California author creates dialog about smart boundaries between digital and real life

ENCINITAS, Calif. - Oct. 21, 2013 - PRLog -- ENCINITAS -- Edward Cozza, an award-winning contemporary novelist is just that, a fiction writer. But he’s seen so much correlation between the characters of his book Nowhere Yet and the plight of so many in his social strata, that he’s launching a movement called Unplug & Connect.

“People aren’t really spending time with each other anymore,” says Cozza. “Have you seen a table full of people at a restaurant and no one is talking to each other – they are all texting or swiping the whole time. There’s a place for that, but it isn’t when you have your best friends in front of you, or a spouse, or a client even.”

He goes on to say that there is a place for technology in our social lives but his movement is to help people stay mindful of time spent with one another.

“Leave your smart phone in your pocket when you are meeting friends for a fine bourbon. Enjoy the experience, enjoy the atmosphere. Hear your friends’ voices, the different personalities. There’s nothing wrong with texting them to make sure they got home ok when the night is over. It’s just about balance. It’s an art, you know, and the art is disappearing.”

How do we join a movement that launches online? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Cozza responds: “There’s room in our lives for social media, for blogs, maybe (maybe not) the 24/7 news cycle, but does it all have to happen instead of writing a letter, picking up the phone to make a call, or inviting a friend to lunch? I’m no preacher, teacher or carnival barker – I can just see the writing on the Facebook Wall, if you get my drift. There’s a way to combat loneliness, and that’s to engage with real people when there’s something great going on in your lives. It is even more important when there’s something not great going on in their lives...Maybe you’d just like a real, live pat on the back, a drink and a few minutes of your friends’ time.”

Nowhere Yet is a gold medalist in the 2013 Independent Book Publisher (IPPY) Awards for Best Regional Fiction - West Pacific, and Fiction Finalist and Winner for Best Cover Art in the 2013 Beverly Hills Book Awards.

Learn more about Edward Cozza at http://www.EdwardCozzaWriter.com/blog and Like his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/EdwardCozzaWriter

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