I am a librarian, writer and musician with interests in technology, science, the occult, music, video games and comics. You could say I grew up with comics as my grandfather was an artist from the golden age of comic books.
I write novels and short stories. They tend to fall along the genres I read most, Sci-fi, Horror, and most recently Steampunk. I also read a fair share of non-fiction which also influences my plot lines and characters.
I was born and grew up in Bridgeport Connecticut. I went to a state technical high School, Bullard-Havens, because I didn’t want to go to college. What does an 8th grader know? I should have listened to my aunt. In the end I would get an Associate’s, Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from three different institutions and the learning is still not finished, though I am on a bit of a hiatus from academia. I moved at the start of the new millennium to Delaware where I completed my MLIS through the University of Pittsburgh and met my wife and my soul-mate. I have recently moved to Portland Oregon and love the creative energy up here. I miss my family and friends and on some nights the East Coast, but the sights, sounds and smells of the Pacific Northwest are, to me, indicative of home.
As a librarian I find interesting the idea that knowledge can be cataloged, stored and retrieved. Our brains do this all the time in fractions of a second. It is called perception. Writing is like playing a game with perception. The world you create, the world you reveal all come through the perception of those who read it. So in one sense you never really write anything at all, you just nudge along the perceptions of your readers.
I have played guitar for 30 years, now. I consider myself a Blues-man though I fear I have much to live up to by doing so. Blues is not a feeling so much as a way of communicating. Blues tells a story that can’t necessarily be put into words. As much as I love listening and playing Blues my first love was Rock and Heavy Metal which still appeals to me, though I cannot play it. My latest novel features a teen guitarist in a Heavy Metal band. I try to incorporate my interest in music into my writing as much as I can.
Palisades by Vinny Alascia
From the earliest memories of playing my first Space Invaders machine while on family vacation to my full sized 2-play bar-top cabinet I am and have been an avid gamer. My wife and I currently have a collection of just over 500 video games. Some of the games I like best feature strong stories and interesting characters, go figure. Most of those happen to be of the role playing variety. Maybe one day I’ll write a script for a game of my own.
Vincent A. Alascia 