Building a Foundation for an Author Career with Z.S. Diamanti

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Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:00

Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Shawna Rodrigues, one of your hosts and the founder of Authentic Connections Podcast Network, which makes this podcast possible. This podcast is where you discover the voice behind the pages of your next favorite book, and I'm excited about the author we have for you today.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:23

Z.S. Diamanti is an author, illustrator, and overall creator. The Stone and Sky series, is an epic fantasy adventure and the result of his great passion for fun and fantastical stories. The first in the series, Stone and Sky, recently released, and readers are calling it one of the most creative, epic, and heartfelt books, a high-flying fantasy, in a league of its own. An epic fantasy full of adventure, mystery, intrigue, and characters as large of life as well as an instant favorite. He went to college forever and has too many pieces of paper on his wall. He is a US air force veteran of the OEF, which I learned today is Operation Enduring Freedom, which I probably should have known, and he worked in ministry for over 10 years. He and his wife reside in Colorado with their 4 children where they enjoy hikes and tabletop games just for variety. He has become a staple on the fantasy book talk community, and I'm so glad we get to meet him today. Welcome, Zach.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:01:25

Hi. Thank you. What a wonderful introduction. I realized just the other day, I won an award for Stone and Sky this past weekend, and I was like, woah. Now I get to add award winning author to all my stuff. So, I have to go back and fix a whole bunch of things, but that's really exciting.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:45

That’s very exciting. Tell us what was the award for. Was it for, like, the art? Was it for the writing? What was it for? Tell us more about that.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:01:51

Yeah. So, it was for the Bookfest Awards, and the Stone and Sky won 1st place for fantasy in the dragons and mythical creatures’ category, which is so cool.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:05

Oh, that is so cool. That is, it. Congratulations.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:02:10

Thank you. It was a surprise to me too. I was like, wow. This is great.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:14

That is so exciting. We get to celebrate that. That'll be our first order of business is celebrating.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:02:18

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:19

Woo-hoo. Celebration dance.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:02:20

Do our dances.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:22

That's awesome. I love that. What a fun thing to do. I'm glad we get to be the first ones to celebrate in person kind of with you.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:02:28

I know. Right? I haven't even gotten to really make posts about it or anything. Yes.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:33

Oh, yes. I love it. We love celebrating. That's awesome. That's awesome. Congratulations. That is very, there's so much in the author journey, it can be very isolating to have, like, those acknowledgments really are something. So, congratulations.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:02:46

Totally. Yeah. Yeah. And it definitely makes you feel better when you work so hard. And you're like, oh, oh, oh, people like it. Oh, it's good.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:54

There's a little bit of validation. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. I'll take it. Yes. All this hard work. All this hard work. That's awesome. I love it. Well, that's fabulous. We're going to talk more about your amazing work, but we like to ease into getting to know you. So, tell us something interesting about where you are from.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:03:10

Okay. So, when I was growing up, my dad was in the Air Force, and then I joined the Air Force. So, by the time I was 24, I'd already moved, like, 27 times or something. 28 times.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:21

What? That's pretty impressive. That's a lot of moves.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:03:23

I don't really have a where I'm from until now. So, now we just live in Colorado, and we live in a little town called Falcon, which is really cool.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:33

That's very cool.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:03:34

Falcons are awesome, and falconry is awesome. But obviously, they named it for the very reason that there are falcons everywhere out here. And I kid you not. Let me tell you something awesome. We're driving into town one day, and there's a sign that says falcon on it. Right? You know, just a regular street sign that says falcon. And I kid you not, there was a falcon that was landed, perched on the Falcon sign? And I was like, no. No. No. Get your phone out. Get your phone out. Get your phone out. Right? Take a picture. We have to get a picture of this. Nobody will ever believe us. This doesn't have and my wife is over there fumbling, trying to get her phone out, and it flies away. Right when she gets her phone out. And so, now we tell the story in mourning because we have no proof that it happened, but it really did. It really did. I promise.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:25

Two of us. Two of us saw this thing happened.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:04:27

There are witnesses.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:28

There are witnesses. There's, yes. You have a witness. You have somebody to get like, this did happen. It did happen. That's pretty impressive. The Falcon's like, what am I? Let me show you what I am. I'll give you a sign.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:04:38

All the gloriousness that you get to see here.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:41

That is pretty awesome. That is great. Well, aptly named town, clearly. Like, I love that. I took that. Very apt. Very apt. I love that. And it's kind of fun. Like, there's been a theme. I feel like we have, I should break it down percentage wise. I feel like we've had, like, 40% of our authors grew up in military families and moved in a considerable amount. And I feel like, there must be something with that adding to imagination by experiencing a moving a lot or something.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:05:08

