Cousin Vinny

Florey's Book Event Former wild-living author writes cautionary tale

By Jean BartlettFeatures Writer

POSTED: 11/25/2014 05:05:04 PM PST0 COMMENTS| UPDATED: ABOUT A MONTH AGO

Click photo to enlarge

submitted photo Cousin Vinny along the trail of his national book tour. ( submitted photo )

Author Louis Agnello Jr., who writes under the name Cousin Vinny, has lived a life to date that is an eye-popping head swivel. Born in Flushing, New York, Agnello's done bit parts on soap operas, studied acting with Lee Strasberg, and worked for 13 years as a high-end stripper for the upper crust. He used the moniker "Stripper King of New York." Once he retired from stripping he managed strippers for a time. Along the way he earned a bachelor's degree in English, had various run-ins with the law, loved way too many women, wore way too much bling, was shot twice in a botched robbery attempt, and lost massive amounts of money. He ended up renting a small house from his mother in Sun City Center, Florida — a premier 55 plus community. (He was granted an age waiver. He's just 54 now.)

He was news. As a stripper, his fame was so out there, he was a guest on Regis and Kathie Lee Live. He was driven by media attention. But something snapped in him after he was shot in 2009. He realized he was mortal. In 2011, he returned to a novel that he had begun writing 20 years earlier: "The Devil's Glove." Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th, Agnello will be at Florey's all day to sign copies and talk about his work.

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Published by the Christian-based Tate Publishing group, October of 2013, "The Devil's Glove" is the fictional tale of minor league baseball player Billy Green, who has lost his way after years of disappointment and summons a "mysterious stranger who promises to help him cheat his way on to the big stage of major league baseball if he lives up to the terms of a nefarious agreement." On the surface, the 371-page soft cover novel sounds a bit like "Damn Yankees" and/or a retelling of the classic German tale of "Faust." And it definitely is a precautionary tale about the temptations of evil. But the reviews are coming in, strong and sturdy for a good read. It has been called a "spiritual thriller," a "timeless tale that will renew your faith in God and human nature." Barnes & Noble writes that "The Devil's Glove" is "mostly baseball, partly supernatural and inspirational. (It is) a book that defies easy description by an author who defies description."

In February of 2014, Agnello kicked off a long U.S. book signing tour. He's been in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and the list just keeps traveling. Right before his two book signings in Pacifica, he'll have made California stops in Bakersfield, Palmdale, Visalia, Fresno, Turlock, Tracy, Stockton and San Jose. There will be more California stops before he heads home for a bit to take a holiday break.

Agnello notes the book is "bigger than him" and he is more of a "messenger" than an author. While his book is fictional, and he says, "not preachy," he also said he has lived part of the book's message as he headed many times full speed ahead down a path that eventually left him empty. He hopes his book will captivate readers, will inspire, and maybe even help save someone who is troubled and considering "bringing their life to a premature end." Judging by the long, long line of people of all ages that look out from the author's Facebook page, each looking genuinely pleased as they hold a "Devil's Glove" copy and pose with Agnello, this messenger might really be onto something.

Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29, both days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Louis Agnello/Cousin Vinny will be at Florey's Book Co., 2120 Palmetto Avenue, Pacifica (www.floreysbooks.blogspot.com) to sign and discuss "The Devil's Glove."

Jean Bartlett can be reached at editor@jeansmagazines.org.

The Sun Herald

Living

'The Devil's Glove' a battle of good and evil

By CASEY PORTER

Special to the Sun HeraldMay 10, 2014

Related Stories:

Book signing

"The Devil's Glove" by Louis "Cousin Vinny" Agnello Jr.; Tate Publishing; $26.99

"The Devil's Glove," the debut novel from Louis "Cousin Vinny" Agnello Jr., tells the story about Satan's revenge on God through baseball.

Still bitter about having been cast out of Heaven, Satan devises a new way of exacting his revenge by cursing a baseball glove, which travels through two generations of baseball players.

The first of the glove's victims is a clinically depressed minor league baseball player who, during a nervous breakdown, begs for help to get to the majors.

Help arrives in the form of Satan's magical glove, but this is not the end of the glove's journey. Once the first victim's debt has been paid, the glove travels on, in search of a new owner. It finds a new home on hand of an 11 year-old boy with big dreams.

Agnello, who is as much a character as the ones in his book, claims the story appeared to him in a vision back in 1991. He immediately wrote down everything he could remember about that vision and quickly produced a manuscript, which was to remain unfinished for over 20 years.

