Welcome to the 2023 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event! 

  

  

How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close one week after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 8th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.  

 

J. Michael Squatrito, Jr.will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo  

On to the Showcase! 

 

What name do you like to write under?  J. Michael Squatrito, Jr. 

Where do you call home? Tiverton, RI 

What genre(s) do you write? Fantasy, Science Fiction, Sports 

What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? I definitely appealed to science fiction and fantasy. I'm a huge Star Wars fan and love everything about science fiction. However, my novels are epic fantasy because of my influence by the Lord of the Rings. Being a DM in the past has definitely given my stories a D+D flair as well! 

What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why? The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are why I wrote epic fantasy. However, I gravitated to many science fiction stories when Star Wars came out. I'm more of a movie/TV guy, with shows like The X-Files, Interstellar, The Expanse, etc. paving the way for my science fiction stories. I also like my Marvel shows and movies, too. 

What are some of your favorite books today? I read a lot of books from my author friends, like Tabitha Lord's Horizon series, Heather Rigney's Mermaid trilogy, and Keith Carreiro's Immortality Wars books. 

What inspired you to become a writer?  Like I said before, I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I knew I could write something on that kind of grand scale. However, Tolkien swayed me to the fantasy side. Shows like the X-Files made me think in another way, pushing me toward science fiction. Believe it or not, The Beatles were a major influence on my writing. I'm a huge fan but when I realized that they created Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band when they were only in their 20s, I knew that I could do the same, on a much smaller scale of course! 

 

The Overlords Fantasy Book Series. Showcasing the first book, Legend of the Treasure 

Harrison Cross wishes nothing more than to help his hometown of Aegeus secure the land's most sacred treasure, the bounty of the ancient Overlords known simply as the Treasure of the Land.The original Overlords vanished on one infamous day over 1,000 years ago leaving behind clues to their hidden treasure in the form of indestructible metallic plates and a map revealing a series of secret rooms.During their journey, Harrison and his friends face countless foes on their way to the sacred Seven Rooms, including the evil Scynthians who want nothing more than to eradicate the human race, and the ruthless and treasure-seeking Lord Nigel Hammer, governor of Concur and his large menacing army.Using the clues discovered along the way, the group must successfully navigate through the hidden mysteries of the sacred Seven Rooms in order to secure the land's most elusive prize. Only then will their journey be a success. The question is, will they succeed? 

Tell us a little about how "The Overlords” series came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else? The Overlords started out as nothing more than a D+D campaign. I had created all of the characters, maps, the land, treasures, monsters, etc. while I was in college. However, my buddies and I all graduated and went out separate ways and the campaign never got played. I knew I had created a great story and it had to be told. Of course my characters started telling me to write about them and I'm glad I listened to them! 

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book? The Overlords Fantasy Book Series is a collection of four books. Originally, there was only supposed to be two books but Harrison's story kept getting bigger. His goal went from finding a lost treasure to doing whatever he can to reunite humanity. That was NOT where I thought his story would go 

Which character was the most challenging to create. Why? Tara Underwood. Tara's Harrison's love interest but I didn't want her to be a trophy girlfriend for a righteous warrior. Tara's a prototypical fantasy heroine -- blonde hair, blue eyes, extremely beautiful -- but she's also feisty, well put together, and compliments Harrison every step of the way. Oh, and she's a mage in training! My fear was that she would be just another pretty face but her role in Journey to Salvation changes all of that, in my opinion. 

What do you like best about being a writer? I like being able to allow people to leave this hectic, stressful world that we live in day in and day out, and submerse themselves in another place where they can root for their heroes. I think I've succeeded! 

If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb. Wow, that's tough question. I'd probably like to collaborate with Stephen King on some science fiction story. My favorite book of all time is his "November 22, 1963", which is not horror whatsoever. We'd call it something like "It Came From The Sky". If I had others, I'd love to collaborate with Chris Carter on an X-Files like spinoff. My biggest fantasy would be to collaborate with Paul McCartney on anything! 

You can follow J. Michael Squatrito, Jr. here - 

www.MikeSquatrito.com 

https://www.facebook.com/MikeSquatritoAuthor 

Insta - @mikesquatrito 

X: @Overlords

J. Michael is giving away a copy of “Legend of the Treasure.” To enter comment below --> What was your favorite game growing up (videogame, board game, card game, RPG etc)? What is your favorite game today?

(Comments are open for one week)