Official website of John L. Neumeister, Author

I was born and raised in San Jose, California. At age six, I was taken to see THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES. The 2-headed Cyclops fascinated me, and I quickly became interested in monsters. Being shy and overly-protected by my grandmother, I didn't go out much. Instead, I read a lot---first comics, then books, always preferring the spooky stuff. In the 1960's TV offered a huge selection of horror and sci-fi films, as well as a great many series with fantasy elements: MY LIVING DOLL, THE ADDAMS FAMILY, THE MUNSTERS, LOST IN SPACE, JONNY QUEST, etc. I watched 'em all.

In 1969, I saw THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH, and fell head-over-heels in love with Marilyn Monroe. To this day, I have pictures of her everywhere.

In the 1970's, I dabbled in backyard film-making. I'm no Stephen Spielberg, but I sure had fun!

In the 1980's I began drawing amateur comics. I also began collecting VHS tapes of all my favorite movies and TV shows. In 1993, I wrote my first novel, which has yet to be published, THE NIGHT CRAWLER. My first short story, ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, won me a 'Ray Bradbury Theater' T-shirt. I made my first sale in 1995 to the adult magazine BUST OUT! earning $200 for a 10 page story.

I started writing poetry in 1999 (if you don't count the stuff I wrote in the 6th grade, thankfully, I didn't save.) DARK GOTHIC MAGAZINE published my poem SAVING THE CASTLE. An Iowa Publication BEYOND CENTAURI, had bought two of my poems: FIGHTING MAD and BUZZING OFF. "ROADS TO RUIN" is my first published book, followed by "OH! THOSE NAUGHTY MONSTERS!" "WILDFLOWER" is my latest novella soon to be published.

I consider Ms. Santiago's DARK GOTHIC MAGAZINE to be the turning point in my life. I've always been plagued with self-doubt, but now, there's no turning back! We need more people who encourage imagination and creativity! I intend to keep writing and drawing. As long as there's life, there's hope! (Afterwards, who knows? I still plan to look up Marilyn when I get to the Great Beyond!)

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