I’ll be taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming today to bring you a fun interview with an old friend, Rob Dircks. Instead of sharing five things that are happening around here, I’ll be asking Rob five questions.
First things first. I’ve asked Rob to give us his personal and professional highlight reel so you can get to know him a little better! Take it away, Rob…
I was the kid in junior high with the super-8 camera. My twin brother Ken and I had a blast making movies and just creating for creating sake, but when it came time for college, I went more “serious” (in very strong air quotes) with a marketing degree from Hofstra. Got a job in advertising, the absolute bottom-rung-of-the-ladder job, but it led me to graphic design, which opened up a new world for me, and I fell in love with it. So I became a designer, and eventually joined another of my brothers, Dave, starting an ad agency, and we did that for THIRTY YEARS. Really a totally fulfilling chapter of my life, absolutely wonderful. (Side note: remember the AOL CDs you used to get in the mail. We designed those!)
But… during that time, the creative itch wasn’t fully scratched, that inner movie-maker. So I took some screenwriting classes at NYU, learned a ton, and realized that my scripts would soon end up on the bottom of slush piles across the country. And if I wasn’t willing to move out to L.A. – I wasn’t, I had a wife and two kids and a life and business here on Long Island – I needed to scratch that itch a different way. That led me to long-form fiction and self-publishing.
After my first extended bout of agent rejection, I realized I was much more of a DIY type and self-published my first book, Unleash the Sloth! (ironically NOT a novel). I surprised myself by selling thousands of copies, so I launched into my novels: Where the Hell is Tesla? (which would go on to become a trilogy), and The Wrong Unit. After the moderate success of these, Audible reached out to me to write a novel for them, which resulted in You’re Going to Mars! – which hit #1 on their overall bestseller list (a feat I still kind of can’t believe).
On the personal side, I’m not an adventurer at heart like you Tabitha, but how about my perfect day right now, at 58: it’s a blue-sky summer day, and Kellie and I head out to Centerport Beach, nudge our kayaks into the water, and I drop a line for a while to see if I can catch a fluke. Then we’ll spend two or three hours reading books under an umbrella, our feet in the sand, clinking a bottle or two. Then I’ll talk about making dinner for our son Sam, but we’ll give each other a wink and go out for sushi instead, and tell Sam to charge something on us. Our other son Andrew will call then from the city, just to say hi, because he’s that kind of kid, and we’ll smile, proud parents, and shower off the sand when we finally get home, and watch a flick (if Kellie picks, it’s something good, if I pick it’s some half-ass garbage sci-fi that I love), and settle in.
Dear Readers, Rob really is this fun, funny, and talented! Now on to our five questions…
1. Can you give us the extended elevator pitch for your newest novel Sunnyside?
Sunnyside is a lot of things, and that’s what I like about it, but at its core it’s the story of Theo, a grumpy history repairman, who accidentally becomes leader of humanity at the worst possible moment – the aliens are coming.
It’s also the story of his life on the Star Orbiter Lusitania, one of eight artificial moons orbiting Sunnyside, the planet that was to be their future home. The dream was for this last outpost of humanity to terraform Sunnyside, but its habitable ring was far too thin – and endless bureaucracy and mysterious forces have made it a lost cause. Now all but a sliver of hope is lost. Oh, and people are dying. And his brother is missing. Can Theo hope to fix all this? Or any of it at all? With a target on his back? And did I mention aliens?
2. Your work is infused with humor, but there are definitely deeper thematic or ‘what if’ type questions which anchor the story. What were you exploring thematically with Sunnyside, and how do you balance the humor with the serious stuff in your writing?
I think the main theme in Sunnyside, for me, is what we hold on to, and what we let go, and how we learn to navigate the two. Theo’s relationship with his brother Vin is at the center of this, a relationship Theo can’t let go of. And that theme is reflected in the push/pull of holding onto a long-lost home in Earth, versus embracing a new home that’s unknown, and other relationships that feel solid and inevitable that we realize are temporary, just like everything else. Even the villains in the story struggle with the idea of immortality, permanence, and the futility of it. (I don’t think that’s a spoiler?)
Another big theme in this book, one that’s more timely, is truth. As a history repair technician, