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Joseph A Federico
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Masters of Horror: Choosing the perfect model

  • February 3, 2020February 3, 2020
  • by josephafederico

As you may have read in the past – namely for projects such as Voudou Juice and soon-to-be Voudou Juice Origins: Cody’s Story – I have a soft spot for male models. That’s just me being 100% transparent and honest with you, my adoring fans and readers.

Truthfully, however, I feel that by choosing a real-life young man to portray one of my wild and crazy characters, the reader will attain a better experience overall – a story of my very own that I’m sharing with the public. You’ll get to vividly envision my words through male beauty. And besides, one of the missions I’m currently on is to push the envelope – through words and through explicit visuals.

So, without further ado, I’m here to announce my newest model, Riley Holley. You have a chance to explore the depths of his creativity and why he is so interested in the horror genre. 

Explain why you wanted to model and how this has given you that opportunity:

I’ve modeled before, but chose to go to school for a degree instead of jumping into the modeling world like some of my fellow childhood friends; they now travel the world doing what they love. I couldn’t be happier for them.

But, this gives me the opportunity to jump back in where I left off, trying different styles. For me, it’s not about the money…although, that would be nice. I find it soul-grounding for one to do something they enjoy, yet, challenging at the same time. It gives oneself an opportunity to indulge in bringing characters to life and the manifestation of one’s own concept of emotions and world views.

Explain your background and how these projects, being a book cover model, has given you the freedom to be yourself:

Growing up in the south as a homosexual man, I had limited resources and opportunity due to the biased beliefs of others. Being a book cover model gives me the wonderful chance to express myself and give characters life. The freedom of creativity brings great joy and pride in doing a project like this one.

Being a clinical mental health counseling grad student, I find exploring the darkest parts of the human mind fascinating. Participating in horror book covers allows one to step out of one’s norm, pushing them to let that animal we humans keep in a cage. I find all sides of this concept beautiful and terrifying. Through these projects, I hope to see all sides of the subconscious of ideas flow out in producing nerve-tingling pictures for the viewers’ pleasures. That makes one question the deepest part of one’s character, no?

Why do you love all things horror?

Who doesn’t?! Horror is like the dark subconsciousness of our mind that always wonders, “Could I ever be that evil, vile, bloody and brutal?”

To me it’s like connecting with your alter ego – some being harsher than others – that you’re allowed to let out and to fear of what could be, when we or someone loses control. It makes me feel alive by how it makes my heart race. To be scared is to be alive.

I’ve always been a jumpy person and believe it was my punishment for loving the scare people. It’s a price I must pay, I suppose…

What’s your favorite horror movie and author? Why?

The “Saw” series would have to be my most favorites! This is most likely due to the psychological horror aspect behind it. I have always loved how it took a twist in what I consider to be traditional horror movie form that includes a group of people. I don’t have a favorite author yet, because I just love so many.

How do you feel the horror genre best relates to the LGBT community?

Interesting question… I guess it best relates because our lives themselves are like a horror movie to some extent; there is fear, hurt, blood, death, etc. in the human experience, right? The horrific events that have been taking over in our modern word tie-in to this as well.

And, to be honest, it’s a damn shame there are so few LTBTQ+-genred horror movies and books out there, too. Many LGBTQ+ antagonistic characters in books or movies are terrifyingly absent and to me that is horrifying, too. Why is that?

Similar to a time of witch hunts, our community is driven to shame, suicide, eradication and inner turmoil from the social and cultural norms that have developed based off religious beliefs. If we look back to the past, homosexuality was considered normal human behavior in many cultures.

Religion came into play, with men and armies fighting for power, and it left people who engaged in “abnormal” practices to fend for themselves and be shunned from society’s good graces. They were treated like cattle and seen as not being worthy of life, justice or even safety.

It is possible for social and cultural norms to change over time with the influence of educated, open-minded and reasonable people. I can go on this rant for ages, though…

What do you hope to get out of being a book cover model? Why? How? 

