Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Sisco
Hi Cody, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Imagination creates possibility. We’re living in a low-trust society where, every day, we are confronted with stories of aggression, dispossession, futility, and strife. It’s easy to feel we’re alone and vulnerable. The wolves are circling, and they smell blood. Yet in Los Angeles, we’re also surrounded by stunning natural beauty, communities that care for their own, and creativity that powers some of the most wonderous expressions of art on the planet. How do we thrive in the midst of this bewildering chaos? Seriously, I’m asking readers because I’m still figuring it out.
My journey toward an answer to this question of how to thrive began in 2013. I had been living in Paris for three years, working for a corporate responsibility and supply chain sustainability consulting non-profit organization. My role empowered me to travel the world and meet with mid-level executives in the hopes of shifting corporate practices to be slightly better for workers and the planet. It was good work pushing ever so slightly at the margins of what was possible. All my efforts felt as nourishing as a drop of water in the desert.
To continue my search, I moved to LA to pursue a career in publishing. I started writing science fiction, my first love as a young reader, in order to expand my horizons and communicate my vision for how the world could be better. However, improving the craft of fiction—how to structure stories, how to deepen emotional impact, how to paint vivid imaginary worlds on the page—these are lifelong pursuits. Writers also have to navigate the absurd, dismissive, and exclusionary structures of the publishing industry, which often denigrates the writers who are its creative engine. It’s also an industry that marginalizes to an extreme. There’s a lot to learn about how to be a successful writer and even more to learn about how to avoid pitfalls and survive until your success can catch fire.
Any mid-career shift is daunting, but I dove into the learning process expecting to have to chart my own course. I joined writing groups. I made friends and many more acquaintances. I read every book on writing I could find. I attended workshops, presentations, and conferences. Now, I organize workshops, give presentations, and contribute to conference programming. Two of my novels are published with a third on the way this year. With the Made in L.A. Writers team, I published five short story anthologies, and we have two more in the works. I produced three years of the WeHo Reads literary series, and 2025 is getting underway too. It’s a solid beginning.
Did I find an answer on this journey? I’m a little closer to thriving. I’ve assembled a portfolio of roles, responsibilities, relationships, and projects that use storytelling to inspire, connect, and elevate voices from historically marginalized communities to advocate for a better world. My work blends creativity with strategic leadership to build inclusive literary spaces where diverse perspectives thrive. Through collaboration and innovation, I strive to create narratives and events that not only entertain but also challenge societal norms and foster empathy. I’m still learning, and I’m not going to quit.
Alright, 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?
Building a career as an author is a bit like navigating through a thick fog. Your destination is clear: writing books that find an appreciative readership. But the steps along the way are lost in the mist. There’s a lot of very accurate but somewhat opaque advice to follow: improve your craft, make connections, elevate your profile, strike good deals, etc. However, it can be challenging to put one foot in front of the other when the industry throws up roadblocks, such as low pay, complicated paths to publication, and intense competition for mind-space, and many paths aren’t clear until you come around the bend and a new vista opens up.
Most authors don’t make a living from their books and need to find other ways to support themselves and their families. We’re lucky when our livelihoods leave us enough time and energy to write. Over the past few years, my focus has been on growing my income as an editor of fiction, nurturing BookSwell, my literary events and media company, and keeping the Made in L.A. anthology series cranking out new volumes. My own writing has taken a backseat. But I’m finally nearing the publication of my third novel, and it’s taken a lot of prioritizing and, honestly, saying no to some opportunities and worthy causes, to make that happen.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The way I talk about my writing has evolved over the years. Part of this is the result of digging deeper into what motivates my writing, where I find my creativity, and what I want readers to take away from my work. I used to describe my books as cyberpunk alternate history, which is a niche subgenre label that conveys the style but not the substance of my work. Sometimes, I dive right into describing plot: Broken Mirror is the first volume in a queer psychological science fiction saga that looks at the stigma of mental illness and the hellish distrust and alienation that goes with it. This gets at some of the subject matter, but it still falls short.
Lately, after talking with a friend who is also a developmental editor at the Author Nation conference, I came up with a better description: I write about cautionary utopias that inspire readers to imagine paths to better futures.
What’s a cautionary utopia? That’s a conversation I will gladly have with any reader. The short answer is that it’s a vivid, carefully constructed, multi-dimensional imaginary world that can teach us (in a non-preachy way) about the ways our society, economy, politics, and cultures are failing us and what we could do about it.
As an example, my third novel, Altered Bodies, explores an alternate reality version of Las Vegas where poverty has been eliminated, a social rating system keeps people motivated (and under surveillance), and the desert has been turned into an oasis. The book also examines our relationships with technology and how we conceptualize mental health and illness.
What are your plans for the future?
2025 is all about taking big steps forward. I’m putting myself out there more, speaking up for my communities, and pushing for positive change. By letting go of what was holding me back, I’m speeding toward a bright future.
Pricing:
- Broken Mirror (Resonant Earth Vol. 1) is available in ebook ($6.99) and paperback ($19.91)
- Tortured Echoes (Resonant Earth Vol. 2) is available in ebook ($6.99) and paperback ($19.91)
- All Made in L.A. anthologies are available as ebooks ($3.99) and in paperback ($19.99)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.codysisco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/codysiscowrites/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/codysiscowrites/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codysisco/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CodySiscoWrites
- Other: https://www.bookswell.club
Image Credits
Photo credit: Cody Sisco
