By SERENA SERAFIN sserafin@ncnewsonline.com

He always loved reading and writing. It’s no wonder Fred Wright grew up to publish a book and write lyrics along with playing in various bands. “When I found out I was pregnant with Fred, the first things I bought him were two books and at 5 years old he was reading difficult words,” his mother, Sue Wright, said. From editing New Castle High School’s newspaper and writing his own ’zines — independent magazines — starting in the mid 1980s, the 37-year-old has a history of making things happen. “I got interested in ’zines before blogs got big. I published (the ’zine) ‘Emus’ while in New Castle for local bands,” Wright said. “I had a lot of fun doing so.” He decided to go to Bowling Green State University as an English major with a minor in creative writing. Despite writing for and being involved with bands, Wright didn’t take the leap into a band of his own until college. He didn’t know how to play any instruments at the time, but when he and some fellow honors students formed Darrow Dregs, he learned harmonica and became the frontman. A few years and bands later, he learned to play guitar. He created different bands with various students — including Escape Fetal Pigs, Angry Housewives, East?, Gogobots and Team Fright — as well as doing solo projects. With a doctorate from Kent State, he was on his way to making a name for himself. His dissertation — From ’zines to e-’zines — examined the psychology of why people wrote, read and circulated ’zines. He found for himself it was like therapy and a way to connect with others. He also explored if the art form of paper ’zines would be threatened by the Internet making its entrance with cheaper ways to publish or circulate. “Music and writing go together well,” Wright noted. “Both can be very emotional and a way to explain experience. Creative things are interrelated.” This dual love was a driving factor in publishing his first novel “The Pornographic Flabbergasted Emus,” It was originally published as a series of ’zines, then online. In 2006, Underground Literary Alliance/Out Your Backdoor Press published the manuscript as a book, its first. “It’s nice to see it in a printed format,” Wright said. “I’m happy with the book, it’s fairly successful. It doesn’t need to be a best seller — as long as it keeps finding readers I’m satisfied.” The comedic novel is the story of a garage rock band in a college town, told by the members. Wright — pen name Wred Fright — explained the novel isn’t just about music, it’s also about how the band bonds and forms a temporary surrogate-type family. “I thought the book was laugh-out-loud funny,” his mother said. “A lot of the characters were two or three kids rolled into one. I knew those kids from Fred’s bands.” Wright wrote some of the novel in New Castle, while staying with his parents Sue and Fred between college breaks. Now, he lives in Lakewood, Ohio, with his wife, Claudine, and their two cats. He teaches at Ursuline College and said he’s hoping to form another band — this one with his wife. In the meantime, he is spending the summer promoting his book. “This novel is for all the local bands — past, present and future.”

IF YOU’RE GOING Book reading

At 7 p.m. Monday at Joseph-Beth Booksellers, South Side Works, 2705 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh.

Former New Castle resident Fred Wright will join other authors in reading excerpts from their books.

More information is available at www.wredfright.com.