Giando's Story

I love to read, and write, because I love stories. Everyone has a story to tell. That's what makes this crazy world we live in so interesting. Every Monday, I interview a different person here and share their stories. At first glance, my guests may appear ordinary, but I promise they're not. They're people. And all people are fascinating. We all have a story to tell.
This week, I'm talking to Giando Sigurani. Giando's debut novel Mister Mercury is being released later this week. Giando's in my writing critique group, and I can attest this is a wonderful story you wont want to miss. In modern day, the Greek gods are all but forgotten, so Hermes decides to recapture the mortal's affection by re-branding himself as a super hero. I'm honored that Giando took some time out of his busy schedule to join us today.

I normally post a picture of my What's Your Story participant, but in order of his book launch, I'm including Giando's cover art today as well.





Let's get started, Giando, describe yourself in 50 words or less.

GS: Quiet, shy, I like to read and I love to write. My cynicism knows no limits, but I’m trying to fix that. Self-amusing, covetous of my private time. I find humor to be one of the most valuable tools in a writer’s arsenal.
Me: What do you love most in the world?


GS: Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The single greatest piece of fiction ever made, in my opinion. It was because of the Hitchhiker’s Guide that I learned to love reading, and realized that I like writing, too. His insights are so brilliant, multi-faceted and original that I’m still discovering more even after reading it so many times.
Me: I love how much Adams has inspired you. Hopefully, your writing will inspire some future writer in the same way. What do you fear most?

GS: That I won’t be able to tell all the stories I wish to tell. That I won’t be able to learn all the skills I want to learn in order to become the artist I wish to become. Also, scorpions. It’s like someone made the perfect math equation for producing the world’s most terrifying creatures, plugged in a very, very high number, and scorpions came out.
Me: I've never found scorpions all that scary, but I think that is only because I've had very little interaction with them. Thankfully, we live in a rainy climate not the desert. Now I want to know your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?


GS: I wish only to become a sustainable artist, I.E., a professional one. Not necessarily a rich one, mind. I just want to be able to keep doing it.  I’d love to have an extra 50 hours a week just to work on my craft. I’ve been working since I was 15. That’s thousands of hours I could have used to write more. Mister Mercury is only one novel… what else could I have done? I already feel like I’ve wasted so much time.
Me: I think quitting the day job is a dream most artists hold. I hope you get there, because I'm really looking forward to reading whatever story you're poised to write next. Getting there won't be easy though. What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

GS: I’d say that could either be the writing of Mister Mercury, or moving up here to Oregon. Both were pretty big risks. Moving to Oregon was the best decision I’ve ever made besides going back to school, but writing Mister Mercury… well, it might be a silly Greek god/ comic book/ urban fantasy/ religious satire concoction of ridiculousness, but it was one I worked on for eight whole years. It needed a lot of polish and a LOT of rewrites. It was a pretty ambitious project for a first novel, and I’m proud of it, as silly as it is.
Me: Publishing a novel is a huge accomplishment, and you wrote a very funny one. You should feel proud. Now that we've gotten to know each other, tell me a story. It can be long or short. From your childhood or last week. Funny, sad, or somewhere in between. Just make sure it's yours. What's your story?

GS: I learned long ago that I should not be allowed to operate a motor vehicle. I was borrowing my brother’s car and visiting him after going for some groceries. Flagstaff is a pretty small town, only about 15 miles across, and I had ridden down Route 66 hundreds of times on my bike. But on a car, the whole world is different.


I missed a turn that I had never missed on my bike, and found that I was on an interstate out to Sedona. And I panicked. I’m the sort of person who makes a lot more mistakes the moment he realizes he’s made one, and a thousand-pound steel cage was just not the best spot for a guy who can’t work well under pressure.
Eventually I found a spot to turn around and head back to Flagstaff, but it was a pretty strange road. It didn’t look like I was about to get to Flagstaff at all, like I was about to get to some other town I’d never heard of.
So I came to a fork in the road. There were no signs. I just thought that whatever road the new direction was, it was better than where I was going. But I should also mention that between the two roads, there was an eight-foot-tall concrete wall. So picture that in your head: Two roads, and a big concrete wall right in the middle. I tried to turn to the new road, but at the last minute I second-guessed myself like usual and thought that the one I was driving on was just fine. The two ideas wrestled with each other, and I ended up driving straight towards the wall and slamming the breaks instead of making a proper decision.
I didn’t crash the car, mind. But I did sit there, stunned, for a good ten minutes before doing anything.But that’s the sort of driver that I am: Given a choice between two roads and a wall, I will choose a wall.
Me: Given that history, please make sure you always where your bike helmet! Thank you again for sharing your story today, Giando, and good luck with your book release.

So what's your story? If you're interested in participating in a future installment of What's Your Story, please leave your contact information in the comments of this post or email me directly at katherine.elliott.scott(at)gmail.