Despite her lifelong love affair with literature, Francine Costello took Robert Frost's proverbial "road less traveled" to reach her current destination in the world of books. Together with her husband, Tom, Francine co-owns and operates a successful self-publishing house, Word Association Publishers on Fifth Avenue in Tarentum. Word Association has published more than 60 books in a wide array of genres. But before returning to the Alle-Kiski Valley to open a business and make her life, Francine Costello tasted what it was like to make a living as a big city radio producer. Born and raised in the Mount Vernon section of New Kensington, the 56-year-old writer and editor got her start in the radio business at age 25 by writing commercial copy for the now-defunct local news and radio stations, WKPA and WYDD. She was hired by broadcasting mogul Nelson Goldberg, who was impressed by the advertisements Costello drafted for the men's clothing store, Bartolacci Brothers in New Kensington. The shop was owned by her late father, Murphy Bartolacci. On a company retreat to Costa Del Sol, Spain, Costello was urged by several advertising agency representatives to try her luck in Chicago's booming news industry. "I went to Chicago by way of Spain," Costello said. "They told me if you can't find a job in Chicago, you can't find a job." Costello spent six thrilling years living in an apartment minutes from Lake Michigan and working in her dream job as a news writer, producer and award-winning documentary writer for CBS Radio News. During that time, she met and married Tom, a Midwest native with a doctorate in English who taught Francine's creative writing class at Northwestern University in nearby Evanston, Ill. He also worked as an investigative reporter for the Illinois Legislature. The Costellos eventually wearied of the fast pace and unpredictability of life in the news business, however, and returned to Francine's hometown in search of affordable housing and a simpler, more comfortable life. In 1978 they decided to do the unthinkable: open a small, independent bookstore in Heights Plaza in Harrison called Books and Records Ltd. "Everyone told me, 'People don't read here in Natrona Heights,'" Francine said. "They said if we wanted to make any money, we had to be in Shadyside." The Costellos proved the skeptics wrong and eked out a living in the store for about 10 years until their copy machine started bringing in more revenue than book sales. At that point, they closed Books and Records and used the commercial printing equipment they had acquired over the years to launch Costello Printing & Graphics in Tarentum. The printing business was a fast success, but as true bibliophiles, the Costellos still missed their life surrounded by books. "I would get excited any time people would bring something for us to do other than business forms and business cards," said the soft-spoken and professorial Tom Costello. "So we started to take book customers, too, and soon became a publisher, not just a printer." In 1997 the Costellos launched a Web site for the new publishing arm of their printing business, Word Association Publishers. The Internet opened their business to the rest of the world, and within three months, calls were coming in from writers as far away as Germany and Australia. With six employees, the company now offers a one-stop shop for services such as editing, manuscript co-writing, typesetting, cover and interior design, printing and binding, promotion and marketing and distribution. As publisher, Tom Costello has the luxury of choosing the best from among the more than 100 unsolicited manuscripts he receives every day. Francine helps to market the books published by Word Association, which can be ordered from all major stores nationwide. "It seemed like a dream at first," Tom Costello said. "But now we're a real publishing business." The Costellos devote countless hours to their business, and they say they feel blessed by the intimacy that working side-by-side creates. "A lucky person is one whose avocation and vocation are the same," Tom said. "My work is my love." Outside the office, the Lower Burrell couple enjoy watching movies, going to plays and bicycling and swimming with their 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who attends Mary, Queen of Apostles School in New Kensington and already is a voracious reader. Although Francine Costello was saddened to leave behind her glamorous Chicago career decades ago, she and Tom appreciate the high quality of life and strong sense of family tradition in the Valley. They also see untapped economic potential in the region's riverfront communities. "I think Tarentum could be fabulous," Francine said. "When our family visits from out of town, they are struck by the natural beauty of the rivers and hills. We have to start capitalizing on our geography."

Francine Costello

Age: 56. > Hometown: Lower Burrell. > Family: Husband, Tom; daughter, Elizabeth; and mother, Rose Bartolacci. Favorite thing about the Valley: The view from the top of Coxcomb Hill. Motto for the Valley: "It's the river, stupid!"

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