Mario Acevedo's Blog

 It's that time of the year when we surround ourselves with witches, ghosts, and goblins. 

While these tropes serve as Halloween decorations, they do tap into our acknowledgement of the supernatural, of forces beyond our physical world that influence our lives. Belief in the supernatural developed into a key trait that allowed us humans to survive, that trait being our ability to control our surroundings, or rather, to exploit our environment to sidestep uncertainty and bring about favorable out...

 This summer I had two author appearances of note. My friend (and fantastic writer himself) Mark Stevens invited me to the Mesa Verde Writer's Conference in Mancos, Colorado. It was an opportunity to pimp my books in a new venue and meet writers new to me. I gave a workshop on writing motivation, Demons and Angels, Why You Don't Write and Why You Do, and participated on a panel, Versatile Voices, about finding and presenting your voice across genres.

My fellow panelists, left to right: Charlie C...

 I won't hesitate to tell people that the secret to my success as a writer was joining Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, where for the first time I met published authors, who freely shared writing advice and the trials and tribulations of their journeys to publication. But key to that success was belonging to a critique group, but not just any group, but one that offered the necessary writing smarts with members pushing one another forward. I was fortunate to be invited into such a group by its mo...

I've got several irons in the writing fire, so stay tuned for news.

In the meantime, I want to share some of the books I've read recently. One of my teaching mantras is: "If you want to be a writer, then you'd better be a reader." Fortunately, as a writing instructor I found that my students were avid readers and well-versed in their genre. Mostly. Although I write fiction, I've always read non-fiction for inspiration and to better appreciate the world we live in.

The leaves are turning. The fragrance (or odor, depending) of pumpkin spice is the air. A lot of good things to share as we move into the fall. Harper Collins decided to reissue the audiobooks of the first three novels in my Felix Gomez series, plus gave them snazzy new covers. Qué chingon!

Click on the links to the audiobooks:

The Nymphos of Rocky Flats

X-Rated Bloodsuckers

The Undead Kama Sutra

Narration provided by Louisiana's own, the fabulous voice-over talent of André G Chapoy, who, incidentall...

After two years of effort, with thanks to my editorial staff and the CALMA Board of Directors, the Anthology Ramas y Raíces: The Best of CALMA is in the rearview. Being me, I kept worst-case-scenario-ing every step along the way. In the final days, I lost sleep worrying about books arriving with the pages completely screwed up, or in boxes that had been run over and left in the rain. However, both IngramSpark and KDP did a great job. The difference between the two: the colors of the covers from ...

If you're itching to dive into the world of Felix Gomez, vampire-detective, Iraq War veteran (supernatural noir at its best!), here's your chance. HarperCollins is offering books 1-5 free on Kindle Unlimited. But this offer is limited from now through June 30, 2024. Click on the titles and that'll take you straight to the deals.

                      Nymphos of Rocky Flats    X-Rated Bloodsuckers      Undead Kama Sutra

                                                 Jailbait Zombie           Were...

 Lot's going on. What's coming up shortly is my first-time trip to Superstars Writing Seminars in Colorado Springs. While I've attended many other writing conferences before, this one focuses on the business of writing, a topic many writers shy away from. 

"If I wanted to talk business, I'd be a business major, I just wanna write!" 

The truth is, while fate may shine on one-book wonders like Harper Lee or J D Salinger, the rest of us ink-stained mortals need to figure out how to earn a living. Eve...

What I love about autumn is that it doesn't sneak up on you like spring or summer. You go out one morning and the brisk weather says, "Autumn is here! Put away your shorts and get your jacket and gloves." Denver's first real snowfall of the season carpeted the ground with leaves. 

I'm in the recently published horror anthology Midnight Roost from WordCrafter Press. My contribution "Immediate Intervention" looks at the consequences of people born in artificial wombs. Being a horror story, it doesn...

 Last year I was offered a great opportunity--to write short fiction for Stories of the Reconvergence, an anthology of science fiction tales and poetry. Preorder your copy here.

It was my first time penning something for a video game franchise, Random Games. The anthology's premise is the discovery of an ancient spaceship on Mars, which draws humanity into the Masson Zero, a vast network of instantaneous pathways that connects galaxies in the Unioverse. The stories add depth and backstory to both...