Hello, I am pleased to introduce myself to the published literary world. My name is Scott Mastro, and experience has taught me two things: become a writer only if you have to, and, if you want to be completely misunderstood, write fiction.



The path from writer to author has been a journey of both joy and despair, a struggle of the heart and spirit, a carnival ride of truth and various levels of convoluted B. S. I've learned there's not only an obligation to have something enduring to say, the work has to be written clearly, not only for oneself, but more importantly for one's readers. Things left unspoken can be the most powerful, where the reader is left to ponder, but even those connotations must be reasonably clear, concise and complete. With BLOOD MONEY, I become a published novelist and look forward to sharing what I've labored over with my readers.

BLOOD MONEY- TALES FROM TWO CONTINENTS is a short story collection, each with its own personality and locality, but the overall sentiment is for them to be enjoyed as one cohesive pilgrimage of the human spirit.

There are different kinds of writer's lives. I've concocted a simplified one that allows me to write every day, with time left to empty my mind, as the Buddhists and time-management experts say, to nose around for inspirations and new stories. I've sacrificed lot of material things, and some relationships. There's been a lot of alone time - the pleasure of my own company interspersed with a modicum of socializing.

It hasn't been easy. A lot of people I know have given up trying to move from writer to author. I've learned on my journey that, as several of my characters might say, "you can't allow yourself to take shit from nobody." The more writing I do, the more I have to stand up for what I see and believe. Authors are society's watchdogs, speaking for readers and for those who can't speak for themselves. It's about seeing the truth and penning it plainly, and because fiction is the purest form of journalism, if one writes it right...the truth prevails. Besides being a pleasurable read, I hope you will see something of humanity and humankind, and maybe even something of yourself in BLOOD MONEY.

Sincerely, Scott Mastro
Author of BLOOD MONEY - TALES FROM TWO CONTINENTS (Savant 2012)