Caterino Books and Art

Check out my new Esty shop, Caterino Books and Art.

Available right now: A personalized, signed copy of "Fantastic Stories" for $10, and a wide variety of pristine, 11x14 inch metallic prints of original artwork for only $15. All domestic orders (within the U.S.) ship for free!

Megacon 2019 Pics

'Super 8 Images: A Time Travel Story', is part of the epic collection 'Fantastic Stories'

Now available as a stand-alone on Amazon Kindle and as part of the new anthology book, "Fantastic Stories".

Jenna lives in the year 2080. It is a dystopian nightmare; a world ravished by climate change and non-stop wars, an Earth on the verge of becoming a lifeless, barren rock with toxic air and acidic oceans. But there is hope as she finds a way to travel back into the past to 2019. Now she must try to change the course of history, create a new timeline, and save the planet.

“Super 8 Images” is a clever, thrilling, touching tale of time travel from James J. Caterino, the author of “Fireflies”, “Watch the Skies”, and the “The Last Neanderthal.”

Spring sketchbook: Captain Marvel, Bumblebee, architecture, femme fatales, and much more

Brie Larson is Captain Marvel.

Supermodel extraordinaire Elizabeth Turner.

Hailee Steinfeld as Charlie with Bumblebee.

Indy and company.

Cover art sketch for the short story, "The Dream Factory".

Femme fatale goddess. 


For more artwork check out my published sketchbook.

'Fantastic Stories', epic collection of action-packed, page-turning, suspenseful short stories

A girl from the year 2080 travels back in time to the present to save us from ourselves in the mind-blowing epic “Super 8 Images: A Time Travel Story”.

An illustrator at an ad agency creates a drawing of a woman taking a selfie for a smart phone ad campaign. Then he comes across a real-life, living version of the exact same woman in “The Selfie”, a romantic science fiction thriller.

Sixteen year-old babysitter Gina Zeneski takes the kids for a day at the amusement park and gets more than she bargained for in “Rollercoaster”, a pulse-pounding story of harrowing action.

A weekend road trip turns into a chamber of horrors for four college students in “The Rally”, a relentless tale of terror and suspense.

Carlos is the film critic for the Miami Herald. His life is all about the movies. But now, he is about to experience a cinematic plot twist that will change everything.

Read these page-turning tales of imagination and more in “Fantastic Stories”, a collection of science fiction, action-adventure, and suspense stories, in the tradition of anthology shows such as “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, “Amazing Stories”, and “Black Mirror”.

'Fantastic Stories', bold, imaginative, addictive

I have a new book out, “Fantastic Stories”.

This is the anthology I have been dreaming about all my life; eight rip-roaring tales of epic imagination that pack a physical punch and an emotional wallop. If you like stuff like “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, “Amazing Stories” and “Black Mirror”, then you will love “Fantastic Stories”.

Now available on Amazon Kindle and in Paperback.

From the back cover:

A girl from the year 2080 travels back in time to the present to save us from ourselves in the mind-blowing epic “Super 8 Images: A Time Travel Story”.

An illustrator at an ad agency creates a drawing of a woman taking a selfie for a smart phone ad campaign. Then he comes across a real-life, living version of the exact same woman in “The Selfie”, a romantic science fiction thriller.

Sixteen year-old babysitter Gina Zeneski takes the kids for a day at the amusement park and gets more than she bargained for in “Rollercoaster”, a pulse-pounding story of harrowing action.

A weekend road trip turns into a chamber of horrors for four college students in “The Rally”, a relentless tale of terror and suspense.

Carlos is the film critic for the Miami Herald. His life is all about the movies. But now, he is about to experience a cinematic plot twist that will change everything.

Read these page-turning tales of imagination and more in “Fantastic Stories”, a collection of science fiction, action-adventure, and suspense stories, in the tradition of anthology shows such as “The Twilight Zone”, “The Outer Limits”, “Amazing Stories”, and “Black Mirror”.

Caterino on Caterino

All writers of fiction have a split personality. After all, they spent most of the time absorbed in worlds of their own creation populated with made-up people who are as real to them as flesh and blood. So it makes perfect sense that the best way to gain insight into the deep psyche (and psychosis) of a creative writer is the self-interview.

