Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Arnaldo Lopez Jr. was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY., but has since moved to Queens, NY where he has resided for about 23 years now. Before retiring, Arnaldo Lopez Jr had been employed by the MTA for twenty-eight years and was formerly employed as a dispatcher with the NYPD. Mr. Lopez is also a speaker and trainer, speaking on subjects as diverse as terrorism and customer service. He created the civilian counter-terrorism training program currently in use by New York City Transit and many other major public transportation agencies around the country.
As well as writing, Mr. Lopez is an artist and photographer, having sold several of his works over the years. As a writer he’s sold articles to Railway Age magazine, The Daily News magazine, Homeland Defense Journal, and Reptile & Amphibian magazine; scripts to Little Archie and Personality Comics; and short stories to Neo-Opsis magazine, Lost Souls e-zine, Nth Online magazine, Blood Moon magazine, Feed Your Monster e-zine, Fangs and Broken Bones horror anthology, Swallowed by the Beast horror anthology, Trembling with Fear horror anthology, Monsters Attack horror anthology, and the “A reflection of Me”: An AAMBC Anthology. He was also editor of Offworld, a small science fiction magazine that was once chosen as a “Best Bet” by Sci-Fi television. His first novel, Chickenhawk, is the winner of two International Latino Book awards.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my first (and so far only) novel is Chickenhawk.
A Chickenhawk is what cops used to call men that preyed on boys and younger men. I got the idea for writing Chickenhawk while working nights as a token booth clerk for New York City Transit, I couldn’t help but observe the comings and goings of the young male prostitutes that plied their trade there and in the surrounding area, their johns, and the cops trying to stop it all.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Well… I don’t know how unusual they are, but I prefer to write while I’m in bed. I have all of my writing and research materials within comfortable reach, and it’s usually quiet with plenty of soft, ambient light. I always write my stories in longhand first before typing them up. Also, I usually do my writing in the late afternoon to evening, I’m definitely not a morning person.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I feel that the writers that have influenced me the most are – in no particular order – Lawrence Sanders, Ernest Hemmingway, Robert E. Howard, Harry Turtledove, Isaac Asimov, Dean Koontz, James Patterson and Stephen King.
What are you working on now?
Right this moment I am collaborating on a fantasy novel with my son.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Facebook has worked well so far…
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep writing!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Just tell the story, forget about grammar, punctuation, and spelling until after you have the story out of your system!
What are you reading now?
Dead Earth by Mark Justice
What’s next for you as a writer?
After my son and I finish with our fantasy novel collaboration, I will next work on a children’s picture book with my 11-year old granddaughter.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Fear: Trump in the White House, by Bob Woodward, The Outsider: A Novel, by Stephen King, Make It Out Alive on a Desert Island (Makerspace Survival), by Claudia Martin, Hispanic American Literature: An Anthology, by Rodolfo Cortina,
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