Tombolo Books is thrilled to celebrate the launch event for local author Paul Wilborn's new novel, The Everlasting Life of Charlie Wall! Wilborn will be in Tombolo's Courtyard with Scott M. Deitche.

It’s 1985 and Ronald Armstrong, known in the magic mushroom trade as “Trip,” takes a “sober” job as a driver for a retired Tampa mobster. His boss, Charlie Wall, has survived four attempts on his life, the last one in 1955. When Charlie falls into depression, Trip rebuilds his boss’ self-esteem by convincing him people still want him dead. What neither of them know is that an aging hit man has decided to finish the job he botched 30 years earlier.

Paul Wilborn’s debut story collection, Cigar City: Tales From A 1980s Creative Ghetto, won the gold medal for fiction in the 2019 Florida Book Awards. His debut novel, Florida Hustle, earned a starred review from Kirkus and was named among the “100 Best Indie Books of 2022” by Kirkus. A native of Tampa, Paul Wilborn collected multiple awards from the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors during a journalism career that included stints at the Tampa Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times and the Associated Press in Los Angeles. He won the Green Eyeshade Award from the Atlanta Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi, the South’s top writing prize and won the Paul Hansel Award, Florida’s top journalism prize. He was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan. His plays have been produced at Stageworks, Off-Center Theater, Radio Theater Project and University of Michigan. A pianist and singer, he produced the long-running American Songbook Series at American Stage.

Scott M. Deitche is the author of numerous books on organized crime, including Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey and The Silent Don: The Criminal Underworld of Santo Trafficante Jr. He has also written dozens of articles on organized crime for local and national magazines and newspapers. Scott has been featured on The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, A&E, C-SPAN, Oxygen as well as dozens of national and local news and radio shows. Scott is on the Advisory Council for The Mob Museum in Las Vegas. He lives in St. Petersburg, FL.