The Empty Hook "an ornaments tale"

The Empty Hook  now available
Link: The Empty Hook / Dragovich Interview  WYTV ch#33
Link #2: The Empty Hook / Dragovich Interview Fox Ch 8 Cleveland 
 

 I recently finished illustrating a book for Lt. Joe Dragovich, called The Empty Hook.  This book has a special place for me as I used the likeness of my grandfather who went home to be with the Lord in September, as the main character Milo when he was an old man.

The Empty Hook: Milo's last Christmas

 Recently WYTV ch#33 in Ohio did a story on him and the book.  I wish Joe the best of luck with The Empty Hook, an ornaments tale.

Here is the story as seen on TV.

 Lt. Joe Dragovich is best known for his time on TV talking about the latest serious accident on the roads as commander of the Lisbon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

But in his spare time, he has been busy as an author,  writing a new Christmas book for children titled "The Empty Hook." Dragovich said it was like Christmas morning when he received his first copy of the book in the mail.

"I was so blessed to find the illustrator I found, and all the detail, I was just smiling from ear to ear when I saw the cover and the way that it looked," Dragovich said.

It's a book he never intended to write, but started thinking about after Christmas in 2009.

"I was sitting in my living room looking at the ornaments on my Christmas tree and I thought 'You know what? I think I'm going to write a story where the ornaments tell the story'," Dragovich said.

The story is about an ornament named Elf, which is based on an ornament from Dragovich's childhood.

"It is modeled after a plastic ornament I bought as a young boy at Kraynak's in Hermitage and I still hang that ornament on my tree today," he said.

Dragovich said the central theme of the book is about putting Christ back into Christmas.

"It's not about packages or ribbons or presents. It's something as simple as a gift that God gave you that you can share with somebody and you can bring joy and make somebody's life a little better even for a moment that just makes the world a better place," he said.

"The Empty Hook" can be purchased on Amazon.com. Dragovich said he already is tossing around an idea for a second book.