Bio:Anthony Vela

Anthony Vela was born in West Islip, N.Y., and has lived the area all of his life. In elementary school, Vela was diagnosed with dyslexia. He struggled through high school and college, but he was able to overcome this obstacle. He graduated with honors from the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury despite his learning disability. Vela has had a very successful career as a graphic designer, freelance journalist, and author. As a graphic designer he was awarded the ComputED Eddie Award in 2001, What’s New Magazine Awards Portfolio in 2000, and the Media & Methods Magazine 1999 Awards Portfolio. As an author Vela has been awarded and praised for his work.

His previous novel The Seed was placed as a finalist in the 3rd Annual New Century Writer Awards competition and his current novel, The Trapping, won a Fellowship award for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing Program at South Hampton College.

Mr. Vela has spent the past three years working on The Trapping. The characters in the novel find themselves stuck in their own psychological trappings. Vela was inspired by his own experiences of taking care of his mother after his father passed away. He was able to take certain characteristics from his adolescence and weave them into the framework of the novel. The novel successfully blends a psychological drama with a coming-of-age love story creating a truly unique experience.

The Trapping is Vela’s first published book, but it shows the talent of veteran author. Presently Vela works full time as a freelance graphic artist and reporter. The Trapping marks Vela’s first fusion of both his literary expertise and his graphic artistry.

The author crafted both the cover design and layout of the book on his own. He lives in Long Island with his wife, Victoria, and two daughters, Serena and Miranda.