and began writing fiction. Still Life is Gary’s third novel.