Caterino on Caterino

So tell me, why do you write?

I write stories I want to read, but nobody else had written them. So I have to write them.

When did you start writing fiction?

I believe the first completely finished, edited, and typed up short story I wrote was at the age of 12 for a project at school. It was this really hilarious over the top space opera inspired by "Star Trek", "Space 1999", etc. It was called “Among theStars” and I turned it into a published screenplay a few years back.

Did you stick with the writing after that initial story at 12?

In one form or another. Always filling out notebooks with story outlines, characters, and key scenes I would use later on. Wrote about a dozen or so short stories in college. Then it was on to screenplays.

Were any of them good?

Mostly no. Well-crafted maybe—structure always came natural to me—but vapid. I simply had not lived enough life. A couple of the short stories were well-received by the class. It was one of those classes where you had to sit silent for an hour while everyone discussed and reviewed your work out loud. One of the screenplays was good. It actually came close to being optioned. I went out to LA and pitched it around back in 2003. By that time I had developed a true sense of who I was as an artist with my own viewpoint, personal set of thematic obsessions, and demons. It was an S&M supernatural horror story about re-incarnation called “Steel Phantom”. Much of the material ended up being used in “She” and “All About Amy”.

The most praised aspect of your writing are the action sequences, especially those in the “Caitlin Star” series? Tell me about Caitlin.

I wrote a novel back in early 2000s about a charismatic anti-hero vigilante named Gunner Star. Think Vin Diesel, circa 2000 – 2004, ala “Pitch Black”, the original “Fast and Furious”, and “The Chronicles of Riddick”. He discovers this philosophy based on an extinct species of hominids called the Bull Mongoni, and teaches this to a series of protégés, including a young, orphaned girl named Caitlin. She is clearly special from the start and becomes his prize pupil and a great leader in her own right. “CaitlinStar the Trilogy” follows her growth and the historic role she plays in a series of great civil wars and in the post-apocalyptic world that follows.

Even though the “Caitlin Star books” have a hard edge to them, there is a great sense of wonder about them. Something you really seemed to explore in your next three books, “The Last Neanderthal”, “Watch the Skies”, and “Fireflies”.

I call those books my “Amblin Entertainment Trilogy”, because all three stories are inspired by Spielberg films and productions, combined with my own adolescence and personal sensibilities.

Those three novels all have a lot of heart and were quite emotional at times.

I certainly felt those emotions while writing them. I really wanted to hone in on creating humanistic, character-driven stories with those books.

Lately you seem to have been really focused on short stories and I understand you have a new book coming out that will be a collection of some of those.

Yes. It’s called “Fantastic Stories” and will collect eight stories I have written over the past two years and will include the original cover art for each story. I am very excited about this because I grew up reading “Galaxy”, “The Twilight Zone Magazine”, and many others from the tail end of the pulp era. I love short stories and feel like it has become a lost art form. Although by the old technical definition most of my stories would be considered novelettes since they are between 7500 and 20,000 words, although that term really isn’t used anymore.

What can readers expect from “Fantastic Stories”? What kind of stories will be in there?

Science fiction, action adventure, romance, and suspense that borders on horror. Let me put it to you this way; if you like “The Twilight Zone”, or “The Outer Limits, or “Amazing Stories”, or “Black Mirror”, then I promise you will love “Fantastic Stories”.

You are speaking my language for sure. I can’t wait to pick that up. Jim, thank you so much for taking out the time to speak with us.

My pleasure.

'The Dream Factory'

I have a new short story available on Amazon Kindle, "The Dream Factory". 

If you like "The Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits", "Amazing Stories", and "Black Mirror" type stories, then you will love "The Dream Factory".

Carlos is the film critic for the Miami Herald. His life is all about the movies. But now, he is about to experience a cinematic plot twist that will change everything.

“The Dream Factory” is a spell-binding science fiction short story by James J. Caterino, the author of “Fireflies”, “Watch the Skies”, and “Super 8 Images”.

