By Marcia Hunt

Contributing Writer

Recently, Baldwinsville author Mark Lado released his new fiction novel “A Shiny New Toy.” The book is the culmination of months of hard work made possible by the COVID-19 pandemic putting business and life as usual on pause.

“It’s very hard to work and write at the same time,” Lado said. “I started writing this book about a year ago but could only find time to write an hour a day. After the pandemic started and business stopped dead, I figured why not spend more time writing the book?”

With more time to devote to his writing, Lado sought out a writing coach and eventually a copyeditor to help refine his ideas.

“My writing style is more business oriented,” he said. “I hired a writing coach who was a Syracuse teacher for many years and he gave me homework assignments to write different parts of the book. We spent maybe two more months cleaning up the assignments and refining the story.”

As a manufacturing operations consultant, Lado’s previously published book “Building a Showcase Culture” is a nonfiction collection of management tools and advice for those in the field.

For his new book, he wanted to try something new.

Instead of focusing on a company, he drew his attention to the people inside it. This allowed him to tackle real-life inspired ethical situations with more depth than he would have been able to do in a nonfiction story.

“When I was writing, I tried to make it so if you were into any business in any place, you could find these characters,” he said. “I think many people like this kind of fiction because its contemporary situations on a hyperdrive. That means I have to find ways to keep people interested each chapter. It’s really helped broaden my writing abilities.”

According to Lado, what sets his book apart from others in the fictional genre is that he has placed productivity tools into the dialogue and plot of his story. This way, readers can be educated and entertained simultaneously.

“A lot of people don’t think logically and instead may have an irrational approach to decision making,” he said. “I put several tools in the book that readers can bookmark and maybe use as a productivity guide. There’s thousands of fiction books out there but they don’t have this educational dimension.”

As his characters navigate a realistic, sarcastic, and drama-filled modern business terrain, Lado challenges readers to get rid of their narrow ways of thinking.

“With this book, I try to talk about some more sensitive topics, some of which people will like and some people may be offended by,” he said. “That’s OK. I try to let the reader formulate their own thoughts. In my next book, I’ll try to dive a little deeper.”

In the meantime, Lado is hopeful that he’s created a story that college business students, veterans in the industry, and even fans of TV series “The Office” will enjoy.

“I think people can read this book and escape from the sad times right now,” he said. “It’s the holidays, people can’t see their families and they’re stuck in quarantine on their own. I think this book has social dynamics that will remind people of pre-pandemic times.”

“A Shiny New Toy” can be purchased on Amazon.com.