Faces of the Valley: Oakmont author celebrates faith, unique genre in breakout book

Glenn Armocida has lived many lives in his 66 years.

The Oakmont author started his journey as a writer at a young age while growing up in Plum. Even then, he enjoyed reading and creating his own stories.

With support from his parents and teachers, he attended the University of Pittsburgh to pursue creative writing.

Armocida worked toward the degree until his senior year, when he and his wife, Ginny, decided to buy a home. He landed a job at the university as a technical writer, a career field that became his specialty for a couple of decades — until he become an investment manager.

At that point, he left writing behind, for almost 20 years.

But about 12 years ago, Armocida said, he was inspired to pick up the pen and begin creating stories.

He began with poems and essays he’d craft on nights and weekends. In his late 50s, he decided that if he wanted to become a published author, he needed to get busy.

Fast forward six years. Armocida has launched his first book “Tales of East and West Sparrow,” a collection of short fictional stories about Christians residing in those two communities.

Throughout his career changes and life’s twists and turns, the one constant has been Armocida’s faith.

“I know God has given me these gifts to write and create, and I’ve always wanted to use those gifts as service and to help others,” he said.

Armocida was a finalist in 2022 and 2024 for the Rash Award in Fiction, an annual literary prize awarded by the Broad River Review, a literary magazine associated with Gardner-Webb University. Of the nine stories featured in the book, six have been published in literary journals.

The process of getting his book published was a bit of a grind. Some of his essays had been featured in larger works, but his own book was a different beast.

He began sending out his manuscript in December 2023. Armocida blamed the rejections partially on anti-religious bias in the publishing industry.

“If I could print all the rejections I received, I could wallpaper part of my office,” he said.

After about 160 rejections, his stories were published by Atmosphere Press. The book launched on Oct. 14.

Armocida’s stories follow fictional characters that span the spectrum of faith from curious seekers just exploring, to mature believers, backsliders and lukewarm followers. He said the characters are based on a combination of his own experiences and the people he has met throughout his life.

“I’ve been all of those in my life,” Armocida said.

He hopes the stories give readers spiritual guidance or inspiration to lean into their faith. Armocida said the writing process helped him feel closer to God. He calls himself a “blessed conduit.”

“I’ve never experienced full-blown writers block,” he said.

Armocida is hit with inspiration when the Holy Spirit moves him, he said.

“I will sketch out character resumes to get the bones of the character on page, then a basic plot outline,” he explained. “I never put the ending down.”

As he’s writing, Armocida feels inspiration from the Holy Spirit and lets it guide his creativity, he said.

“It’s great,” he said. “It’s a cool thing to happen.”

While the stories feature Christianity, Armocida said he makes a point not to preach in his work. He calls the genre Christian Realism. All of his characters are everyday Christians who encounter trials and tribulations, temptations and tragedies of life.

“Tales of East and West Sparrow” is available on Amazon.com.

Armocida is working on a follow-up book, “Letters from East and West Sparrow.” He is unsure when that book might be ready for publication.