About Me
Biography
An Adjunct Professor of English at City Tech (CUNY), I am a freelance journalist and author of several books: For All We Know, Mescalito Riding His White Horse, Falling from Trees, The Hated Ones, Sleeping with Fishes, Call Me Guido, Freud’s Haberdashery Habits, and Hallucinating Huxley.
Mescalito Riding His White Horse received the 2024 Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award in Spirituality.
Falling from Trees received the 2022 Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award in Short Stories.
For All We Know, my UFO themed science-fiction novel, published in May 2024.
My new book, UFO Symphonic-Journeys into Sound, is currently available for preorder and will be published February 1st, 2025.
Below you'll find reviews of my books along with links to purchase.
Thanks for stopping by!
UFO Symphonic
"Fiorito has created a work of fiction, but it’s not a work of fiction. It’s something more than that. "
— Whitley Strieber
UFO Symphonic explores the relationship between music, synesthesia, and UFOs. This is a fresh and welcomed contribution to ufology.
—Earl Grey Anderson, MUFON State Director of Southern California
UFO Symphonic reaffirms life, reminding us that we are embedded within a miraculous reality—whether the rapture that holds us originates from a rock concert or from a UFO.
—Joshua Cutchin, author of Ecology of Souls: A New Mythology of Death & the Paranormal
UFO Symphonic reveals fresh methods to perceive and understand the UFO issue with the heart and intuition, rather than endless processions of data that don't explain the emotional rollercoaster and life changes that are often experienced by witnesses.
—Greg Bishop, author of It Defies Language! & Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz, National Security, and the Creation of a Modern UFO Myth. Greg is also the host of Radio Misterioso.
UFO Symphonic is an entirely unique and revitalizing contribution to UFO literature, a tantalizing must read about the universal language of music.
―Martin Willis, Host of Podcast UFO Live
To order: https://a.co/d/g1vsfHa
For All We Know
"Fiorito has created a work of fiction, but it’s not a work of fiction. It’s something more than that. "
— Whitley Strieber
“For All We Know is a manifesto for all of those fascinated by the numinous realities posed by the UFO. Mike Fiorito finds the UFO in experiences as diverse as Catholic Mass to the modern rituals of heavy metal music and reveals a decentralized transcendence. A fun and extraordinary experience.”
— Dr. Diana Pasulka, author of American Cosmic & Encounters.
“The UFO phenomenon is about many things, some of which can only
be transmitted in the genre of fantastic literature, itself based on dreams, altered states, and out of body experiences. Mike Fiorito knows that and writes what he knows. Flying saucers appear alongside books, both of which appear alongside the so-called dead. “We are them.” Take that as large and vast as you can.
— Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of The Flip: Epiphanies of Mind and the
Future of Knowledge. Dr. Kripal is also the J. Newton Rayzor
Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University in
Houston, Texas
“The best fiction transcends the genre to tell universal truths, and this is precisely what Fiorito has accomplished. For All We Know takes us on a journey to the greatest of unknowns—not only the world of the UFO, but ourselves and reality—revealing that, in order to understand the outer world, we must also turn inward.”
— Joshua Cutchin, author of Ecology of Souls
To order: https://a.co/d/3MeGTTP
Mescalito Riding His Whitehorse
"Wow! [Mescalito] is beautiful. I’m touched that you 'got' it!"
–Peter Rowan
"The visionary music of bluegrass songster Peter Rowan captured Mike Fiorito's attention leading him on a deep spiritual trek. Rowan tells of his mentors from Bill Monroe to Harry Smith, Buddha and beyond. Mescalito is Fiorito’s gripping narrative of his journey into a new musical consciousness."
–Dr. Neil Rosenberg, Professor Emeritus, Department of Folklore at
Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, and author of Bluegrass Generation
"In Mescalito Riding His White Horse, Mike Fiorito creates one of the greatest music interviews ever. His poetic prose and personal anecdotes bring a wonderful sparkle to Peter Rowan’s musical and spiritual odyssey. From Buddhism to the intelligence of birds, and from psychedelic rock to the history of bluegrass, this short book is an inspiring meditation on music, life, and everything in between. But most importantly, what makes this book special is, in essence, what Mike so eloquently describes it to be, an attempt to discover “the source of what it is to be human.”
