Interview with Joseph A. Pinto

I love being a writer.
I get to meet amazing people and become friends with them. In the 16 months that I have been blogging and such I’ve met some amazing writers. (I’m also lucky because I get to beta read their work and get exclusive interviews) Today I got to interview a brilliant Horror writer, Joseph A. Pinto. I greatly enjoy reading his work on his own site Author Joseph Pinto and at Pen of the Damned  (where he writes with other amazing authors) If you enjoy reading Horror, this author is a must!

When did you start writing stories?
I started writing when I was a little kid (trust me, if it made any sense it was purely by accident lol). But I loved books and craved to recreate the worlds I discovered between the pages I read.

What’s your long-term writing goal?
My long-term goal writing is to become a name readers remember. Continuously crank out novels & short works of fiction. Of course, I’d be thrilled with a book contract someday, but I’ll let the chips fall where they may.

What’s your writing goal for this year?
My writing goal for 2014 is simple: write. I’m pulled in so many different directions, and in 2014 I hope to curtail that as much as possible. I have several projects that are screaming for completion, and I hope to devote more time to that.

Something I also need to do. 😀

What’s your favorite genre to write?
Of course, my favorite genre to write would be horror, hands down. I’ve never attempted to write anything other, with the exception of poetry.

What’s your favorite genre to read?
Again, that would be horror, although I do immensely enjoy reading periodicals like National Geographic as well.

What’s your favorite novel?
My favorite novel is ‘The Wolf’s Hour’ by Robert McCammon.

What made you decide to write?
I don’t think I ever made a conscious decision to write. It was more of a calling. It was there at my fingertips; there in my mind. A writer, much like a musician, is a creative beast. Either it’s in the fabric of your being or it’s not.

Where do you get ideas from?
I get my ideas from people watching (a favorite pastime of mine lol). The news is a good source. Mostly, I see visions…snippets of movie panels, for lack of better word…running through my head. The harder I try to envision something, the more I get nothing, so it’s important for me to stay calm and allow it to flow on its own.

Has anyone influenced you to write?
No one on a personal level has influenced me to write, although many authors have influenced me. Over the years, I’ve made sure to vary my readings so that no one author’s voice “sticks” with me.

Do you have an author Role Model?
No, not really.

Do you have any real life experiences that have influenced your work?
I have many, many real life experiences that have influenced my work, but I never reveal too much and won’t now. Any good magician keeps his tricks to himself; I think a writer’s creativity should be respected that way as well.

Any paranormal experiences that have influenced your writing?
Good question. I have a few experiences, but nothing that has made its way into my fiction. Yet.

Do you believe in ghosts?
Absolutely!

Which do you prefer Zombies or Vampires?
Hmm, to be honest, I think both are so overdone in the world of fiction. It’s not one of the choices you’ve given me, but I’m going with werewolves.

I should have known this… 😀

Which do you prefer night or day for writing?
Lord, any time I can squeeze my writing in! lol But my preference would be writing at night. My brain “sees” things differently then.

I personally think the dark lends to the atmosphere of Horror and Paranormal 😉

In one sentence why should we read your books?
You should read my books because my ideas, as well my prose, are refreshing and often times outside the box.

What’s the craziest writing idea you’ve ever had?
My craziest writing idea has been that people close to you will be genuinely interested in what you’re attempting to achieve. At least in my case, it’s the farthest thing from the truth. So that’s the chip on my shoulder to continuously push myself.

What’s the best advice anyone has ever given you?
My English teacher from high school, God rest his soul, once told me: “Write what you know. Just twist the hell out of it.” Point well taken.

Is there a theme song for your books?
Great question! I don’t have a theme song for my books, or any of the stories I’ve created, but a great deal of musical inspiration is involved in them.

Thank you for such a wonderful interview Joseph. Everyone reading…. scroll back up and click on those links. Enjoy some awesome horror stories. Grab a cup of  your favorite drink and some snacks. You’ll be there for a while. 😀

Also Joseph was recently published in a top Horror magazine. There are links on the side of his site to his published books. 

“Land of the Rising Dead” (P)Review

“Land of the Rising Dead” is the sequel of “Amongst the Dead”
If you remember in “Amongst the Dead” we follow Bobby (MD –no, not as in doctor as in Military Dude), Jens, Susanne and Ines. In “Land of the Rising Dead”, we follow Susanne’s ex-husband Fred and Hiro her friend and Fred’s best friend. We meet Fumi and Leiji. Leiji is a doctor! All four come together in hopes of surviving the Zombie apocalypse. This is the same Zombie Apocalypse that is ravishing Europe.

