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If people only have one life to live, Gibby Palmaccio is making the most of it.
The homemaker from Seventh and Federal streets started a second act in her life story more than a half-century in and she now can add author to her resum�.
"I never dreamed it would be a book," the 78-year-old said of her debut "La Casa Nostra." "I just enjoyed it. I had the time now. When I was home, I was with my daughter almost every day. I just had time."
Time was all the mother of daughter Denise Serpentine, 57, needed to let her inner talent shine. Pen in hand, the story of an Italian man caught in an inauspicious situation who is saved by the Sicilian mafia bubbled to the surface.
"The stories in my book have happened," Palmaccio, whose family is from the Abruzzi region, said, "but maybe, for instance, I saw something happen to one person and then something to another and then I had it all happen to one person."
The 327 pages sells for just shy of $25 online through Barnes & Noble, but Palmaccio prefers buyers go directly to her — to help the cause, that is.
After Palmaccio’s son-in-law, Nicholas Serpentine, died in 2008 from lung cancer, the writer decided her craft could bring healing as well.
"That’s why I’m giving some of the proceeds to cancer [research]," the Packer Park resident who plans on donating to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and possibly Lankenau Hospital — where her son-in-law received care — said. "I’m waiting to accumulate a little more, sell a few more books, ’cause I had 500 books printed to start with."
Self-publishing was risky, but it turned out quality over quantity was key, as the tome landed in the right hands.
"He said, ‘I have to congratulate you, Gibby,’" Palmaccio said of her first of many phone conversations with writer/producer Nick Pileggi. "I said, ‘Nick, do you know what an honor it is that you’re calling me?’ He said, ‘The honor is all mine. The story is great!"
Pileggi, who penned the screenplays for "Goodfellas" and "Casino" and produced films such as ’07’s "American Gangster," should know a thing or two about quality writing. Palmaccio has high hopes Pileggi will continue talks with her and perhaps help take the project to the next level. She spoke with the screenwriter earlier this week and was told, to make the novel into a movie, it would need the backing of Martin Scorsese. Pileggi told Palmaccio to mail a copy of the book to the director’s New York-based production company with a note saying he personally recommends it.
"I changed [the stories in my book] a little bit and I told Nick that I didn’t want to end up with the horse’s head in my bed," Palmaccio said. "And he said, ‘You won’t, they’re all dead!’"
Palmaccio was the baby of four children that occupied the Federal Street home where her father operated the Esposito Family’s beer distributor.
"My sister and two brothers, they called me Gibby and that name just stuck my whole life," Palmaccio, whose baptized name is Maria, said. "And here I am, 78 years old and I’m still Gibby."
She attended George Washington Elementary, Fifth and Federal, then Bartlett Junior High, then located at 11th and Catharine streets, rounding out her schooling at South Philadelphia High. Meeting husband Raymond right before graduation, the two were married and Palmaccio settled in to domestic life.
"I devoted my life to my family," she said. "I cook. I bake. I entertain a lot. My husband is a people person."
Keeping busy was never hard for the content mother and creative pursuits were pushed to the backburner.
"In 1996, my mother died," Palmaccio, who cared for her mother Aida Esposito before her death at age 97, said. "I was able to go to Florida and stay. That’s when I walked into an art class. Because I was so depressed, I wanted to do something in my clubhouse."
Picking up acrylic paint and a canvas, with minimal guidance Palmaccio got to work. Her finished debut — a floral still life — got rave reviews.
"The instructor said, ‘Are you leaving the painting here till next week?’ And I said, ‘Are you kidding? I have to take it home and show my husband!," Palmaccio recalled. "Well, he said, ‘Who painted that? There’s no way you did that.’
"You lose yourself. It’s very relaxing … I’ve been painting ever since and I think I’m the best in my class. And I only like to paint what’s pretty."
Retired, though hardly relaxing, Palmaccio began exploring other creative outlets without much thought to where they would lead.
"I started writing the book 12 or 13 years ago. And I would write a little and put it away and maybe write a little more," Palmaccio said. "When my family read it, they were amazed."
Turning the eight to 10 copybooks of longhand into a presentable manuscript took two editors — her husband and daughter — a professional secretary and a year of touch-ups. After shopping it around, Palmaccio decided to take the plunge solo and couldn’t be happier with the results.
"It’s full of love, sex, intrigue, a lot of mystery and twists and turns and surprises," Palmaccio said. "Everyone who has read it has all said the same thing: I couldn’t put the book down!"
The family affair — copyrighting was done by her niece, Kristin Kennedy, and nephew, Tim Kennedy, marketing by her daughter and a soon-to-be Web site is in the works by 27-year-old grandson Nicholas Serpentine, of Sixth and Rodman streets, (she also has a 29-year-old granddaughter, Marisa Serpentine, who resides in Packer Park) — has brought a whirlwind of publicity to Palmaccio, who splits her time between Longport, N.J., Boynton Beach, Fla., and Packer Park. But nothing compares to the prospect of working with Pileggi.
"It’s an Academy Award-caliber movie," Palmaccio said of what the future might hold.
Come fame or fortune, the well-traveled Palmaccio, who learned the Abruzzi dialect before English, will never find a home that beats her local digs.
"There is no place in the world like South Philly ’cause everyone there, it’s almost like one big family," Palmaccio said. "There is no camaraderie that is like the people in South Philadelphia."
Retirement has suited Palmaccio and as her family grows — "I’m going to be the great-grandmother to twins!" — she hopes to make time to pursue painting and writing.
"I’ll tell you the truth. Everybody has told me and asked me would I write a sequel because of how I ended the book and they want me to write another book," Palmaccio said. "And I did start it, but I don’t know what I’m gonna do with it. I’ve worked on four chapters. Nobody has even seen it."
With book signings, media coverage and the prospect of lighting up the silver screen, "La Casa Nostra" has brought the perfect blend of excitement and success to Palmaccio’s life. But not the big head.
"We’re retired people and we can do what we want now. And it was something I just enjoyed doing and I lucked out," Palmaccio said, adding with a laugh, "My daughter jokes, let’s hope that someday all we’ll be worrying about is what we are going to wear to the Academy Awards."
For more information or to purchase "La Casa Nostra," call 609-224-0400.
