67 ratings | 0 reviews | avg rating:4.69

Casey Caracciolo’s Followers (34)

Casey’s Bookshelves

to-read (10)
currently-reading (1)
read (69)

Casey’s Friends (150)

Greg Zimmerman

1,382 books | 561 friends

Veronica Bane

1,175 books | 876 friends

Michael Barnett

210 books | 4,899 friends

Haley

1,060 books | 2,313 friends

Lindsay Kern

333 books | 78 friends

Brian Rathbone

240 books | 5,982 friends

Andye.Reads

1,393 books | 4,617 friends

April

11,438 books | 2,104 friends

More friends…

Casey Caracciolo

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.scargen.com

Twitter

caseycaracciolo

Genre

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Influences

J.R.R. Tolkien, [author:J.K. Rowling, [author:Jonathan Stroud, Douglas ...more

Member Since

June 2013

edit data

Casey Caracciolo spent six years crafting the first installment in the Scargen series, The Shadow of the Gauntlet. His first novel promises to be the start to an epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy experience. “It’s like the best parts of Science Fiction mingled with Fantasy staples, with a healthy sprinkling of Comics and Anime,” says Caracciolo. “Dragons, vampires, robots, and fireballs shooting out of people’s hands. What more do you want?”

Caracciolo spent his afternoons working as a bartender while compiling notes and sketches on the backs of the special menus as he worked at Triumph Brewing Company of New Hope. “Ideas would just pop in my head, and if I didn’t get them down as soon as possible, I was scared they’d be lost to the cosmos.” He would make Casey Caracciolo spent six years crafting the first installment in the Scargen series, The Shadow of the Gauntlet. His first novel promises to be the start to an epic Sci-Fi/Fantasy experience. “It’s like the best parts of Science Fiction mingled with Fantasy staples, with a healthy sprinkling of Comics and Anime,” says Caracciolo. “Dragons, vampires, robots, and fireballs shooting out of people’s hands. What more do you want?”

Caracciolo spent his afternoons working as a bartender while compiling notes and sketches on the backs of the special menus as he worked at Triumph Brewing Company of New Hope. “Ideas would just pop in my head, and if I didn’t get them down as soon as possible, I was scared they’d be lost to the cosmos.” He would make detailed outlines and draw characters just to get the concepts on paper. And using these notes, he’d go home and write, and rewrite, and rewrite some more. In the summer of 2012, this dedication paid off and the manuscript for the first book in the Scargen series, The Shadow of the Gauntlet was complete.

But now Caracciolo faced another dilemma. Should he go the traditional publishing route, or try to do things his way?

After researching the choices, the decision was made to self publish. “It just seemed like a ridiculously impersonal process for something I’ve spent six years of my life on, and the more I read, the more I realized that the traditional publishing model is antiquated,” explains Caracciolo. “Who are they to say what I can and can’t write, or worse, what you as a reader can and can’t read? With all the advancements in digital printing and online marketing, you just don’t need them anymore.

But he needed funding to make it happen. To help make The Shadow of the Gauntlet a reality, Caracciolo decided to use the crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

Caracciolo went to work creating a Kickstarter project that would help people understand his vision and help him reach his dream. The project was selected as a staff pick on Kickstarter and was Geekadelphia’s Kickstarter project of the week. Geekadelphia described the book as covering “well worn, well loved territory, but puts a fresh spin on the magic, tech, and fantasy that we’ve all grown up loving. A Shakespeare quoting, whiskey-swilling werewolf style spin.”

The project was a success, and in January, with the help of 109 backers, from across the country, Caracciolo raised over $7,000. The Shadow of the Gauntlet was another step closer to being a reality.