–Anthony Peake, author of The Hidden Universe (https://www.anthonypeake.com/)
"This wide-ranging book is obviously a labor of love: love of music and love of and admiration for Peter Rowan. Along the way the reader is showered with anecdotes from the author's interviews and introduced to the soul lurking in the depths of Rowan’s compositions and varied delivery styles. Who would have guessed that Asian spiritual philosophy and wisdom to be found in Bluegrass music and its derivatives? For anyone interested in gaining an in-depth acquaintance and knowledge of legendary musician Peter Rowan and the music he composed and performed, this book cannot be recommended highly enough."
–Dr. Art Funkhouser, Jungian psychotherapist (https://arthur.funkhouser.ch/en/)
"You did a great job with the book! Really got to the heart of Peter’s vibe."
–Christopher Henry, member of The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band (https://www.noyamountainmusic.com/about-chris-henry/)
"Fiorito’s prose reaches for a visionary register and frequently finds it."
-Kirkus Review
You can order here: https://a.co/d/c6MQNMP
Here's the publisher's site:
The Hated Ones
"Fiorito’s descriptive style has a suitably blunt, pithy honesty."
- Kirkus Reviews
"There is hope and there is escape to be found on a road that can be violent and vicious. Proceed with caution when reading The Hated Ones. But proceed. By all means, proceed. "
-New York Journal of Books
Purchase here: https://a.co/d/j2l55AY
Falling from Trees
Recipient of the 2022 Independent Press Distinguished Book Award for short stories.
"Falling from Trees is a collection of otherworldly tales from Fiorito. This set of loosely connected stories touches on a wide range of timely and universal topics via science-fictional elements...readers will largely find it entertaining. The stories run the gamut from fully realized works to quick, slice-of-life glimpses of characters...an often engaging short story cycle."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Fiorito's prose is magical, evocative, mesmerizing."
-New York Journal of Books
Purchase here: https://a.co/d/eN3rvpU
Sleeping with Fishes
"Fiorito’s prose is crisp and full of personality. If it sometimes drifts into a sentimental register, the writing never feels inauthentic to his voice. These 23 essays are short, often under five pages, and range from journalistic pieces about individuals or businesses to ruminations on the immigrant experience and humorous reimaginings of a secret cabal of pizza makers stretching back to Jesus. The strongest essays are those dealing with the author’s family, particularly his mother, who steps off the page as a larger-than-life devil’s advocate, seeming to dispute or complicate every point her son tries to make. Italian Americans, particularly those of Fiorito’s generation, will likely find much here to relate to, laugh at, and maybe even mourn."
-Kirkus Reviews
Purchase here: https://a.co/d/0Hogih1
Call Me Guido
Mike Fiorito’s Call Me Guido, is a poignant, sometimes painful, often hilarious collection of stories about growing up Italian in Queens, New York. It’s filled with rich dialogue and recollections of family interactions that carry us below the surface, and surprises we can’t help but love, like his tale “Because of You”, about his odd Uncle Tutti, who turns out to be the superstar Tony Bennett, or his hard working mother, “ a tribe, a history of her family”, and of course his father, a gambler, opinionated, historian, and a complex mix that makes a relationship of father and son seem totally impossible to characterize, and yet Michael does, captivating us all along the way. I love this book!-- Louisa Calio, author of Journey to the Heart Waters
Purchase here: https://a.co/d/iwcj2R7
Freud's Haberdashery Habit
“Freud’s Haberdashery” is a collection of pseudo-historical narratives that portray towering intellectual figures but focus on satire and humor: Jung and Freud sharing haberdashery secrets; Kant's obsession with order and eating cheese; Filippo Brunelleschi consorting with a nose oracle to win the Santa Maria Del Fiore cupola commission and other stories.
Purchase here: https://a.co/d/80Qi7XQ
Hallucinating Huxley
Hallucinating Huxley, a follow-up to Freud’s Haberdashery Habit, is a collection of fantastic tales. Like an Escher painting, many of the stories connect into each other through impossible pathways and portals. Here Gnostic Hounds, meta-physicians, Alien Buddhas and other holy beings navigate multidimensional time and space. And at the center of this bizarre universe is Aldous Huxley, writer, philosopher and social critic, who saw far into the future by looking deep into the past.
Purchase here: https://a.co/d/38nN1Zy
Generate excitement
What's something exciting your business offers? Say it here.