Meghan: Hey, Armand! It’s always a pleasure to have THE Armand Rosamilia on the blog. Thanks for stopping by today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?
Armand: The kids coming to the house each year, especially since I moved to Jacksonville in 2013. We live in a big neighborhood and get over 200 trick or treaters each year, so we set up a table in the driveway with stacks of comic books, stacks of Halloween themed books for kids and adults, and small bags of candy. They’re allowed to take one from each pile, which is confusing for some kids, who think they have to choose.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?
Armand: Since we added our Little Free Libraries beginning of 2020, we added the books to our Halloween giving. We also have extra books put into both Little Free Libraries (we have an adult one and a bench one for children) that get lit up and decorated, and it’s great to have so many people thank us for it as well as new people who didn’t know it was up or what it was at first.
Meghan: If Halloween is your favorite holiday (or even second favorite holiday), why?
Armand: Honestly… this is going to shock some people, but I love Christmas Eve more than anything, because I’m half-Italian and we do a lot of seafood. Then it would be Thanksgiving because my wife’s family makes a ton of food and we have it at our house. Third would be Halloween, maybe because we don’t have enough food, although I do eat a metric ton of candy all day and the few days after, until it’s all gone, so… maybe Halloween is my favorite, after all.
Meghan: What are you superstitious about?
Armand: Every time my palm itches I shove it in my pocket. Then I get money. It’s worked a lot of the time. I wish it itched more.
Meghan: What/who is your favorite horror monster or villain?
Armand: Cthulhu. Gotta be. I am a huge cosmic horror fan, and Lovecraft was one of the first truly horrific authors I read everything I could get my hands on. Most of it was over my head as a kid, but Cthulhu hooked me from the beginning.
Meghan: Which unsolved murder fascinates you the most?
Armand: All of them. We watch the Investigation Discovery channel every night, and I love seeing a case I haven’t seen before. I wish they’d stop focusing on only Dahmer, Bundy and Gacy and do shows on the many other serial killers out there. Zodiac was always a big one I followed. I’m still wondering where DB Cooper and all that cash went, too.
Meghan: Which urban legend scares you the most?
Armand: None of them scare me. They’re all fascinating. One I wrote about (in my novella The Beast) is the urban legend about a Bigfoot in New Jersey in the town I grew up in. I read Weird NJ for years, with tons of fascinating sightings. Still pick up copies when I’m back in NJ, too.
Meghan: Who is your favorite serial killer and why?
Armand: Ed Gein. He might not be the most prolific, he might not be the smartest, but he’s the one I always read about. He inspired so many stories and movies, too. He even inspired songs, like Dead Skin Mask by Slayer. How cool is that?
Meghan: How old were you when you saw your first horror movie? How old were you when you read your first horror book?
Armand: I was 9 in 1979 when I saw When A Stranger Calls. Scared the crap out of me. That opening twenty minutes is still scary. My parents took the family to the drive-in and me and my brother were supposed to be sleeping in the backseat but I stayed awake and watched and then couldn’t sleep that night.
As for books… I know Phantoms by Dean Koontz was the first horror book that got to me, but I read two or three a week when I was 12 thanks to my mother’s massive paperback horror book collection.
Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?
Armand: I accidentally read an Edward Lee novel once. Don’t remember which one, but it was gut-wrenching. I was able to tell him that years later at a convention, and Ed just chuckled.
Meghan: Which horror movie scarred you for life?
Armand: By the time Hostel came out, I was already pretty much done with horror movies. I don’t remember why I watched it, but that was it for me. I grew up on the classics (Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc.) that had intense moments, plot, character, but then it turned into just a lot of gore and blood and over the top shocks in horror, which I wasn’t a fan of. Now get off my lawn, you damn kids!
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween costume?
Armand: As a child, I went as Ronald McDonald. I don’t really remember it too well, I was about five. I’ve seen the pictures, though. I look like a creepier young John Wayne Gacy. My mother made it for me since we were poor.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween-themed song?
Armand: It’s a tie between “Halloween” by The Misfits or “Halloween” by King Diamond. I play them both every year because they’re awesome.
Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween candy or treat? What is your most disappointing?
Armand: Anything chocolate. I make sure we buy a giant bag or three of Kit Kats, Twix, Milky Way, etc. and then slowly pocket as many as I can before my wife catches me. In my office I’ll go and dump handfuls into my file cabinet, and then eat them over the next few days. I hated getting pennies as a kid. Just don’t open your damn door, lady. No one wants your loose change.
Meghan: Thanks again, Armand. You’re definitely one of my favorite people to have on. Before you go, what are your go-to Halloween movies and books?
Armand:
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Classic. Simple as that.
Halloween. Still a great movie. The original, not the awful remake.
Every horror book ever written or to be written. Halloween is the perfect time to read a scary book. Yes, my answer is a cop-out but I felt so much pressure to answer this in a timely manner. Stop looking at me like that. And get off my damn lawn, you kids!
Boo-graphy:
Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He’s happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life…
He’s written over 150 stories that are currently available, including horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, thrillers and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
He not only runs two successful podcasts…
Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Horror Podcast – interviewing fellow authors as well as filmmakers, musicians, etc.
The Mando Method Podcast with co-host Chuck Buda – talking about writing and publishing
But he owns the network they’re on, too! Project Entertainment Network
He also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool.
You can find him at his website for not only his latest releases but interviews and guest posts with other authors he likes and e-mail him to talk about zombies, baseball and Metal.
The Beast —
The end of summer, 1986. With only a few days left until the new school year, twins Jeremy and Jack Schaffer are on very different paths. Jeremy is the geek, playing Dungeons & Dragons with friends Kathleen and Randy, while Jack is the jock, getting into trouble with his buddies.
And then everything changes when neighbor Mister Higgins is killed by a wild animal in his yard. Was it a bear? There’s something big lurking in the woods behind their New Jersey home.
Will the police be able to solve the murder before more Middletown residents are ripped apart?
Trapped —
Forget the conspiracy theories about Denver International Airport… this just got real.
When a massive snowstorm shuts down the airport and forces a plane carrying exotic and deadly cargo, those trapped inside the terminal have no idea what’s in store for them.
Can a group of passengers and airport workers band together to face the onslaught, or will they be ripped apart?
Meghan's House of Books 
Cthulhu be praised!
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