I’d like the courage to express the dark side and bring such great characters to life! By using bloody themes and folklore, I hope to feel more comfortable over time. For without darkness there is no light, in between this, creatures shall take flight.

Growing up, what kind of southern folklore or scary story stuck with you the most? Why? 

Not many southern folklores buzzed about my family during my upbringing. But growing up having Native American blood in my family, my grandmother would pass down stories. Such stories would be about burial mounds and how they were sacred, and also how the Blood Wolves of the great Native War protect and harm the families of all bloodlines.

One other thing that was prominent in my youth were dream catchers; but dream catchers can be a terrifying spellbinding tool as well, so one must be careful with whom they receive it from. Weaving spells are used in creation of dream catchers, so one’s own subconsciousness can be embedded without the casters knowing. Those are the few that have stuck with me throughout the years.

Is there anything else you’d like to add? 

I want to say thank you for this opportunity and for allowing me to explore myself through such works. This is a wonderful chance to grow and explore while completing what the spice of life really is all about.

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Kaden Roach: Using Instagram to Impact

  • January 25, 2020January 25, 2020
  • by josephafederico
Meet Kaden Roach!

I can achieve anything I need through God’s grace and the understanding that I am enough through what God has. Growing up, I knew I had always wanted to make a difference in the world. The ability to leave an impact on someone’s life through my existence is so powerful. That’s why I started to really focus on growing my Instagram (@kadenrroach) to reach as many people as I can.

In high school, I was fascinated with performing and having people know my name. That’s all I wanted at first, to be noticed. I was involved in choir and show choir. I sang in talent shows, danced all over the town, and eventually became dance captain of our school group. These performing skills really shaped me into who I am today. Throughout my time in high school, I just wanted to be famous, but now that I look back, I realize that I just wanted to impact as many people as I could. Since I was performing at the time, that’s how I would make my impact.

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I would then further my impact through social media. I became so influenced by models and magazines. I decided that was my next move to make an impact. There was nothing I would have loved more than to model for an agency and be on the cover of a magazine; I wanted to show the world that a small South Dakotan boy could make it big. I would go around town and take pictures with my camera with my brother, and I still do. Then, I’d take these fun pictures and post them to my Instagram. After a while, some exciting things started to happen: I had brands like Starbucks, Target, and Alive! Multivitamins start following me. I even got to do my first sponsored post with LIFEWTR. Today, I still am trying to grow and continue to work with more brands. It is such a rewarding and fun feeling.

As much as I still love to do that, I got another rewarding feeling through motivational books and helping others. This made me discover my passion to become a life and health coach. I recently went through a hard time, and God and motivational books were there for me. They helped me so much, and I would love to return the favor and change people’s lives with my book one day.

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I am currently getting certified as a life and health coach through the Health Coach Institute in Idaho. My goal is to inspire people and help them along with some of their hardest journeys. Through God, I know that this is all possible. I then combined all my passions and have turned them into one.

Now, as my Instagram is growing, I write motivational messages along with the posts to help inspire people. As I am learning through my life and health coach journey, I am taking that knowledge and using it to help as many people as I can. I have done posts on taking a mental health day, sleep, drinking water, and even a nice one about what Thanksgiving truly means. As my passions continue to grow, I wish nothing but to make an impact through modeling, singing, writing, and using Instagram as that platform to do so.

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I have opened my mind up to loads of things this past year and it has helped me tremendously. One of the most important things I have learned is that I am enough. I learned that I have what it takes. I am strong enough, capable enough, and worthy enough. No one else can hold that same magic that I have inside of me. No one can see the world like I see it, and to be able to bring out my views and share them through these creative ways is powerful. No one else is going to fulfill your dreams until you start believing in yourself. That’s what I have done this year. I have learned to believe. I am ready to take my education and continue to make that impact on the world.

The world can be a dark and sad place, but if I can brighten it up a bit, then that is the most rewarding thing. You must show people that the mountain you were assigned can be moved.

That’s how I am using Instagram to make an impact.

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