Life & Work with Robert DeSimone of Long Beach, CA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert DeSimone.

Robert, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I have been interested in storytelling ever since my dad began making up random adventure stories starring my siblings and I that he would tell us before going to sleep on most nights. I wrote a few stories while in high school (stories that I would consider ‘cringe’ today) then began writing a novel in my early twenties that I finished but never published. After writing a short story called “Corporal” for a college literature class, my dad told me about a new publishing platform from Amazon called Kindle Vella. I self-published a military drama called “Corporal” on there in December, 2021.

After that, I began self-publishing books on Amazon’s main platform. I currently have four books published: two novellas, one novelette, and the short story “Corporal”. My best book, I’d say, is my satirical comedy novella: Mad World: A Comedy. It’s about five incompetent train robbers that go on the run after accidentally robbing a train that belongs to Death. My other books include military sci-fi novella Siege and sci-fi/horror novelette Undead City: A Zombie Book.

In 2022, I began uploading some of my short stories as dramatized audiobooks to my YouTube channel – DeSimone Stories (@desimonestories486).

My future goals include getting a book published by a traditional publishing house, turning my writing into a full-time career, and releasing as many entertaining, high-quality books as I can.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been easy. I always thought writing the book would be the hardest part of being an author. While that is a huge and difficult piece of the process, it is not the hardest part, but it is the most enjoyable part. The hardest part, I’d say, is marketing the book so that I can build an audience that will enjoy my writing and story-telling style. I’m still ‘stabbing in the dark’ when it comes to marketing. There are many cogs in the machine of self-publishing. First, there’s writing the book, then having the book professionally edited, getting a book cover made, formatting the books for paperback, e-book, etc., setting up the ISBN, then finally marketing the book… And marketing never ends. It is a stressful and rewarding journey that I hope to get better at over time.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I write prose fiction stories in the genres of comedy, science fiction, and horror. I tend to write fiction stories that are generally character driven with common themes of morality, violence, and mental illness. With the exception of my one comedy novella (Mad World), I like to think my stories evoke the feeling of a beautiful tragedy. Characters are often plagued with a desire for something they can’t have and while they may eventually get what they were looking for, the result is often bittersweet. My writing also has a strong focus on family themes, often exploring family dysfunction and loyalty to one another.

I am most proud of my satirical comedy/western book Mad World: A Comedy. It was a departure from some of my darker work and was just incredibly fun to write because of how ridiculous, absurd, and bonkers it is in so many ways. I parody different facets of society including the fire department, politics, and poor decision-making amongst other things. The character I’m most proud of creating in Mad World is an unhinged, resilient, mentally ill train robber and former psych patient named Stabby McNabby who is treated more like an action movie-star than a person consumed by their condition.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I didn’t have a mentor when I started my writing journey and still don’t. I would definitely recommend finding a mentor if that is something that’s within your power. I learned much of what I know through watching YouTube tutorials. As someone who is relatively shy (as I imagine many authors are), if you can find someone who can show you the ropes, it will definitely speed up the process of publishing. Currently, my full-time job is working as a fire inspector and I found that, because I was able to find a few mentors in this field, I was able to succeed in getting hired relatively quickly because someone was showing me the ropes and, I’d imagine, it would be the same for someone who is trying to become an author.

Two creators who I admire and who have inspired much of my writing style are Genndy Tartakovsky and Seth Macfarlane. It would have been a dream to have one of these two as mentors.

Pricing:

• Mad World: A Comedy (eBook) – $2.99
• Undead City: A Zombie Book (eBook) – $1.99
• Corporal (eBook) – $0.99
• Siege (Paperback) – $12.00
• Siege (eBook) – $2.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robert-DeSimone-Jr./author/B09XJH7WS4
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/desimone_stories/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@desimonestories486
• Other: https://desimonestories.substack.com/subscribe