After losing all his money in a business venture gone wrong, Warren Stelman does the unthinkable. He gets involved in a sweepstakes scam and makes dirty money.
In August of 2012, his world comes crashing down when he is arrested by Interpol in Santo Domingo and extradited to the Southern District of New York by the United States Government to face justice for the crime he committed.
This is his story—his journey through hellish conditions in third-world jails, fourteen months in the super-max Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York, and four more years in a United States Federal prison.
Released in January 2018, he is now home and reunited with his wife and four children. In Gorilla Tango, he recounts the harrowing events that took him from a cushy life-style in the Caribbean to the bowels of prison and how at fifty-three years old he had to adapt to survive in a brutal, violent and unforgiving world. It is a story of personal redemption, spiritual growth, and survival.
Hello book lovers! Today is a day where I will be writing another author spotlight for a well-accomplished author whose work I have loved. As you know book lovers I love learning about authors and the inspiration behind their work, it fascinates me and adds to the depth of the book because the reader will be able to better understand it. That is how the author spotlights were created because I soon discovered that you lovely readers ALSO love learning about author’s, so I am excited to tell you a little bit more about author Warren Stelman whose book Gorilla Tango shocked but moved me from beginning to end. I personally would recommend this book to all of those that love poignant memories but really the book can be read by anybody as it is flawlessly written and highly enjoyable. With today’s author spotlight, a biography of the author and an interview between me and Warren Stelman will be shared, and I hope that you book lovers enjoy reading it! To kick this off here is an author bio about the wonderful Warren Stelman!
Warren Stelman is the author of Gorilla Tango From Businessman to Convicted Felon and Surviving the US Prison System. He lives in Montreal, Canada with his wife of thirty years. They have four adult children.
Warren Stelman is a truly exceptional writer and I hope that you lovely readers have a read of the author’s work because you will not regret it! Please see below an interview between me and the author and I hope that you enjoy Warren Stelman’s answers to my questions, they are incredible and provide some great advice too!
Thank you for joining us today at Red Headed Book Lover! Please tell us more about yourself
I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. I am married to Lana my wife of 31 years and together we have 4 adult children. I studied business administration in University which led to a long, successful entrepreneurial career. In the early 2000’s everything unravelled when I suffered a devastating financial loss and my life spiralled out of control. In a misguided, greed-driven attempt to recover, I got involved in a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that targeted American victims many of them elderly, which led to my arrest in 2012. I spent the next five and a half years in the US prison system.
Thank you so much for telling us more about yourself and your journey! That is one of the many things I loved about your book, how open and honest you are. Could you please tell us readers about your book and what inspired you to write your book?
Gorilla Tango recounts the story of a period in my life where after losing everything, I committed a terrible fraud in a desperate attempt to regain what was lost. Writing Gorilla Tango was my way of trying to alleviate, to whatever degree possible, the veil of shame I cast on my children and parents through my actions. I thought if I could tell the story and give people a look inside, it might help.
Writing can be very therapeutic and it is great that it helped you but also can help others too! What would your advice be for aspiring writers?
If the story is interesting and relatable people will embrace it. Focus on telling the story and the book will appear.
Great advice! In your opinion, what is the most important thing about a book?
A good story that delivers an emotional attachment.
What is your writing process like?
I am probably a poor example of a real writer. In fact I’m not sure I can fashion myself a writer. I just told a story I wanted to tell.
And you certainly delivered with your book! Do you have a set schedule for writing, or do you only write when you feel inspired?
For me, writing was an inspirational process. There were days when I stared blankly at the pad of paper and days where I couldn’t stop writing.
Its official book lovers, I am obsessed with Warren Stelman! If you have liked what you have read about the author and are interested in learning more, then please do have a browse of the links below and be sure to have a read of the preview too! You will not regret it.
Goodbye for now book lovers,