After a series of interesting careers, one of which led to his branding as "The Stripper King of New York," Agnello revisited the incomplete manuscript, and quickly polished it for publication, feeling that the story was just "too profound" to be kept hidden.

"It covers an addiction that we don't really think about too often," Agnello said. "You always hear about drugs and alcohol. Well, this book covers the addiction about people who want to be great in order to be loved."

Part inspirational, part cautionary, and a whole lot of baseball, "The Devil's Glove" promises to delight readers with its language and plot.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/05/10/5563504/the-devils-glove-a-battle-of-good.html?sp=/99/160/#storylink=cpy

Books

'Stripper King' Still Rues the Day He Said No to Pacino

By Richard Horgan on March 28, 2014 4:30 PM

The Devil's Glove, the long-gestating debut novel of New York City's one-time "Stripper King" Louis Anthony Agnello Jr. (a.k.a. Cousin Vinny), came out last fall. But the promotional tour continues, this weekend in Savannah with a March 29 signing event.

If you have forgotten or never read up on Agnello's incredible life story, do yourself a favor and take the time to digest details of Savannah Morning Digest entertainment writer Linda Sickler's recent profile piece. The article encompasses 9/11, Subway sandwich shops, an infamous incident in Chappaqua and "hoo ha" of a career regret:

"Al Pacino's acting coach offered me a job to drive Al and him around town and I foolishly turned it down," Agnello says. "I thought I was above all that because I was the top private male stripper in New York City at the time and was stripping for the Rockefellers and the soap actresses on their birthdays."

"Larry Romano took the job and became a working actor throughout the 1990s," he says. "Turning down a job with Al Pacino was the biggest blunder of my life. I didn't realize the doors that would have opened and the powerful people I would have met, but I've somehow landed on my feet again."

Sickler isn't kidding when she leads with the idea that this Cousin's life story would make a great movie. The author tells the reporter he's up for that idea, and is easy to reach.

Former 'Stripper King of New York' writes inspirational book

26 Mar 2014

By

Linda Sickler

Louis Anthony Agnello Jr.'s life story would make an amazing book.

At one time, he was known as the "Stripper King of New York" and also as the "King of Bling." He studied acting with Lee Strasberg.

But he has been arrested. Mugged. Shot. He's walked a salacious path and he's walked the straight and narrow.

IF YOU GO

What: Louis Anthony "Cousin Vinny" Agnello Jr. signing copies of "The Devil's Glove"

When: Noon-2 p.m. March 29

Where: Barnes & Noble, 7804 Abercorn St.

Also: He'll do a second signing from 3-6 p.m. at The Book Nook, 5956 Ga. 21 in Rincon

Learn more: www.facebook.com/CousinVinnyAgnello

Today, Agnello is a novelist with a debut book titled "The Devil's Glove." He'll be in Savannah and Rincon on March 29 to sign copies.

The book came to him in a dream: A white-haired man showed Agnello a movie of the events in the book. He told Agnello it was his job to write the story down.

"The dream was about this heartbroken minor league ballplayer who believed that God had forsaken him in his quest to play in the major leagues of baseball," Agnello says. "He desperately and delusively asked for Satan's help.

"Satan eagerly granted his wish under specified conditions, and he soon realized that the price he was going to have to pay had taken away all the fun of achieving the goal in the first place. So he naively decided to break Satan's rules and found out the hard way that the devil doesn't aid rebels.

"He fails miserably and finds that he has a one-way ticket back to the minor leagues," Agnello says. "Mysteriously, he never makes it there; instead, he finds himself all alone, in a living hell."

Now there is a new condition to Satan's contract.

"He's forced to coach the devil's next victim, an 11-year-old boy with similar dreams and aspirations," Agnello says. "This nightmare scenario explores some vital issues, like what could we be coerced into doing to save our own skin and what would we be willing to do to have all our dreams come true?

"It was an exploration into the dark side of human nature," he says. "It also embraces our most valiant qualities and makes you realize how close we all are to God."

He has no doubt the dream was divinely inspired.

"I believe the message came from God and if not, from one of his messengers," he says.

Born in Flushing, N.Y., Agnello was a student at Western Connecticut State University when he became a stripper. In addition to performing solo, he sometimes appeared with Mr. Mike, the Stripping Monkey.

In 1986, the two appeared on "Regis and Kathie Lee Live." Not long after, they were mugged by a thief who held a knife to Mr. Mike's head and threatened to kill him.