Fred and Hiro are pilots; they arrived in the Netherlands, stay the night, leaving Susanne (a stewardess), and fly out to Japan in an attempt to get home to Australia. They are passengers on the plane to Japan but the pilots get sick and Fred and Hiro take over for an emergency landing. Once in Japan, they won’t be leaving soon. Japan is being over ran by zombies. Leiji is a brilliant surgeon. His hospital becomes over run by the infected, a lot takes place inside the hospital. Fumi a young girl, who after a date at a club goes wrong, is taken to the hospital. They all meet in the hospital.

Fred is worried about getting Hiro home safely to his wife and infant. This seems to drive him in his efforts. I really like how we get to see a side of Fred and Hiro that we don’t usually see when it comes to men. They really care about each other and their friendship is so deep if I didn’t know any better I’d think they were brothers. Fred and Fumi decide to teach each other the other’s language, these parts had me giggling, and they were so cute.

Fumi is a young girl whose father is chief of police. Like all young girls, she’s hanging with the wrong boy, a bad boy of course. He takes her to a club, which is the beginning of Fumi’s bad day. Zombies attack! We watch her grow as we move through the novel. She was a typical girl but by the end, I’m so happy to see she is a strong woman. She knows what’s right and has the mental and emotional strength to do it. As in the “Amongst the Dead” preview, I really appreciate this, especially from a male author.
Fumi, girl; I hope you learned your lesson and no more bad boys!

We meet Fumi’s family for a bit. I connected with her brother Hikaru. He stayed in his own world and when he finally comes out, every falls around him. I’m not going to give you any hints; you’ll have to read it. I was very similar to Hikaru, I lived in my own life, at times, I still do, but his loss made me think of what I stand to lose. I’m sure (if you’re open to the lesson) this scene will touch you as much as it did me.

I was happy to have another character in this novel, Mitsuya. I love history, and this gave me a happy little section of history. Mitsuya is a very old fisherman. He lives on an old-fashioned village, he reminds me of my grandfather. He has that brave old man aura, and you just love him. The fact that he and the others in his village risk their lives (Mitsuya risks his repeatedly, another gives his life) to keep our heroes safe, it’s really touching.

Dr. Leiji Ibuka, a trauma surgeon, not just a surgeon but Head Surgeon. He grew up watching scary monster movies. Leiji is brave, he stands up the Chief Administrator, and no doctor does this. Well not if they want to keep their job. Leiji impresses not only the Chief Administrator, but also the others around him. He tries an unprecedented operation. Actually, he demands it from the other doctor, it is successful for a moment, but we’re dealing with zombies here and this is a whole other department. Leiji always has is doctor eyes open and is learning and pondering. I love it.

There is only one thing you can say about a zombie book or movie for that matter. Stay alive! Do whatever it takes to stay alive. This group of four does just that. They must kill zombies to stay alive and this of course brings in some graphic violence. If we all were honest, we would be killing zombies in whatever way we could, graphic or not if it meant staying alive.

I’ve never been to Japan, but I felt like I was there. Bobby takes his world building very seriously. He researches until he feels like he’s actually there and this comes out in his writing. I love the later end of the book, where we meet an old Mitsuya the old fisherman. His customs are portrayed beautifully. I felt like I understood them. His small antique fishing village reads like poetry, the description is impressive.

I loved this story too. I am even considering watch a zombie movie. Gasp what have these books done to me! Like the first preview. These books need be read, it would be a dishonor if they were never read and enjoyed. If you don’t mind some language, I’d even recommend you let your teenagers read it.

I think girls should read this novel because women are portrayed in such a good light. There is no mention of sexual content in this novel. The females all stand up and fight when the time is right. Fumi is a young girl and she has her phobias and backs away from the killing, but when she’s needed she does what has to be done, and she does it as well as the men. This is something I think all of our young girls need to learn. Being beautiful and smart is good adding in strength makes a woman even better. Ladies, if we are all serious with ourselves there are enough times we want to be strong. This aspect of the novel is so good. I really loved it. I’ve asked my teenage daughter to read them.

