John Florio was raised in Flushing, NY. He credits the streets of Queens as one of his biggest influences, along with black-and-white movies, old superhero comics, Sports Illustrated, Humphrey Bogart, and the Hardy Boys.A student of literary and pop fiction, Florio includes the hallmarks of each in all of his writing, regardless of its genre. He plays classical piano, which explains why his work includes numerous musical references, and he's no stranger to a chilled martini, which could account for his creation of Jersey Leo, the albino bartender who stars in Sugar Pop Moon and Blind Moon Alley.Florio is a graduate of Fordham University; he also holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine, an MA from New York University, and an MBA from St. John's University. He has taught writing at St. John's University, the College of Mount St. Vincent, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Ramapo College of New Jersey.Visit John Florio at his website: johnfloriowriter.com.