Super 8 Images: A Time Travel Story

Now available on Amazon Kindle

Jenna lives in the year 2080. It is a dystopian nightmare; a world ravished by climate change and non-stop wars, an Earth on the verge of becoming a lifeless, barren rock with toxic air and acidic oceans. But there is hope as she finds a way to travel back into the past to 2019. Now she must try to change the course of history, create a new timeline, and save the planet.

“Super 8 Images” is a clever, thrilling, touching tale of time travel from James J. Caterino, the author of “Fireflies”, “Watch the Skies”, and the “The Last Neanderthal.”

Sketchbook: Girl Power

Brie Larson as Captain Marvel.

Helen Slater as Supergirl (1984).

Melissa Benoist as Supergirl.

Caitlin Star from the Caitlin Star novels.

Best ten list 2018, 2008

In keeping with a tradition I have had since 1985, here is the official 2018 list of my top ten films, and a look back at my list from a decade ago in 2008.

Top ten list 2018

Bumblebee

A Simple Favor

Please Stand By

Operation Finale

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Creed II

Galveston

First Man
I Think We're Alone Now

The First Purge

Top ten list 2008

The Secret Life of Bees

Doubt

The Wrestler

The Dark Knight

Wall-E

Revolutionary Road

Valkyrie

Grand Torino

The Ruins       

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Bibliography

Bibliography of my published works.



Published works

Fireflies (2018) 
The Rally (2018)
Sketchbook 3: The Art of James J. Caterino (2018)
Rollercoaster (2018)
Barry's Run (2018)
The Eco-Warrior (2018)
Watch the Skies (2018)
In Thy Image (Sketchbook 2) (2018)
Caitlin Star and the Hand of God (2017)
Technicolor Dreams (2017)
Battle of the Network Superheroes (2017)
Just Imagine: The Sketchbook of James J. Caterino (2017)
Among the Stars (2017)
The Last Neanderthal (2016)
The Selfie (2016)
Caitlin Star: The Trilogy (2016)
The B Girl (2016)
Caitlin Star and the Rise of the Barbarians (2015)
Caitlin Star and the Guardian of Forever (2014)
Caitlin Star (2013)
Sword of the Bull Mongoni (2012)
Rise of the Bull Mongoni (2010)
Action Figure (2008)
Video Noir (2007)
All About Amy (2006)
She (2005)
Gunner Star (2004)
Steel Phantom (2002)

If you like ‘Project Bluebook’, you will love “Watch the Skies”

“Project Bluebook” is an astounding new dramatic series airing Tuesday nights at 10 P.M on the History Channel.

The show stars Aidan Gillen (Little Finger from “Game of Thrones”) as Dr. Allen Hynek, and co-stars Michael Malarkey, Laura Mennel, Ksenia Solo, and Neal McDonough. Executive Produced by Robert Zemeckis, “Project Bluebook” is based on the actual case files from the official Air Force investigations into the UFO phenomenon. Dr. Hynek went into the Air Force program as a complete cynic and emerged as the most famous, serious UFO investigator. He went on to serve as the consultant (an inspiration) for Steven Spielberg’s 1977 masterpiece “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.

The epic multi-generational UFO novel “Watch the Skies”, uses several real UFO events as its basis, including “The Kecksburg Incident” of Western Pennsylvania from 1965, and the Phoenix Lights sightings of 1997, deftly using these famous historical incidents in creating a fascinating piece of page-turning speculative fiction. Fans of “Project Bluebook”, “The X-Files”, and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” will enjoy “Watch the Skies”.

'Rollercoaster', a wicked thrill ride of a short story and an added bonus to "Fireflies"

Sixteen year-old Gina Zeneski is leading a good life. She is smart, beautiful, a track star, and has a sweet gig babysitting the Robinson kids. One fateful Saturday she takes the children for what was supposed to be a fun Saturday at the amusement park. But when she and the kids witness something they were not supposed to see, it turns out to be a deadly day of harrowing danger.

“Rollercoaster” is another knockout, action-packed short story from the lurid imagination of James J. Caterino, author of “The Eco-Warrior”, “Watch the Skies”, and the “Caitlin Star” series.