When I rated “Amongst the Dead”, I have it 11 out of 10. This novel has the same rating. I give it an 11, because I really enjoyed this story, just as much as the first. (Book 3 is wicked amazing too. The part that’s written so far. Aren’t you jealous?) I am not a lover of zombies or apocalypse stories, but these novels have changed my mind. If you like these sorts of stories, you’ll love this one. If you like, stories were the female lead is strong or brave you’ll love it. If your choice is drama, this is for you.
Please go check out his blog at Do yourself a favor and check him out.
Severed Limb Movement
Novel Website
Facebook Bobby Salomons
Facebook Severed Limb Movement
He tweets @D2DBooks

“Amongst The Dead” (P)Review

I don’t usually like apocalypse or zombie stories. Apocalyptic stories are too emotional for me and zombies are just . . . well, they’re just gross.

I mean a werewolf is human except for one day a month, that’s when they’re dangerous.

I’m sure my family thinks something similar of me.

Vampires can talk for hours about all sorts of amazing things they’ve seen through their years of life.

A zombie not so much, they can’t even form a single word let alone a complete sentence. With my prejudice against Zombies, you’d think I’d never be able to read a story about them.

Over the holidays I was given an extra special sneak peak at a zombie story, actually I was given a peak at two full novels and the first seven chapters of the third book in the series.

The world created in “Amongst the Dead” is amazing. I read all but the last 10 pages of the first novel in one night. It was past midnight when I finally sat the novel down and went to bed. I woke up early the next day and finished the last 10 pages. It was so amazing. I felt like I was walking around (in safety) with the characters. The other novel and the few chapters took me a little longer not because I was tired of it but because life was getting into the way.

We move through the story by watching four people and their part of the Zombie apocalypse, they come together towards the end and still keep working together. Jens, Ines, Susanne and Bobby -I call him military dude (MD). I liked Jens right away. He’s a boy after my own heart needing coffee first thing in the morning. Ines, is amazing, she is a firewoman. She womanly but so strong and the firefighters she works with respect her. Susanne is the emotional outlet, but she learns to be strong when she meets Ines.

Bobby (MD) made me think he’d be a cocky solider, intelligent, and trained out the ears; maybe even to the point he’s dangerous. We see that he’s a good person too, he tries to save a little kid even suffering to save him. I was sure after a few seconds; he was going to be the hero that was just too perfect. When he meets Jens he becomes funny, and I found myself liking him, even laughing at his jokes.

I love how Ines and Susanne meet. Ines is at burning building with her crew. When the water in the hose stops, she goes out to the fire hydrant to find out why. A station wagon is on top of the hydrant! Susanne was in the station wagon when it crashed. She survived the crash and was able to get out. She’s sitting across the street crying when Ines comes out. It’s a start of a lifesaving friendship. It’s moving how often these two women are so strong.

I am so happy to read a novel that portrayed woman with such physical strength, and from a male author. Kudos, Mr. Salomons.

Bobby (MD) and Jens meet at a checkpoint. Bobby’s Military team is called to make sure that the people who are leaving town are healthy. They separate anyone who looks ill or has been bitten. Some bad stuff happens and Jens can’t cross. He’s stuck with Bobby, who made me laugh with his crude language. I’m not going to give you any of his jokes away. You’ll have to read it yourself. At times, I’m surprised, by what he’ll say, and it’s done so well that it makes you smile.

With a zombie story, you know the whole plot, STAY ALIVE, and don’t let the zombies eat you. Any zombie novel could have a few people doing what it takes to stay alive. Jens, and Susanne become stronger people, they learn survival skills that anyone could easily pick up. Bobby learns to be kind. I would say Ines learns a little of both, she finds herself. I kept waiting for a couple to appear out of these four, but one never did. I was sad. I wanted Bobby and Ines to fall in love.

I think I loved this book so much because it is written in a way I can handle the emotion. We’re given a few pages with one of the characters and we see him/her go from an okay or happy spot to a real bad situation. Instead of being forced into it, the author moves us to another character. He gives us a chance to back away from our love of the character and the danger before bringing us back a little calmer (calmer for that character because we’re moved when it gets bad for the character we’re with).  When we get back, we’re deeply invested in the character we just left and the real dangerous spot to the current character are a little easier to handle.

I really appreciated this, if it wasn’t for that I would have had to sit the novel down and not come back to it for a few days.