This support with his own determination has spurred Caracciolo to do what he has done. His background in animation helped Caracciolo when it came to the design and graphic elements of such an undertaking. Everything you see that has any component of design, Caracciolo has had a hand in, from the Scargen merchandise to the cover of The Shadow of the Gauntlet. “It’s not enough to write a good book anymore. We have a brand, and I think that will help get people to the writing. My idea is to be as approachable as I can be. Accessibility is important to me. I understand what it is like to be invested in a series, and it’s my hope that the reader loves these characters as much as I do. The least I can do is be there when they want to talk about it.” ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Casey Caracciolo questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Casey Caracciolo’s books

Average rating: 4.34 · 89 ratings · 26 reviews · 3 distinct works

	The Shadow of the Gauntlet 4.30 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dragon Within 4.50 avg rating — 16 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	[ The Shadow of the Gauntlet By Caracciolo, Casey ( Author ) Paperback 2013 ] 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

0 posts
Casey Caracciolo's Blog

Casey Caracciolo hasn't written any blog posts yet.

Casey is Currently Reading

Casey Caracciolo is currently reading

The Hollow Boy (Lockwood & Co., #3)

by Jonathan Stroud (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Oct 09, 2015 10:35AM

Quotes by Casey Caracciolo (?)

“Narsh!”
― Casey Caracciolo, The Shadow of the Gauntlet

tags: demons, magic, robots, vampires, wizards, young-adult, young-adult-fantasy, young-adult-series

0 likes

“But do not take this responsibility lightly, my boy. The Gauntlet casts an ominous shadow.”
― Casey Caracciolo, The Shadow of the Gauntlet

tags: demons, dragons, high-mancer, magic, robots, vampires, werewolves, young-adult-fantasy, young-adult-fiction, young-adult-series

0 likes

Casey’s Quotes

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
― Mark Twain

tags: aliteracy, attributed-no-source, literacy

40995 likes

“Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well.”
― Mark Twain

34483 likes

“Go to heaven for the climate and hell for the company.”
― Benjamin Franklin Wade

tags: humor, misattributed-mark-twain, philosophy, theology

19849 likes

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
― Mark Twain

tags: attributed-no-source, education

18233 likes

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
― Mark Twain

tags: misattributed-mark-twain, truth

16289 likes

More of Casey’s quotes…

recent posts
Casey’s Groups

Addicted to YA — 66069 members — last activity 1 hour, 8 min ago
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put bac ...more

The Sword and Laser — 21721 members — last activity 5 hours, 56 min ago
Online discussion forum for the Sword and Laser podcast and monthly book club pick. Subscribe to the audio podcast: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podca ...more

GOOD REVIEWS — 8600 members — last activity 5 hours, 31 min ago
This Group is only for authors who are looking for reviews and Reviewers who love to read books and share their reviews.

YAholics Anonymous! — 882 members — last activity Sep 12, 2024 04:00AM

Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy — 8710 members — last activity 2 hours, 17 min ago
A place for those who walk the green forests of Middle Earth, cross the pale sands of Arrakis, sail the blue waters of Earthsea, slip among the shadow ...more

Never Too Old For Y.A. & N.A. Books — 7923 members — last activity Dec 21, 2025 09:47AM
This group is for Young and New Adult readers. For those who believe in Angels, Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies and other mythical and supernatural crea ...more

The Next Best Book Club — 25887 members — last activity 8 hours, 53 min ago
Are you searching for the NEXT best book? Are you willing to kiss all your spare cash goodbye? Are you easily distracted by independent bookshops, bi ...more

/r/Fantasy Discussion Group — 6569 members — last activity Dec 04, 2025 12:39PM
A place for readers/contributors of Reddit's /r/Fantasy subreddit to discuss books from the genre and see others' book lists and recommendations. ...more

SciFi and Fantasy Book Club — 41601 members — last activity 33 minutes ago
Hi there! SFFBC is a welcoming place for readers to share their love of speculative fiction through group reads, buddy reads, challenges, ...more

Young Adult Book Reading Challenges — 8280 members — last activity Dec 04, 2025 11:05AM
Welcome to the Young Adult Book Reading Challenges! Welcome everyone who is interested in YA books! We have amazing reading challenges going on all t ...more

More of Casey’s groups…

Casey’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.