"Rollercoaster" is available as a stand-alone Amazon Kindle and also as an added bonus short story  to both the paperback and Kindle versions of the UFO in the burbs novel "Fireflies".

The year is 1983 and something strange is going on in Cross Creek, Pennsylvania.

After a devastating family tragedy, Emma moves across the country at the start of her freshman year of high school. Grief-stricken, isolated, and harassed by local bullies, she is feeling lost and lonely. One day, she takes a shortcut home from school through the woods and encounters a group of strange, otherworldly, flying orbs of light that she dubs “the fireflies”. She feels a deep connection to them as her interaction with the fireflies continues, bringing her new hope, wonder, startling insights, and horrific dangers beyond anything she could have imagined.

In the tradition of the films of Amblin Entertainment, “Fireflies” is a moving, suspenseful story of the fantastic from James J. Caterino, author of the acclaimed UFO epic “Watch the Skies”, “The Last Neanderthal”, and the “Caitlin Star” series.

Three from the heart

Three of my recent books, "Fireflies", "Watch the Skies", and "The Last Neanderthal", are my most personal, exciting, accessible, and best works to date.

The year is 1983 and something strange is going on in Cross Creek, Pennsylvania.

After a devastating family tragedy, Emma moves across the country at the start of her freshman year of high school. Grief-stricken, isolated, and harassed by local bullies, she is feeling lost and lonely. One day, she takes a shortcut home from school through the woods and encounters a group of strange, otherworldly, flying orbs of light that she dubs “the fireflies”. She feels a deep connection to them as her interaction with the fireflies continues, bringing her new hope, wonder, startling insights, and horrific dangers beyond anything she could have imagined.

In the tradition of the films of Amblin Entertainment, “Fireflies” is a moving, suspenseful story of the fantastic from James J. Caterino, author of the acclaimed UFO epic “Watch the Skies”, “The Last Neanderthal”, and the “Caitlin Star” series.

On December 9th 1965 a strange, other-worldly craft crashes into a ravine in Kecksburg, a town south of Pittsburgh. It becomes known as Pennsylvania’s Roswell. The crashed UFO is witnessed by scores of local residents, including ten year-old Eliza Straight, a curious and intelligent young girl who is forever changed by the horror and wonder of what she experiences that night.

On July 2nd 1993, fourteen year-old Shelly Stevens and her two friends have a close encounter with a glowing craft that descends down from the night sky, hovering above them. They awake three hours later with no memory of what transpired during that missing time.

Dr. Sally Ludwig is the daughter of a former Nazi scientist who was recruited by the U.S. Army Intelligence as part of Operation Paperclip. He is put in charge of dealing with the Roswell Crash and becomes a founding members of Majestic. Now, many years later, Sally picks up the mantle, maniacally obsessing over the power and technology of these strange craft, desperate to possess it for herself.

“Watch the Skies” is a wild, exciting, epic tale of UFOs and alien abduction, spanning fifty years and told through the eyes of three woman who must find a way to endure all that happens to them until the very end, when all will finally be revealed.

Kronos is one of the last of his kind. A descendant of the Neanderthal who once thrived throughout Eurasia, his people crossed the same ancient land bridge as the original Native Americans. They have roamed Pacific Northwest forests for thousands of years, and their occasional sightings by humans have become the mythic stuff of the Bigfoot legend.

One day Kronos spots a helicopter with hunters, swarming down upon a family of wolves, including his friend Lucca. Kronos runs to the scene, trying to stop the slaughter. But then, the guns of the humans turn upon him. He is wounded, cut off from the rest of his family, and pursued by the hunters.

All seems lost, until he comes upon a human teenage girl Ella Marshall. Ella and her family want to help Kronos, and a deep, emotional bond forms between them. But soon, the danger becomes even more deadly as trigger happy hunters, weekend warriors, and even the government itself, begin to move in from all sides.

The Last Neanderthal is a harrowing and heartfelt adventure from the vivid imagination of James J. Caterino, author of Steel Phantom, The B Girl, and the Caitlin Star series.