Born and raised in Queens, NY, the author now splits his time between his home on Long Island and traveling the country in his Tiffin motorhome. When not writing, he is busy completing a bucket list of travel adventures.
In the past 14 years, he and his wife Marilyn have traveled 115,000 miles. These journeys have taken them to the 48 contiguous states, 133 national parks, all 30 major league baseball stadiums, 154 cities and towns, two Canadian provinces, and a variety of unusual experiences and locations.
In the past, he has published over two dozen non-fiction articles in newspapers and magazines. These writings included four full-page op-eds in New York Newsday.
He was also presented an award by Nelson DeMille for his historical fiction short story, The Last Artifact.
Two of his short pieces were accepted into the Visible Ink Anthology in 2018 and 2019. Each year, a dozen works are chosen for reading and presentation on stage in New York City. In 2018, Pretty Flamingo was given this honor. As an encore, In the Garden of Eden was performed in 2019. Both of these are available for viewing on www.williamjohnrostron.com or on YouTube by using Visible Ink plus each title.
In his previous career, the author instructed students from the ages of 9 to 90. Through his life, he taught elementary school, middle school, high school, college, adult education, and teacher training. He holds degrees from Queens College, Stony Brook University, and Long Island University.
He is currently busy working on the third book of his Band in the Wind trilogy.
His books are for sale at: Amazon: Paperback, Kindle, KOLL, Kindle Unlimited IngramSpark: Paperback, Hardcover (Wholesale discounts available) Barnes and Noble: Paperback
SHORT WORKS
Pretty Flamingo Date Published: March 2018 (Visible Ink Anthology 10) Performed on Stage: April 2018
In the Garden of Eden Date Published: March 2019 (Visible Ink Anthology 11) Performed on Stage: March 2019
Published Works:
Sound of Redemption
It is said that if you remember the 1960's, you weren't there. But they were there, and they would never forget.
Key West – June 1990 - Three months after the events of Band in the Wind, the "Journal of Johnny Cipp" has found its way to Maria Romano and Riet Carver. Its pages tell Johnny's tale. It is a story of the rise and fall of a garage band on the brink of great success. However, is also the story of Johnny's descent into hell. His final journal reveals his final thoughts and actions. "They beckon me. The band needs a bass player to give them a backbeat… and a friend to share their joy. I will join them, and again we will be complete. We will make music… and we will laugh… and the band will again be together… in the wind… forever."
Now Maria and Riet have all the answers about Johnny Cipp and Gio DeAngelis… or do they?
"This book is almost that perfect blend of music, nostalgia, a coming-of-age story… and tragedy! It really does have a bit of everything. Highly entertaining." – Online Book Review 4/4 stars
Self-published in 2019.
Band in the Wind
"'Those were the best days of my life.' They really were. And just like the words in the Bryan Adams' song 'The Summer of '69,' I did buy my first six-string at a five-and-dime, and I did play it until my fingers bled. And we did have a band, and we did try real hard… However, that's where my story diverges from the song. Unlike the characters in that song, my Jimmy didn't quit, and my Joey didn't get married. In my life, they died. In fact, except for me, they all died. And I have never told the story before."
These are the first words written in the recovered Journal of Johnny Cipp, one of five young members of Those Born Free, a band out of Cambria Heights in Queens, New York. Johnny's journal has been discovered in 1990 on a beach—1500 miles and 23 years removed from where its author went missing. It details the story of the band he played in with four other young musicians in the late 1960s. With Jimmy McAvoy ("Jimmy Mac") on drums and vocals, Giovanni DeAngelis ("Gio") on rhythm guitar and vocals, Rocco Brackowski ("Bracko") on lead guitar and vocals, Joseph Tinley ("Tinman") on keyboard, and Johnny on bass, they possessed the talent, the will, and the work ethic to go far.
Their neighborhood was rife with gangs, violence, and racism. A tough place to grow up, the boys saw music as their only way out to a better life and were willing to give it everything to get there. Alas, they never made it…
"This book is almost that perfect blend of music, nostalgia, a coming-of-age story… and tragedy! It really does have a bit of everything. Highly entertaining." – Online Book Review (4/4 stars)
Born and raised in Queens, NY, the author now splits his time between his home on Long Island and traveling the country in his Tiffin motorhome. When not writing, he is busy completing a bucket list of travel adventures.
It is said that if you remember the 1960's, you weren't there. But they were there, and they would never forget.
"'Those were the best days of my life.' They really were. And just like the words in the Bryan Adams' song 'The Summer of '69,' I did buy my first six-string at a five-and-dime, and I did play it until my fingers bled. And we did have a band, and we did try real hard… However, that's where my story diverges from the song. Unlike the characters in that song, my Jimmy didn't quit, and my Joey didn't get married. In my life, they died. In fact, except for me, they all died. And I have never told the story before."
