DARK BITES

Dean Italiano is a Canadian writer, artist, musician, parent and librarian, but don't let that fool you. Dean knows how to pack a creative punch that will send you reeling all the way to the bookstore to devour whatever else he has published to date. Although not quite a household name as compared with best selling contemporaries who thrive in the big publishing houses, Dean has been writing in the trenches for many years, carving out his own niche as an independent creationist worthy of your time and purchase. Honing his skills publishing several short stories, Dean broke out with his first novel, Pain Machine, written under the name of Marcy Italiano in 2003. Dean's sharp wit and talent for capturing real life experiences, both harrowing and beautiful, and then squeezing them out of his pen for all their worth can be found in 2008's Spirits and Death In Niagara, and again in 2009 with Katrina and the Frenchman: A Journal From the Street in which Dean portrays his and

*Review originally appeared at Hell Notes * Published by P.I.C. Publishing, 2017 464 pages The Starving Queen, Dean Italiano's most recent novel, is every bit as terrifying as it is true for far too many of us. The insidious force of Dean's villain burrows into those she seeks when at their weakest moments, no matter how fleeting those moments may be. Her devious methods are invisible in every sense of the word, but she walks hand in hand with her prey all the same. Eternally patient, the Queen requires only the slightest faltering of confidence or self-image to dig a hole through anything positive her victims once believed in. That's exactly what she does to young Jasmine, the high school soccer star who had it all until the Queen notices her for every strip of flesh she’s worth. Between an inactive father who would rather work with his hands than his emotions, and an overworked mother who suffocates her daughter with best intentions, Jasmine clings to th