Yeah. I totally agree. I think that absolutely plays especially into fantasy. Right? You're creating this vast world with different cultures and things. But having been an Air Force kid and then Air Force myself and moving around the world, you know, expanding cultures, it just gives you so many different ideas to draw from in the well, you know, so that you can have all these characters. You know, you want orcs that are people, too. Right? You want to have orcs to have a culture of their own. Right? And you want, you know, elves to have a culture. And then you want dwarves to go out there. You want all these different cultures and these wonderful amazing places to experience in fantasy.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:49

Yes.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:05:49

Having lived all over the world, you got to go and see different cultures that just awed you and wowed you. Right? I lived in Japan when I was a kid, and we would run around in the jungles, like, you know, as a kid with our bare feet and running around in jungles, catching lizards and turtles and all sorts of creatures. You know, it was like real life Pokémon. Right?

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:10

Yeah.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:06:11

And that was just an experience that I had as a kid that other people just, there's no concept of that for somebody who's lived in the United States their whole life or somebody who's lived in Kansas their whole life. Right? There's just, it's a totally different world, and it totally plays into writing fantasy. I totally agree.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:31

Yeah. And finding the words described, like, how different, like, a bamboo forest looks from a pine forest to, like, everything you’ve seen from different points. Like, those words and that way of seeing those things and being able to call on that different imagery when you're trying to describe this fantasy world must really contribute to things.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:06:46

Oh, yeah. Totally agree. And even little things, the way that people eat or the way that people sit around a table together or the types of drinks they like to have. Just all those different things play into how you can really bolster your world in a fantasy world that other people don't really think of. Right?

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:07

Yes. Exactly. And things like, you know, dragon fruit or different fruits you find in different parts of the world. Like, to be able to describe those words like you are describing something from a different realm. You know? And so, if you grew up experiencing that.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:07:21

Right. It's not a far step for it to be, like, otherworldly at that point for you. Right? So, it's really neat.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:28

That is so exciting. So, when you developed your books, like, do you feel that if you had written them 10 years ago, it would be completely different than what you were able to write at this point in your life? Or, do you feel like things are very similar with who you are as a writer and what you would have developed 10 years ago as you do now.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:07:46

I think they probably would have been completely different.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:49

Nice.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:07:50

I got out of the military in: 2012

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:25

Yeah.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:09:26

Yes. It’s, I write it, so it's not like I do it. Like, you know?

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:29

Exactly.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:09:33

And so, it's funny because you formulate how, you find your voice as a writer over time. Right? And if I had written these books years ago, they just wouldn't be the same books at all. Not even close.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:49

That's so exciting. And so, you have 2 books now in the Stone and Sky series. Is that right?

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:09:54

Yeah. So, I've got Stone and Sky, which is out now. And I've also got the Stone and Sky preludes collection, which is really cool. It's 7 stories, seven prelude stories about characters that actually show up in the Stone and Sky world, which is really great. It's so much fun. I've had a lot of people tell me that they love to read it in conjunction with Stone and Sky, some of them like to read it before Stone and Sky, and others only found out about it after they read Stone and Sky. And they're like, oh my gosh. I wish I knew about these. These are so fun. And they're just really great introductions to different characters that you meet in Stone and Sky. And they're fantasy. They're just fun fantasy stories. Right? You know, I actually give them away to people for free. So, that’s actually how I really started getting people to come to know about Stone and Sky. I say, hey, look. I've got all these fun fantasy stories that you can have for free, and it just introduces you to people you're going to meet in Stone and Sky. And it's just a great way to jump into the world and have some fun along the way. And it's been wonderful. Wonderful. And then book 2 is actually currently out. Book 2 is called Stone and Tide. I don't have a picture of it. I wish, I really need to print one just, like, so I can have it to show. But,

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:12

yeah.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:11:12

Here it is. It's right here. I've been showing it to people on, you know, the TikTok and the Instagram. Right? But I really need a picture. It's called Stone and Tide, and it's the 2nd book. And it is actually out. It's the 2nd full length novel in the Stone and Sky series. It's actually out for final edits right now, which is great.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:31

Oh, exciting.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:11:30

And I'm currently writing book 3. And I think yesterday, we hit the 3rd of the way through the first draft mark, so we're cruising along. And, I'm really excited about how quickly we're actually able to really get these going. So, I've got a really good team of editors.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:51

That is so exciting.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:11:52

That's great.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:52

So, with Stone and Tide, do you have a release date yet? Or are you still waiting to,

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:11:57

I do. Yeah. So, Stone and Tide actually comes out on February 6th, which is very exciting.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:03

Very exciting.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:12:04

Stone and Sky only came out August 29th, and so, the fact that we're getting stoned and tied out in February is, like, primo. It's so cool.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:11