Now, my woman brain has to tell you something. There is a lot of talk about weapons, most with numbers, letters, and points. There’s talk of helicopters and airplanes. I don’t know any of it. I was able to stay along by thinking it must be a big, strong, whatever gun. Sometimes I’d ask one of my kids. If you don’t know anything about weapons, planes, or military talk, it doesn’t really matter.

Now, my mom brain: There is violence. It’s a zombie story; it’s kill or be killed. Sometimes the killing of zombies gets graphic. I would let my kids (tween and teenager read it). There is no sexual content…we are led to believe that at one point something happened (between Susanne and her loved ex-husband) but it isn’t described. There are one or two mentions of nudity, nothing graphic and it’s brief.

This is my first review, so I’ve searched for reviews high and low. I’ve noticed I’m suppose to rate the novel. I really hate rating anything, but I will attempt to rate this. Using a rating scale one to ten, I give it an eleven. Yes, an eleven, I rate this novel higher than the scale for a few reasons. The first reason, I have never been able to read an apocalyptic or zombie novel. To tell the truth I can’t even watch movies like this. The simple fact that I couldn’t stop reading is of HUGE importance. Second, I’ve actually reread this novel, rereading a zombie novel (in my case) is an amazing. Finally, I have started to watch some zombie movies and I’m looking forward to watching a particular zombie movie. My family is greatly confused and impressed by this change and offer praise to the genius who caused the change.

The sequel is set in Japan, the same Zombie apocalypse, but we follow Susanne’s ex-husband and friend. The third in the series is set in Africa, its same apocalypse, but now we’re following Jens brother. (A preview will be coming soon for the second novel, “Land of the Rising Dead”)

My enjoyment for this writer and all of the stories I’ve read so far is that he respects women. There are no snide remarks about our sexuality. His female characters are believable. At times, they are emotional, they sit down and cry for the mess they’re in or for their loss, but when it matters they stand up and fight. They do what needs to be done just like the men. I think this is so important. We as society and as parents need to teach our daughters to be strong and brave just like men. We teach them they can be or do anything, but there is still some eiffiness in a woman’s strength. It’s okay if we cry for a few minutes as long as we get back up and fight. This is something we all should remember in life. I love how he brought this into his novels.

This post started being a preview of Bobby Salomons’ novels. It wouldn’t be fair of me to tell you only about the two novels he’s written. You need to know all this creative soul is capable of. He not only writes but he’s an artist too. I’ve seen some of the logos and graphics he’s done for some writing friends. They are awe-inspiring. If you were looking for some art or graphic help, he would be the guy to go to.

Do yourself a favor and check him out. You can find his writing at Severed Limb Movement

Novel Website D2D Books

You can find his personal Facebook page at bobbysalomons and his Fan page at SeveredLimbMovement

He tweets @D2DBooks

My final note…

If you trust me, my beloved reader, GO to his blog and read his short stories. Believe me, if you never believe me again, if you enjoy what I have here you’ll love what he writes! Be warned some are downright scary, but they are so worth the read. He builds worlds that you’ll get lost in.

Dominio Della Morte Review

Book Review Dominio della Morte

Dominio della Morte is a collection of 23 short stories. I’m impressed with the span these stories cover.
The title gives us a clue as to what the short stories are about, Death. Dylan J Morgan spreads a wide range of possibilities, of death in this collection. He gives us Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts, Zombies, and other undead and dead creatures.

These stories are all about death, and some get very intense. I really like how they are short quick read. I could read a story and then get some chores done before moving on to a new story, I wasn’t rushing through the chapter because I had work to be done. I’d read a story and if I couldn’t keep reading I knew the ending of that particular story. I would try to get back to the next story quickly.

Just when you think, Mr. Morgan can’t possibly give you another great story he does. His array of death is so surprising. For example, there are six or seven stories that involve ghosts. Each one is so different, that I had to go and actually count them out, to make sure. While I was reading never once did I think not another ghost story, I was excited to find out what would happen next.

My favorite stories were “Beasts At The Door” “The Passenger” “By The Cycle Of The Moon” “Northern Lights Eternal Darkness” and the “Bloodlines teaser” these are the ones that still stick with me. Ghosts, Werewolves, Trolls, and Vampires, could you ever possibly go wrong with any of those for your characters? I think not.

