The 2nd Second

About the Book

Imagine tomorrow that you packed everything you owned in a bag and just disappeared?  You forgot about your family, a job, taxes, credit card bills, traffic and all the other headaches of life.  You just split.  Not giving a single thought to where you were going or what you were going to do when you got there.  You lived completely by impulse.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  Well, what’s stopping you?

That’s exactly what Nello Di Latio would say.  Nello is twenty-two, likes looking at himself in the mirror, watching five movies in a row, drinking Rum and Diet Cokes and living his life by a coin toss.  

According to him, life on-the-go gives him “countless opportunities” in just under a second and, “It’s the 2nd second that really counts.  That’s when you either go for it or you miss out forever.”

Since he finished college the previous year, this fast-lane lifestyle has worked for him.  He’s backpacked through Europe and the United States on about twenty bucks a day.  

“There’s never a minute when I pause and reflect because I’m always moving,” he says.  “I bet you can’t wait to see where I’ll be next.  Well, neither can I.”

The only thing that fascinates Nello more than living his life by impulse, is his love of movies.  He sees his life as one giant movie with a Classic Rock soundtrack and him as the star.

But a movie has to have a point.  Nello slowly begins to realize that he can’t float forever.  But where will a guy end up that follows women from bus stops and that allows fortune cookies and traffic signs to dictate his future?

This novel begins in on a deserted highway in Texas and ends in a hospital bathroom in New York City four days later.  During this time, Nello learns that his traveling days are numbered.  

What makes this novel intriguing is Nello’s unusual journal entries that take him, “no more than two minutes.  Life’s too short to waste time with bullshit details,” he says.  

Through his passages we get to know him and his Gen X culture and mentality.  Aside from an occasional flash fantasy and a flashback, the story is all present action.

The 2nd Second was written for anyone who ever got carried away with their imagination, their passion for travel and experience, and their own personal happiness.

About the Author

Leonardo De Sanctis was born in Rome, grew up in New York City and went to college in Washington D.C. His main focus in college was feminine behavior, alcohol consumption, and movie trivia. After graduation, he got lost at the supermarket and tried shopping for a career in aisle seven. His search took him across the United States, to Europe, and back. He followed several career paths briefly including: A wilderness camp counselor for emotionally disturbed teens, a singing waiter, a hotel bell hop, a radio station intern, an extra in two Hollywood movies, a telemarketer for a vacuum company, and a substitute high school teacher. Currently he is a combat photographer and paratrooper with the 3rd Special Forces Group in the Army. He’s single, he has no kids, and he hates cats. This is his first novel.