In addition to José Martí and Robert Frost, he has been influenced by the Latino/a writers of the U.S. specially Carolina Hospital, Oscar Hijuelos, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and other recent writers from diverse backgrounds.

José A. Carmona has written five books, published more than 60 poems nationwide and written numerous articles for journals, magazines and encyclopedias. His textbooks Topics and Trends and Mixed Media were written to teach students how to speak English. The anthology Distinct Voices and his own book of poetry, Adolescent Blues, were published in the middle 90's, and his most recent textbook, Exploremos, is for students who want to learn Spanish. He is currently working on his mother's memoirs and his first book of short stories. Another book of poems is due shortly.
He is the editor of TEACH: A Journal of Teaching and Learning at the Community College and the editor of various newsletters.

Most Recently, Prof. Carmona chairs the Departments of Modern Languages and ESOL at Daytona Beach Community College in Daytona Beach, FL. where he also teaches. Furthermore, he is a visiting professor at Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. At the national and international level, Prof. Carmona is very active with TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) as the newsletter editor and co-webmaster for the Adult Education Interest Section, a vice-president for the Florida Sunshine State TESOL (SSTESOL) and the president of the North East Florida TESOL (NEFTESOL).