At about the same time, Agnello dabbled in acting, appearing on the soap operas "Guiding Light," "Ryan's Hope" and "One Life to Live." He also finished college, earning a bachelor's degree in English in 1992.

"The days I spent with Lee Strasberg in New York City were truly magical," he says.

"The sad part for me was that I didn't realize where I was and that I was surrounded by the talent that the world sees every time they pop in a DVD.

"Bridget Fonda was there at the time and so was Adam Sandler. Some lesser names were there, too. Larry Romano, who played Richie on 'The King of Queens,' was my scene partner and Joe Maruzo, who played Joe Peeps on 'The Sopranos,' is still a friend and got me the guest appearance with Regis and Kathy Lee."

There also was a missed opportunity that Agnello regrets to this day.

"Al Pacino's acting coach offered me a job to drive Al and him around town and I foolishly turned it down," Agnello says. "I thought I was above all that because I was the top private male stripper in New York City at the time and was stripping for the Rockefellers and the soap actresses on their birthdays.

"Larry Romano took the job and became a working actor throughout the 1990s," he says. "Turning down a job with Al Pacino was the biggest blunder of my life. I didn't realize the doors that would have opened and the powerful people I would have met, but I've somehow landed on my feet again."

At one point, he began writing "The Devil's Glove."

"I finished about 80 percent of the first draft in 1991 and 1992," he says.

But Agnello put his manuscript away. After stripping for 13 years, he retired and formed a management company for strippers.

Agnello found himself in hot water after he sent a stripper to a party for high school football players in Chappaqua, N.Y. The case received national media attention, in part because Bill and Hillary Clinton lived in Chappaqua.

"I became known as the Stripper King of New York because Jeanine Pirro, then District Attorney of Westchester County, N.Y., needed me to be a Lex Luthor, large-than-life criminal so she could look like a superhero when she went on her crusade to put me in prison," he says.

"It was all just hype.

"I ran a mom-and-pop-sized striptease agency that got caught up accidentally in a national scandal," he says. "Anything that had sexual overtones with Bill Clinton in the neighborhood was national news.

"Some morally inappropriate parents hosted a stripper party for a high school football team and Pirro wanted to hang them from the highest tree," Agnello says. "I believed it was blown all out of proportion and opened my mouth on national television, challenging Pirro by saying, 'Why don't you arrest some real criminals, Jeanine?'"

The outburst caused even more problems.

"She never forgot about it and two years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, she directed a $1 million prosecution of little old me," Agnello says. "She charged me with five serious felonies and got back a $1,000 fine, a misdemeanor conviction and no jail or probation for me.

"I would have pled guilty to the Manson murders for that, figuratively speaking, slap on the wrist," he says.

"I became a walking, talking legendary outlaw in the public's eye and therefore became the larger-than-life Stripper King of New York."

The whole thing was a case of mistaken identity, Agnello says.

"Pirro had me connected with the Gambino crime family simply because my last name was Agnello, the same name as John Gotti's son-in-law, Carmine," Agnello says. "But that's another book."

Because of his newfound notoriety, Agnello renamed his business World Famous Cousin Vinny's Gorgeous Strippers. He also became known as the King of Bling because of his jewelry.

"I was attempting to be the striptease agent for the hip-hop generation," Agnello says. "I was always reinventing myself. "I believed the old adage that you're not anyone without a handle," he says. "Cousin Vinny would forever be my handle."

"I wrote a screenplay with a really wonderful character named Vinny Roberts," Agnello says. "He was my alter-ego. He was bold and brazen and everything I wished I could be."

At the time, Agnello still dreamed of being an actor.

"I didn't want the stripper agency to interfere with my acting dreams so I called myself 'Vinny Roberts' while working there," Agnello says. "The customers for years called me 'Cuz' and that's how I dreamed up my Cousin Vinny handle."

In 2007, Agnello opened a Subway franchise, operating it as a sub shop by day and a strip club by night. The Subway corporation stripped him of his franchise and a judge ordered him to pay $90,000 to its corporate parent, plus another $7,900 for its legal fees.

But Agnello tells it differently.

"I was attempting to go mainstream," Agnello says. "Before they learned that I was the Stripper King, everything was great, but problems arose immediately upon their discovery. They immediately trumped up allegations to warrant kicking me out of their training program, although at the time I had a 99 average.

