Meet Steve Zappa

We were lucky to catch up with Steve Zappa recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Steve, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My mother instilled a love of reading in me at an early age. That, combined with living life, along with studying literature and philosophy at Cal State Fullerton, has helped me craft my own voice in writing. And my writing is my purpose. In many ways, my life began at the age of twenty-four, moving from California to Tennessee to build guitars for Gibson. Then I served four years in the Marine Corps, followed by a few years of college. So, I’ve drawn from my experience. Finally, a couple summers ago I flew up to Sitka, Alaska, to work a seasonal job as a seafood processor. When I came home to California, I wrote my dark comedy novella, titled “Alma Mendoza.” (I settled on the title halfway through the writing while I happened to be reading Anna Karenina.)

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

My publishing career started with my memoir, Pineapple Abyss, published in December of 2022. It was largely the result of a rough half-decade of life, following my college days. Alcoholism led to suicidal thoughts, which led to a one week stay in a psychiatric hospital. Not long after being discharged, I wrote the memoir, which was largely a form of self-therapy. For a debut indie author, it has been somewhat successful, gaining an audience well outside the U.S., and some people have found it relatable.

But my true love has been my most recent book, Alma Mendoza. I love dark humor, so I wrote a dark comedy. Alma herself was inspired by fictional characters like Alex from A Clockwork Orange and Amy from Gone Girl. I’m currently in the early stages of a prequel.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

As a writer, first I’d say read extensively. Explore genres. Indulge your love of the art. Second, learn from your heroes. Third, develop your own voice. I read for the love of reading, but I also breakdown the stories and look at them under a microscope. One of my favorites is Dostoevsky, whose psychological depth is absolutely brilliant. And I recently started reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the author of Mexican Gothic, among other amazing novels. These people motivate me. But in the end, you also have to stay true to your own voice. Write everyday. At some point you’ll find your own voice, and you probably won’t even be able to pinpoint when it happened.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust had a huge impact on me. It taught me the importance of portraying characters through multiple angles. The narrator of the story (he’s never given a name) builds images of people in his mind which don’t often match the true nature of these people. It reminds me of the saying, “Never meet your heroes.” This can go both way, of course, with good and bad natures. But the point is we’re all enclosed in our own minds, and we often deceive ourselves. This is an important idea to follow when you’re a writer and your characters are interacting with each other.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steve.m.zappa/

Image Credits

Alma Mendoza cover art by Emily St. Marie

Pineapple Abyss cover art by Emir Orucevic