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WHEELING -- He won't be talking about pro football -- or even about his career as a West Virginia labor attorney.
But sports analyst, lawyer, engineer and author Mike Florio will be at the Ohio County Public Library Thursday to talk about his latest book "Father Of Mine," a novel about the mob that is set in Florio's hometown of Wheeling.
The book will be discussed during a special edition of "Lunch With Books" set for noon Thursday in the auditorium at the library.
Florio is best known as for being the owner of and writer for Profootballtalk.com, and a host for PFT Live on the Peacock streaming network.
Information provided by the Ohio County Public Library states that in 2020, Florio found himself with free time as the sports world was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and he decided to write his novel.
"An avid reader himself, he set out to create a narrative that would engross people and be hard to put down. The result is 'Father of Mine,' which spans a decade in the lives of an organized crime family, and is based in part on Florio's real life experiences growing up in Wheeling," according to the library.
Sean Duffy, director of adult programming at the library, knew Florio was from Wheeling as they were classmates at Wheeling Central High School in the early 1980s.
Florio was a couple of years older, Duffy noted.
"I had seen online that he wrote a book," Duffy said. "I was figuring he might want to talk to his hometown, and that maybe nobody had invited him. I don't know if he has ever talked to his hometown about the work he does."
Florio remembered Duffy and quickly returned his call, he said.
"He is so busy with national sports, I didn't know he would reply right away," Duffy said.
Local people likely will want to learn about the book because "the subject is interesting," he continued.
"It's about the wide open Wheeling people are so interested in when the mob controlled gambling in Wheeling. It was the Paul Hankish and Bill Lias era. He (Florio) was witness to some things," he said.
Duffy added he also remembers the time that happened during the 1970s.
"Everything seemed normal to me, but looking back I have to say something wasn't right," he explained.
After graduating from Central, Florio earned two undergraduate degrees from Carnegie Mellon University. He then obtained his law degree from West Virginia University before going on to become a labor attorney for more than 20 years in Clarksburg.
Florio did sportwriting on the side and created the Profootballtalk.com blog and website in 2001. In 2009, he entered into a partnership with NBC and became a contributor to their sports coverage.