"Only after I promised to expose their discrimination toward me to my media connections did they acquiesce," he says. "Begrudgingly, they allowed me to take an open book test."

Agnello passed the test and was allowed to take over the franchise.

"I was ill-prepared and poorly trained, so I broke many rules," he says. "That was exactly their plan to get rid of me. Their district manager wrote me up for every violation of the franchise agreement he could think of."

As a result, Agnello was terminated. "Hard times would follow because I lost everything," he says.

"I didn't get a penny back on my $250,000 investment. I even defaulted on loans.

"A lawsuit is currently outstanding in this civil matter out of Bronx, N.Y.," Agnello says. "Before I completed this novel, I had to resort to driving a cab in Sarasota, Fla., and was even on public relief for a while."

In August 2009, Agnello was escorting some strippers to a bachelor party in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., when two masked men approached and fired shots.

One bullet hit Agnello's left upper thigh and another was blocked by the wad of credit cards he was carrying in his pocket. At the time, he was wearing $100,000 worth of jewelry and police determined the shooting was a botched robbery.

But he says otherwise.

"When I started venting my spleen about this flagrant violation of my rights on radio and in the press, I was lured to an ambush where I was shot twice," he says.

"Nobody asked for money or jewelry as the press speculated and no one was ever apprehended for the shooting.

"It was the most humbling moment of my life and I got a great new appreciation of what the downtrodden went through in life. I remember a day and night that I worked 15 hours and cleared $17 after expenses.

"I used to talk up the self-published version of the book to my passengers and showed them pictures from my soap opera and stripping days," Agnello says. "My patrons couldn't believe my story until they saw the proof with their own eyes."

The shooting turned Agnello's life around.

"In 2011, I went back to the manuscript that had been printed out from a floppy disc years ago and remembered what a truly remarkable story it contained," he says.

"The best thing though was that I remembered the ironic twist ending. I finished it because I promised the messenger I would.

"This book is bigger than me and contains some of the most important messages ever," he says. "I believe it is a bible for the troubled and addicted souls of this world and it will save lives. If it saves just one troubled person from bringing their life to a premature end, then I have done my job."

Even now, he insists he's not an author, he's a messenger.

"My characters seem so real because they are," he says.

"You might as well look in the mirror, because you'll find yourself in everyone of them.

"This is a message book that gently guides the reader to truth," Agnello says. "It's not preachy, but you and everyone else who reads it will be affected by the character's actions and decisions."

A sequel to "The Devil's Glove" is in the works.

"I have plans for an autobiography but I do not believe my Christian publisher will want anything to do with it," he says. "It will not be PG-13 rated and will be way too racy for my spiritual fans."

A film version of "The Devil's Glove" could be in the works. "Any producers interested in the project shouldn't have a hard time finding me," Agnello says. In the meantime, he's thrilled with the reaction to his book.

"I couldn't be more proud of the responses I'm receiving," Agnello says. "I feel like I've touched every reader's heart and made them delve into their souls.

"I hope the world will view life differently after they finish this special novel and I thank God every day for giving me the privilege to enlighten the world to these special messages," he says. "My greatest hope is that I can save some troubled lives before it's too late."

The Observer News - The Current

'The Devil's Glove' ... A Chicago White Sox ghost story

By LIA MARTIN

SCC author Cousin Vinny holds The Devil's Glove, his book published by Tate Publishing. Photo Lia Martin

SCC author Cousin Vinny holds The Devil's Glove, his book published by Tate Publishing. Photo Lia Martin

Cousin Vinny aka Anthony Agnello has received such controversial press coverage since the release of his book The Devil's Glove that many fail to recognize the quality and message of his book.

He is well known.

It is true that he does have an infamous reputation as a male stripper. His Subway Restaurant franchise is the target of a lawsuit, and Agnello himself was indeed a target, shot at by three unknown gunmen. Agnello's character also has been the target of a plethora of accusations.

What is clear when speaking with Agnello is he does not deny his life or make excuses for it.

Agnello says that in 1991 he had a vision, like a movie that was shown to him, and that before this "movie began," a white-haired man told him: "It's time to do your job. I want you to watch this. You better pay attention. It is a message to the world."

"I jotted down every detail I could remember," Agnello said. "I never had a moment like it, and I never will again. It was an incredible love story. It was the most pure love, but not pure. It made me human."

