Tony Moceri isn’t the kind of character that can sit still for long. Locals might recognize his name from the construction business he owns with his brother, or the multiple hair salons he opened (and later sold) with his wife. He’s even entrepreneurial in his time off: He enjoys yard games so much that he started a website to collect and share information about them.
So, when he decided he had some thoughts to share with the world, it only seemed natural that he should write and publish A Wandering Mind: Lessons and Laughter From Life’s Amusing Adventures, a collection of essays and poems.
This Author Is Not a Writer
Moceri graduated from Mount Baker High and says he wasn’t exactly a model student.
“I was pretty horrible actually, couldn’t spell or read very well. I had a fantastic teacher, LaLani Pitts, who didn’t let me give up, and introduced me to John Steinbeck, J.D. Salinger, and other incredible authors,” he says. “Without her and my mom, I probably wouldn’t have graduated high school. Or maybe I would have, but that probably would have been the end of it.”
Far from being the end, Moceri headed to Washington State for a year, before transferring to Western. He even decided to pursue a degree in journalism and wouldn’t let speedbumps keep him from doing what he enjoyed.
“In the one journalism class I ever took, my professor said, ‘Maybe this isn’t for you, kid.’ And then I took a creative writing class, and that professor asked, ‘Is there anything else you could do?’ So, I started writing a blog,” he says, acknowledging the do-it-yourself spirit that fuels him.

Getting His Feet Wet
Moceri called his first blog The Workin Dad, and it focused on the time he carved out of his business life to raise his new daughter. After about 10 posts, he says he felt pigeonholed by the subject matter, but now that he was writing he didn’t see any reason to stop.
In January of 2019 he became a published author, when Southside Living published one of his blog posts, and later that year he began writing regularly for another local publication.
In September of 2019, WhatcomTalk was looking for writers, and when Moceri came across that ad the following March — during the COVID shutdowns — he decided to contact WhatcomTalk Editor Stacee Sledge. “She said ‘We’re not hiring right now… you do know we’re in the middle of a pandemic, right?’ So, I asked if I could just write an article for free,” Moceri recalls. “She was surprised I wanted to write for free, but I was surprised she’d responded to me in the first place! So, I wrote an article and Stacee said, ‘You’re in.’ And that was really a giant confidence boost.”

A Book Takes Shape
With more and more practice, as well as increasing support, Moceri expanded his blogging habits. When inspiration strikes, or life teaches him a lesson, Moceri takes to his keyboard to tell the story, and publish the results on his website. Now, four years in, readers can look back at dozens of short pieces and see something more than a collection of random thoughts.
A friend of Moceri’s suggested he look into publishing a book. As he spoke to editors and cover designers, and learned about page layout design and ISBN numbers, he realized he didn’t want to have to start from scratch. When another friend introduced him to Skinny Brown Dog Media based out of Atlanta, who already had all of the pieces in place to make a book a reality, he decided to take a shot.
Moceri chose the essays he wanted to include and submitted the first draft of his book. When he heard back from the publisher, he was told it was a great start, but the editor had some ideas. “It came back as a Word document with a lot of red lines and a bunch of notes,” Moceri says. “I tried to process it and finally had to say I literally can’t read this, it makes me feel claustrophobic just looking at it.”
He credits his editor, Eric Reid, with sending him another document that suggested changes in a much more conversational way. He agreed with some changes, and even decided to delete some of the weaker pieces from the book. But he also made it clear that there were some changes he did not want to make, because he had an idea about what the book should stand for.

What the Book Stands For
It’s hard to know what to expect from an author who once described himself as being bad at reading and writing. Moceri promises it’s light-hearted and self-deprecating, and brings together some universal subjects like parenting, pets, camping, writing and more. The unifying theme is that each story holds a lesson, and they are all accompanied by poems that Moceri wrote, or quotes from others, that help underline the point he is making.
He shares an example of one of his essays that illustrates his ability to laugh at himself, while also taking his situation seriously. “I bought a Volkswagen van. Then I sold the van. Got seller’s remorse and bought another V-Dub van that my wife told me not to buy. Now I’m sitting in a parking lot with smoke billowing out of the back of it, waiting for my wife and a tow truck. What did I learn from this experience?”
With this ability to laugh at — and learn from — his experiences, Moceri has already started thinking about creating another collection, focusing more on travel and adventure. He also has a book about business on his mind, as well as another about yard games. Readers can find up-to-date information, as well as purchase a book, at his website.
Combining his belief in his ability with the self-deprecating humor that keeps him humble, Moceri can get a little philosophical when he thinks about the meaning behind his book.
“Could the book be written ‘better?’ Maybe, but I really want it to be my voice — if people pick up the book, they’re getting me,” he says. “I want it to be an inspiration to people who have something to say, but don’t have the confidence to put it down on paper. Even if nobody buys this book, I want my daughter to be able to pick it up and know that it’s her dad’s words.”