I have to tell you there are scenes that talk about child violence. I can’t read graphic scenes like that, so I had to set the novel aside a few times before finishing one of the stories. When I’d come back and read again, I’d see there was a reason for it. I don’t want to give the stories away but remember I’ve said they consist of Zombies, Werewolves, Vampires, and such. Where there was real child violence, it was very brief and vague.

My rating of Dominio della Morte on a scale 1-10 would be 9.7. I can’t give it a full 10 because I had to sit it aside a few times when the talk of child violence became a little too much. I didn’t rate low, because if you can read those scenes without stopping you’ll see it isn’t that bad. It is for grownups, I wouldn’t let my teenager read it, although I’m sure she’s seen worse on TV.

If you like paranormal reads (of course you do you’re reading my blog) I highly recommend Domino della Morte. It’s really good.

You can find Dominio Della Morte at
Dominio della Morte

You can find Mr. Morgan on Twitter @DylanJMorgan
or his website Dylan J Morgan

Ponderings of an Insomniac

Last night I got to bed 30 minutes earlier than normal. Do you think I would have gotten to sleep more, No that would have been too nice.

My mind went into a state of pondering. I’ll try to share as much with you as I can remember.  I’ll write it down here as it happened.  It gets really weird and crazy.

First I went over my to do list…It’s so long I won’t even bother here.

I wonder why the moon has been coming out during the night and why is she coming out during the day. That seems too weird Moon is for the dark night, the sun is for the day. I can’t even find her in the daytime. I wonder if she’s too close to the sun to see her. Orion moved a lot too.

I’ll have to actually go outside in the cold to see him soon. I don’t want to go outside, I prefer standing in the doorway, and it’s a little warmer there.  Maybe the moon is sad looking at Orion, so she’s hanging out with Apollo. That makes sense. Artemis is spending time with Apollo. Why am I thinking about this, I’m tired I want to go to sleep.
–Sigh-

Wouldn’t she be mad at Apollo though, he tricked her into killing Orion, but what if seeing Orion dead hurts more? I wouldn’t want to see either. That was cruel of Apollo; he was her twin and tricked her into killing her lover. Poor Artemis.
–Sigh- I need to get to sleep.

No more moon. No more moon.

Sleep,

Sleep,

Sleep.

Go to sleep.

Sheep. . . can I count sheep.

1

2

3

4

5

What if a zombie and a vampire were after the same woman? That’s dumb, but they both use humans for food.

–Sleep fool, not zombies, vampires, or werewolves-

Werewolves, I need to learn more about werewolves. Why are werewolves always vampire enemies? Zombies should be added into that.

I wonder if the vampire said, I’ll drink from her first then you can have the carcass, would a zombie go for that compromise.
-Sigh- Go To Sleep!

What if the zombie got impatient and attacked while the vampire was still eating? The vampire would kick the zombie’s butt.  That’s what would happen! Are you so sure? A zombie is a big threat, a threat to a human but not a vampire.

Vampires are much faster and more agile even though zombies have superhuman strength so do vampires. The vampire would run circles around the zombie in no time. So a vampire would win.

I hope my zombie-writing friend doesn’t get mad at that idea. Oh well, the vampire would still win.
–Sigh- Please brain shut up and let me sleep!

I wonder would a vampire eat from a zombie if that was all it could find. Nah, zombies are rotting, a vampire couldn’t ever want that. Could a zombie eat a vampire…. We already went over this a vampire is too fast…

Okay but what if the vampire is in his day coma, but some vampires don’t… Let’s just go with this.

Okay the vampire is asleep in his day coma and a zombie finds him. We’ll go with the ‘sleeps from sun up to sun down version’. So the zombie bites the vampire. Nah, WAIT zombies eat other zombies.

No vampire, wake up. Don’t let the yucky zombie eat you!
–Sigh- Are you serious? GO TO SLEEP.

If there were zombies in the middle ages, how did you defend yourself? They could get too close if they fought with swords. Everyone would be infected then.

Ooooh what about the Roman soldiers? Could they fight zombies?

Roman soldier zombies!

No thank you the only thing worse than that is a Gladiator zombie.

Sh*t now I’m just scaring myself!
–Sigh- I refuse to think about anything else! It must be close to 2 AM now. Please just let me sleep.

Or let my characters start talking to me again. I could use this time writing not thinking uselessness.

Good pondering!!!  (-Sigh- this is a good idea, where’s my tinfoil hat?)
I won’t share. I might want to write about this… My tin hat is on, so no one can get my idea.