That vision he wrote down became a book. Titled The Magic Glove, it metamorphosed into the The Devil's Glove after Tate Publishing, a Christian book publishing company, contacted him. Agnello's editor recommended he make revisions after telling him that the book was "intricate, but a captivating story, which was wonderfully told." He emphasized that it was a good book, but that the changes could make it a great book.

Agnello said after talking to his editor, he felt humility for the first time in his life. He does not know why he was chosen to write down the vision, but he has many readers and reviewers, who have valued The Devil's Glove. It has helped him to understand that his brief life as a journalist should be continued.

His father, Louis Agnello, was a writer for Chemical and Engineering News. His son has dedicated the book to his father, who passed away in 2006. His father had worried about Agnello's life for years because he was so highly visible. When asked how his father would have reacted to his change in life and career, Agnello said, "I think he would have been over the moon."

An excerpt from The Devil's Glove:

"Michael cautiously entered the ballpark and observed nothing unusual. He pondered the thought of Billy leaving the park and getting drunk at a local tavern, but that didn't explain why he didn't change his clothes. Due to his poor performance during the game, he doubted seriously that he would go out in uniform and draw attention to himself. From all the years he had spent with him, he knew for sure that Billy wasn't a glutton for punishment and only a glutton for punishment would go out in game uniform after that performance. As everyone knows, Chicago fans have a long history of being very nasty to their fallen heroes. He knew Billy wouldn't subject himself to that. Still feeling uneasy but needing to do something constructive with his time, he decided to take a trash-collecting walk around the field. In the process of performing his chore, he glanced up toward the stadium seats and discovered Billy. What he saw shocked the hell out of him. Hanging by the neck from the upper deck was Billy Green, dressed in his White Sox uniform, wearing his green shoes, and his unique green glove. Michael was in no way ready for this, and he grimaced in pain as his worst fear became a reality. He stared up at him in disbelief and then let out the most tragic moan that the old ballpark had ever heard expelled. It was a dying groan, very primeval, the kind that was repeated too many times throughout the history of this world. It was the worst kind of agony, the kind of personal anguish that was never meant to be felt - as a father outliving his son.

The overwhelming sadness of this occasion cannot be properly expressed here. Hanging by the neck from the upper deck of that stadium was the extinguished dreams of a new generation. A part of the old man died with the son whom he never biologically fathered but whose spirit was eternally joined with his. He became painfully aware that the rest of his days on this earth would be nothing more than an extended death sentence. For the rest of his life, he would never experience the joy of love again. Michael couldn't stop crying. The tears flowed down his face as if someone had left a faucet on. ... He stared over at Billy's body and tried to brainwash himself into believing that he was just asleep but could not convince himself of this fantasy. He then wondered if he could survive the intense manual labor of digging a grave using only a pick and a shovel."

The book is not about religion, unless you know that the Chicago White Sox is the instrument for mankind's redemption and that the Manager is Satan and the Light is God, no matter who or what religion a person professes. The magic glove owned by Billy sets the stage, and the characters approach God and Satan in interesting ways. This intriguing novel is surprising and is read by many different kinds of people from every walk of life.

When asked which character portrayed himself, Agnello said, "Why...all of them."

A reader emailed Agnello recently, saying, "A must-read for the youth of today."

When struggling to understand why he, such an imperfect man, received the vision and was told to write the book, Agnello says a Christian friend told him, "There is a divine wind behind this whole thing. Don't you understand? This book is way bigger than you."

Anthony "Cousin Vinny" Agnello was a 1992 graduate of Western Connecticut State University, earning an English degree. He began as a Chippendale-style male stripper during his college years. In 1986, taking a break from college, Agnello studied with Lee Strasberg and made cameo appearances in Ryan's Hope, Guiding Light and One Life to Live, as well as having bit parts as an actor in Spike Lee's Crooklyn and Nicolas Cage's Kiss of Death.

NewsTimes

'Devil's Glove' author to sign books

Linda Tuccio-Koonz

Published 10:45 am, Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Louis Agnello Jr., also known as Cousin Vinny, has written a story involving young men's dreams of baseball glory and the age-old battle between good and evil. Satan himself is among the characters. The book is called ìThe Devilís Gloveî and Agnello will appear at signings this weekend in Southbury's library and Barnes & Noble in Danbury. Photo: Contributed Photo

A brokenhearted baseball player stuck in the Minor Leagues loses all hope and seeks Satan's help to pursue his dreams, only to find himself trapped in a living hell.

He's forced to coach the devil's next victim, a young boy who has similar dreams of Major League glory. The story is told in a new book called "The Devil's Glove" (Tate Publishing). Author Louis Agnello Jr. will sign copies this weekend at three events in Southbury and Danbury.

