Today we’d like to introduce you to Diego Ornelas-Tapia.
Diego, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The first story I remember writing was when I was in fourth grade. Gosh, I must have been ten years old. It was a short story assignment the teacher gave the class and I ended up with one of the longest pieces: a whopping five pages that included aliens, time travel, and had my little sister play a badass lead character.
From then on, I fell in love with writing; the worlds I can create, the freedom an author has, and picturing my stories adapted into the big screen.
I was hooked. I came up with at least one new project every year. Fifth grade saw the birth of my first, and only, at least as a creator, descent into the comic book world. I wrote the Adventures of Batboy, the Adventures of Greenboy, and the Rise of the Nightmare.
When I was in seventh grade and I read an eye-witness account of a teenager in South Carolina swearing he saw a half-lizard, half-man creature that was nearly ten feet tall, my little mind was inspired to write a paranormal thriller called Lizard Man.
Life was great.
But then, everything changed when puberty attacked.
Once I was in eighth grade, I grew cold, distant, and incredibly turbulent. Unable to handle conflict or my emotions, I could never handle any, and I mean any type of criticism, and I would constantly compare myself to others. As the years raged on, so too did my rage against the world and everyone in it.
Suffice to say, I wrote my last story in my first year of college. Funny enough, as I’m thinking back on it now, the main character and its story reflected my mentality at the time. It was entitled Luna, a sci-fi set in the future that focused on a bitter astronaut stationed on the moon who was faced with a choice of saving the earth or cleansing the planet from its disease: humans.
“When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change.” – The Legend of Korra
That’s exactly what happened in June 2017. Unfortunately for me, it took something bad for me to make that change; to force myself to look inward and accept and acknowledge that who I was at the time was not a good person. When I accepted this, I went on a journey to figure out the type of man I wanted to be and to figure out what I wanted to do in life.
The result?
Well, much like Santiago at the end of his journey in the Alchemist, I was back doing what I was already doing in the first place: writing. The difference between now and then? Other than self-awareness and confidence, I have a clear and set vision of what I want in my future.
Today, I’m in the midst of launching my upcoming book, To Tame a Dame, a crime thriller set in L.A. in 1928 that I plan on releasing during the summer of 2021. I’m also editing my bigger project that I’ve been working on since 2018, Void. The best way to describe Void would be that it’s like A Wrinkle in Time, but for adults.
Writing gives my life meaning and purpose. It’s something I’ve done since I was a wee lad in elementary school and it’s something that I will continue doing until I’m a frail old man living in a secluded cabin in the woods.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Writing these two books has been far from an easy ride. First, you have to write the darn book, and that has been a daunting task, especially since it was my first time. I have tunnel vision, so in the beginning, I didn’t have a schedule and I would force myself to sit down and write without so much as a break.
That mentality didn’t get me far. Eventually, I figured out a routine that works for me and allowed myself a break. I never force a story to happen. There’s a difference between discipline and just plain old crazy. I was pushing myself to the point where my health was depleting drastically. Not good. Don’t do that, folks.
Now, writing the book is easy.
The challenge? What comes after: marketing, sales, all the stuff that makes a writer want to retreat to their bat cave.
Though marketing maybe my kryptonite, I am learning a little bit every day. Failing, yes, oh, boy am I failing, but I’m slowly forming a game plan that works best for me. Among those are little slideshows of my book (the atmosphere and characters) I’m posting on TikTok and an upcoming cinematic trailer shot by Film14.
Please tell us about Venturesome Dreamer.
I’m a self-published author and my publishing house is called Venturesome Dreamer. I am starting out and don’t have a platform yet, but the dream later on within the next two decades is to build a space where I can help other self-published authors.
There’s a TON to learn in the publishing world, and I know just how overwhelming it can be. I want to provide a guide and a checklist of things writers have to do, as well as suggestions of things they can do. I taught English for a little bit, and if there’s one thing I took away from that experience is the feeling I got from helping another person. It’s powerful and I just want to be able to give back once I’m ready and only when I have the proper knowledge.
What sets me apart as an author? I refuse to tie myself down to one genre. I don’t want to be known as a fantasy writer or a thriller writer because, much like Christopher Nolan in film, my interests are just way too vast.
When it boils down to it, I’m obsessed with unique and adventurous stories that blend multiple genres and explore the human condition; stories that place emphasis on the emotional ties of the characters rather than anything else.
Like Joel and Ellie’s growing bond in The Last of Us.
Or Zuko’s character arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Or Ciri and Geralt’s reunion in The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
Or Cooper literally outgrowing his son and daughter in Interstellar.
These are the types of stories I aim to make.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I would have to say writing my comic books when I was ten. My sister gave me a book on how to draw basic action poses for superheroes and I studied it and went all out. Yes, I can’t draw to save my life, and yes, the comic books were super, super cheesy (The Adventures of BatBoy, hello?) but it was just really fun to create. I still have the comics to this day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://venturesome-dreamer.com/
- Email: venturesomedreamer@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/venturesome_dreamer/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/venturesomedreamer
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Diego_Ornelas_T?fbclid=IwAR3v3U2B27enwlGsQGtyH6v95FFGy4O_qG4-LDo81nKoBC_IoWK5UPsQlt4
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mr_ornelas_tapia?lang=en
Image Credit:
Headshot: Mo McFadden, Book Cover: Jeff Brown, Photo: Marshall Bensky
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