arts&life
books
A Deadly
Rivalry
Two married men. One murdered
woman. David Pinto comes to the JCC
to discuss his new book, Nemesis.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
D
David Pinto
details
David Pinto will discuss his
book and sign copies at 7
p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, in the
Greenberg Suite at the Jew-
ish Community Center. (248)
661-1000; jccdet.org.
54
November 22 • 2018
jn
avid Pinto strongly believes that
people can change, and he has
made that idea the core of his
fictional books — all five of them.
The most recent and the first pub-
lished, Nemesis, unfolds a murder
mystery that explores how coping with
the uncertainties of life can bring about
profound personal alterations.
“Most of my work is the formation
of characters from one point and then
completely transforming them through
experiences,” says Pinto, who studied at
the University of Michigan before earn-
ing a bachelor of science degree in archi-
tecture at the University of Texas.
“That is the theme I use as a way to
move the book along — how experienc-
es change a person internally and how
each person goes through that process.”
Pinto will discuss Nemesis at the
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27,
in the Greenberg Suite and will include
a question-and-answer segment led by
Betsy Heuer, a friend who has written
her own memoir.
Nemesis (Heliotrope Books; $16.50),
available on Amazon, is about a doctor
accused of murdering the mistress he
tried to keep secret, only to be defended
by his “best friend,” a lawyer who secret-
ly had the same mistress. The one Jewish
character is the prosecutor.
“It took me a year to write the book
and another year to do the editing,” says
Pinto, whose main career is as a Texas
architect and builder. “I averaged four
or five hours a day working on it. I don’t
have a routine. Whenever I feel like it, I
sit down and write.”
Pinto, 66, has been writing over the
past 25 years, experimenting with dif-
ferent genres that include science fiction
and romance. He grew up in Israel,
where he met his wife, Cindy Solway
Pinto, who was raised in Southfield and
has her own advertising business.
The two got to know each other when
she was 16 and attending a summer
camping program set up like a kibbutz.
He, then 18, was a counselor. After she
returned to Michigan, they kept up a
correspondence, and he traveled to visit
in the United States.
After serving as a paratrooper in the
Yom Kippur War, Pinto attended U-M,
where Cindy Pinto studied to become a
dental hygienist. The couple’s 1975 wed-
ding took place in Tel Aviv.
“Eighteen years ago, we moved to
Austin, and I developed my construction
business,” says Pinto. “We took off a year
and traveled all over the world, which
inspired some of my writing. I kept a
notebook with ideas, and after we were
home, I started writing.”
The creativity Pinto finds in designing
and building homes complements the
creativity he applies to writing because
of the range of imagination involved in
the books.
“Ideas seem to flow through me, and
I combine imagination with experience
and just have fun with it all,” he says.
The couple’s daughter, Dorit, who was
born in Ann Arbor, has picked up on
her father’s interest in writing. She pub-
lishes HoneySuckle magazine out of New
York. Each issue explores a different sub-
ject, such as abuse.
Pinto has introduced his book at
Jewish venues in Texas, where the couple
belongs to Congregation Agudas Achim,
a Conservative synagogue, and Pinto’s
wife volunteers for Jewish programs.
“But we know a lot of people, family
and friends, in Michigan,” Pinto says.
“We look forward to seeing them when
we come to talk about the book.” ■