The book's title refers to ball player Billy Green's "magic" baseball glove, which 11-year-old Eddie Romano finds buried in Chicago's Comiskey Park when the ballfield is demolished in 1991. He and his father are poking around for White Sox souvenirs when they unearth Green's glove.

They don't know Green had been a poor kid who grew up near the ballfield in the 1930s, played in the Minor Leagues, and then disappeared.

When Romano becomes convinced the glove has special powers, his baseball skills quickly improve. But problems ensue when he goes from being a likeable though not-confident player to a cocky, meanspirited kid who is convinced he can't play without his glove.

Meanwhile, his nightly dreams are filled with instructions from a coach he assumes is an angel. And he claims to also be receiving advice from the spirits of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

In reality, heaven and hell are fighting for the young man's soul. Though it sounds preachy, it's not that kind of novel. Rather, it's a mystery about a boy who is growing up, chasing his dreams, and struggling to find the right path. It's about human nature, with baseball as the backdrop.

Agnello, also known as Cousin Vinnie, said the story he tells in "The Devil's Glove" came to him when he was in a dreamlike state. He started writing the twisty tale years ago, finished it, and later did a complete makeover. Now 54, splits his time between Southbury and Florida.

His book signings will be at Southbury Public Library on Friday, Feb. 28, from 2 to 4 p.m., and on Saturday, March 1, from 11 to 3 p.m. at "The Morning Star," 72 Newtown Road in Danbury. On Sunday, March 2, he'll be at Barnes & Noble, 15 Backus Ave. in Danbury, from 2 to 4 p.m.

In addition, Agnello will talk about his book on Friday, Feb. 28, on i95 radio on The Morning Show with Ethan Carey and Lou Milano. He'll be on at 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m.

There are several heartfelt characters in "The Devil's Glove," including an old newspaper reporter who followed Green's disappearance, but then retired and gave up the sports world. He's directed in a dream to pay attention to the sports pages again. That's how he winds up connected with Romano, moving the mystery forward.

Dreams play a big role in this book. Agnello said when the idea for the story first came to him, he thought it was "utterly fascinating." When he woke up he desperately wanted to go back to sleep "and hopefully rejoin that beautiful story but my conscious mind knew that would be next to impossible, so I sat up and jotted down every detail I could remember," he said. " I spent five hours outlining the details and then spent almost a year, working like a madman at the Eastchester Public Library typing out the story on an electric typewriter."

Agnello was working as an exotic male dancer at the time, entertaining at bachelorette parties and clubs. So he didn't finish his project right away. Later he wound up representing male and female dancers. It was during that time that he learned about the horrors of addiction which inspired the undercurrents of the story.

"How addicted Eddie (Romano) was to that glove and all the horrors that came from that, I had seen so many people destroy their lives in the same way," Agnello said. "There were people who had talent and could have done things with their lives, but they thought they didn't have what it took to be great. They thought they needed a crutch to be great; it actually destroyed them as human beings."

Agnello is a 1992 graduate of Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. His research for the book included a trip to Chicago, Ill., since he'd never been there before. "This is a ghost story surrounding the old Comiskey Park," he said. "I have taken some literary license with the surroundings of the new Comiskey Park or U.S. Cellular Field, but I had to in order for the continuity of the story to be plausible."

His knowledge of coaching and baseball make the plot all the more compelling. A baseball lover all his life, Agnello played successfully up to junior varsity in high school. He also studied coaching at Southern Connecticut State University.

Though he worked a lot on his novel in 1991, it was 2011 by the time he decided it needed to be rewritten. He sees it as a love story, as well as a mystery.

"The rewrite is what breathed new life into this forgotten message and tale," he said. "I used to pop up in the middle of the night to rework things. I do my best work while the world sleeps."

"The Devils Glove" ($26.99) is available in bookstores and through www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore, or via barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com

Southbury Public Library, 100 Poverty Road, Southbury, Friday, Feb. 28, 2 to 4 p.m., 203-262-0626; The Morning Star, 72 Newtown Road, Danbury, Saturday, March 1, 11 to 3 p.m., 203-791-1515; Barnes & Noble, 15 Backus Ave., Danbury, Sunday, March 2, 2 to 4 p.m., 203-730-2733.

Linda Tuccio-Koonz at lkoonz@newstimes.com; @LindaTKoonz