That is exciting. Well, it's good because the Stone and Sky, that gives you enough time to, like, get it and read it and get excited and get, like, the back stories read and get for the next one to come out in February.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:12:21

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:22

Very exciting. And is it, like, a 3 series arc or is there plans? So, 3 is the planned book series.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:12:28

So, we've got the trilogy arc,

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:12:30

nice.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:12:31

Which we'll finish with the 3rd book. And I do already have plans for another trilogy in the same world, which is great. So great. So much fun. Actually, I have ideas for three separate trilogies in the world. But at least one is planned out already. And then, I also have plans for a cozy fantasy standalone that also is in the same world, so that's pretty exciting as well. That'll be the one that happens probably the fastest after this trilogy is done.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:06

Well, it'll be kind of nice to have that cadence for your writing too because you got to do, like, the smaller story, intro stories, and then you get to have, like, a cozy standalone before you dive into, like, this takes a lot to write a multi-series.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:13:17

It does. It does. Right. Especially. And a lot of people are always surprised. You know? They're like, oh, well, when is this book going to be done? I'm like, this is, like, 120,000 words. Like, these are epic fantasies, guys. Like, it takes some time.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:13:33

It's an epic fantasy adventure that's going to be, you know, 460 pages or something. Like, it takes some work to write it. Like, then it has to go through edits, and we got to go through a process. Like, so the fact that we're getting them done, and out in the next one's out in February. I mean, that's pretty quick turnaround. It went pretty good.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:53

That is a very quick turnaround. It's very impressive. You get props. You get props. You get props.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:13:57

Thank you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:13:58

We're going to give you the props.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:13:59

Somebody who gets it. Right?

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:14:00

I get it. I get it. We're giving you the props. Yes. Yes. Call me anytime, Zach. Give me the props. Call me. I'll give it to you. Yes. And anyone listening, put in the comments or ever, like, he gets the props because that does, it takes a lot of effort. That is huge.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:14:13

Right. And you want to make sure it's done right. You know? And that's why I have a very good editing team. I mean, we go through several rounds of edits. And then after we do our test prints, we go through it again just to find any formatting issues and all that. Right? Like, we go through the works, and I'm sure that, I mean, no book is perfect, so I'm sure there's still a mistake or two in there. But, I mean, we do our best to make sure it's clear as possible.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:14:39

Well, I think I was shocked when I learned that, like, the industry standard's, like, 96% or something where I was like, no. I want a 100%. Like, yeah. When my book was published, I was like, no. It should be perfect. Like, the fact there's any errors, and they're like, it's below 96%. I'm like, I want a 100%, yeah. So, yes, I'm with you. I'm with you, Zach. I feel you. And readers eventually, they'll listen to the podcast. They'll get it eventually.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:15:02

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:03

But what is your favorite part of the writing process? Because, again, like we're saying, there's so many pieces to it. What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:15:11

So, if you asked me that maybe 6 months ago, I would have said anything but the plotting part.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:20

Anything. Anything with that. Anything with that.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:15:22

But now that I've been through several rounds of editing and, several rounds of setup and several rounds of the developmental editing. That's a fun one. I will say, actually, plotting isn't so bad.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:15:40

You live and learn. You live and learn.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:15:42

Sure. Yeah. Yeah. When I was going writing Stone and Sky, the first one, it was you know, I was really did doing a lot of discovery writing, really finding my voice for a full-length novel, which is something different entirely than writing short stories. Love writing short stories. Love the punchiness. Like, I love that you can 1, 2, punch, knockout, let's go. We're, like, really fun. Right? But a novel takes more planning. It takes more process. Right? And so, you know, I started as discovering in Stone and Sky as I went. Right? Because I had to learn. It's a new process. And about halfway through, I realized, okay, I'm too big for my britches here. I need to really pinpoint the rest of this book and figure out because, like, I know where I want this to go, but we're following, like, 4 different, the first one, we're following 3 different groups. Right? All at the same time. And I'm like, everybody has to get to the right place at the right time. Oh, dear.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:16:42

This takes some planning. This takes some planning.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:16:44

So, now we have to plan. So, the 2nd book, Stone and Tide, I actually planned it all out. Really loose structure, outline, and really, you know, loose just like, hey, in this chapter, we're following so and so and so and so. And at the end of the chapter, they got to be here. So, you could still discover how they're going to get there. That's great. But they got to be here at the end of the chapter. Otherwise, we're going to be messed up. And so, I went through the process that way. And writing book 2, I wrote that in, like, 3 months. And I was like, okay. Hang on now. There's something to this. And so, I actually really enjoyed that process, the kind of the plotting process to it for book 3. And now that I'm, like, in book 3, I'm, like, really enjoying just cruising along. And I get in, and I'm like, I already know where we're going. Let's see which chapter we want this one. Boom. Open it up, and I go, here's my little notes. Perfect. Okay. Let's jump into this. Bam. And we're going to town. And it's, I just feel so much more productive. And now that part of the process, the part that I, like, hated and I didn't want to touch before is now, like, my favorite part of the process because I'm like, I love you. Thank you for doing this. Thank you past self for doing this. This is great.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:17:59

