Welcome to the website of Matthew Pizzolato!

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Hello and welcome to my website. I write both fiction and non-fiction. So far, I have had nine short stories published in print and online and 43 non-fiction historical articles published by Suite101.com. I have completed two novels, neither of which have been published and I am actively seeking an agent to represent my work. I write mostly Westerns because that is by far my favorite genre, but I also write historical fiction and sci-fi.

I also write a weekly column for Insider Racing News, a website that deals primarily with NASCAR. My column is published every Monday, so be sure to stop by once a week for a link to my article.

To find links to all of my work that has been published online, click on the "biography" tab above. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter so that I can keep you updated as to when I have something new published and where to go to read it. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Stories and Articles Published During the Month of November 2009!

I've been pretty busy lately working on a few other projects besides my writing. One of the things I've noticed in trying to get published is the lack of markets for Westerns now days. So I decided to create my own. I've launched a new website that publishes anything dealing with the Old West. Short Stories up to 3,000 words, non-fiction articles up to 1,000 words, and any Western themed artwork. I named the site, The Western Online. I launched the site with a short story of my own, "The Lucky Drifter" and have since had a few submission and published two more. Visit the site and let me know what you think.

I've also done away with the blog that I had on this site and started a new one on an entirely separate website. I called it The Starving Writer blog. In it, I will keep up with my writing career as well as keep readers up to date with the happenings at The Western Online. If you are interested, you can read my old blog.

My Nascar Articles Written for Insider Racing News
Sixty-sixth article (11/2/09): Earnhardt Looks Ahead to Next Season... Again.
Sixty-seventh article (11/9/09): Has NASCAR Learned from the Car of Tomorrow Disaster?

A new article will be published every Monday, so check back here for a link, or sign up for my newsletter. To read my previous articles, click "here."

My articles for Suite101.com

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Latest Articles by Matthew Pizzolato

Email Address

To contact me personally for any reason you can send me email at mattpizzolato@yahoo.com

Website Comments

To contact me about this website send email to comments@matthew-pizzolato.com

About Matthew Pizzolato

My favorite author's include Louis L'mour, Zane Gray, and Max Brand. I also like Loren D. Estleman, Ralph Compton and Don Coldsmith. I like just about anything written by Stephen King and I like Michael Crichton. But my favorite science fiction writer would be J.R.R. Tolkein. I have always loved his epics of Middle Earth because of his unique ability to create an entire world and transport the reader to it. It is an experience that never gets old and I have reread his stories many times. I have also reread all of Louis L'amour's books and short stories and I own all of them. Any Louis L'amour book is an old friend that never gets old because his characters are real people that he makes you care about. William Tell Sackett is my favorite L'amour character.

I have had a love for reading from an early age and always accepted the fact that one day I would be a writer. There was never any doubt in my mind. My friends and family would make fun of me for always having my nose stuck in a book. My desire to write stimulated from the desire to emulate my heroes and because I am not artistically inclined. My art skills leave something to be desired; though there are very talented artists in my family, my uncle being one. Since I have always had a desire to create, I found myself in quite the predicament. So I decided to paint my pictures with words instead.

Matthew's Formal Training

I graduated from C.E. Byrd High school with a 3.92 cumulative GPA. I attended college for two weeks but quit because, as Louis L'amour says in his memoir, Education of a Wandering Man, "school was interfering with my education." I languished for several years working at a job to pay the bills, struggling to find time to write until somehow, I discovered the courses offered by Long Ridge Writing Group. I applied for and was accepted into two courses, the first a short story writing course and the second a novel writing course. I completed and received diplomas for each course. Long Ridge helped me to polish my writing and taught me the mechanics of how to submit my work.

And of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention that I owe a lot of my success as a writer to my uncle. Without his constant encouragement and critiquing of my writing, I would not be where I am today. He tells me what I have done well and what areas I need to work on, and he pulls no punches.