Especially when it's, like, when you make it a map. Like, it's more of a map than it being, like, the strict, tiny, and crazy thing. Like, you can still let your characters, like, do their journey, but it's just came to mind. You know, eventually, where you're going to end up, but yes. Exactly.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:18:11

Yeah. Right. And I have to draw a map in mind because, you know, fantasy is in the go. Right? So, I drew the map in the first book, and I'm drawing a new map for the 2nd book because they go across the sea. Right? And I'm like, oh, where'd it go? Genius. Wait. Wait. Now you have to draw another map, genius. But actually, I learned a lot of the process of the first one as well. So, I'm actually making maps better, and it's smoother. And so, it's you know, you learn as you go. But it's funny because you're right. You're mapping things out, but you're also literally mapping things out while you're going through it. So, it's kind of a fun, it's a really fun process, honestly.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:18:51

I love it. I love, I love the evolution of that too. So, what is the best place for people to find you? It sounds like you're a TikTok guy. Is this the best place to find you?

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:18:59

Yeah. TikTok's pretty good. We have a lot of fun on TikTok. A lot of fun on Instagram as well. TikTok seems to be where I'm doing the best social media wise. But if people would like to get, you know, the Stone and Sky prelude series for absolutely free, you can get that at freefantasyfiction.com. It's way easier to remember than zsdiamanti.com. People are like, how do you spell Diamanti? I'm like, well, you say it as Italian as you can. Right? Like, Diamante. You know, Diamante. Right? Diamante. But people are like, how do I spell that, so I was like, okay. Alright.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:36

It's in the show notes. It's in the show notes.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:19:38

That's right. That's right. Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:39

Just click on the app. It's in the show notes.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:19:41

Right. Right. So, freefantasyfiction.com. It actually takes you to a specific page on my website. And so, you're directly on my website there, and there's all sorts of ways to connect with me there. And you can get the free stories there. Freefantasyfiction.com. Easy.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:56

Free fantasy fiction. Look, you're amazing.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:19:58

And it's got alliteration.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:19:59

I like it. I like it. It's perfect. Okay. Our final question. What book or story inspires you the most?

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:20:09

Oh, man. Okay. So, this is going to be, people are going to be like, oh my gosh. That guy. Right? Okay. When I was a kid, I didn't have glasses.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:20:18

Okay.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:20:19

So, reading for me was horrible. Like, I couldn't read, and my eyes couldn't get to the next line. And I needed glasses, but we just didn't know it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:20:27

Yeah.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:20:28

So, I just thought I was dumb and I couldn't read, which is a sad thing for a kid. It's heartbreaking. But so, I hated books. I hated reading. I hated anything to do with it. It was a huge chore and a pain. Until someone handed me the book, The Hobbit. And I went on this epic fantasy adventure, and I didn't care how long it took me to read every single page of that book. I was reading it because I was so invested in it. So much so that, you know, a couple weeks later, I actually wrote my first story called The Flobbit. Very original. Very original. I know.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:11

Yes. Yes. How do you think of that? I mean, the creativity from such an early age. Like, brilliant.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:21:18

Award-winning. I'm sure.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:19

Award-winning. Yes. Yes. That's your next award for like that original.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:21:25

So, The Hobbit just, it changed my brain. And I remember when I joined the Air Force, they were like, bro, you need glasses, obviously. And I was like, oh, okay. Great. All of a sudden, I could read. The whole world opened up to me, and it was one of the first books I grabbed was The Hobbit because I was like, that's in my heart. I have to go in. So, Tolkien's, The Hobbit. And I know Lord of the Rings is great, but The Hobbit still, it just has a special place in my heart forever.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:21:54

That is perfect. I love it. Thank you so much, and thank you so much for being here today and chatting with us. I loved talking to you. I'm sure everyone will love hearing more about this and checking out free fantasy,

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:22:05

fiction.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:06

Fiction.com. Look. It's another f word.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:22:09

I know. It's still good. Yeah. It was available, and I was like, yes. It's mine.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:14

Yes. Yes. Freefantasyfiction.com. Done. Thank you so much, Zach. I love chatting with you today.

Z.S. Diamanti [: 00:22:19

Yes. Thank you for having me. So much fun.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:22:23

Thanks for joining us. I hope you take a second to give us a review or a couple of stars on your favorite podcasting platform, and we'll be here again next Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at Author Express podcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget. Keep it express, but keep it interesting.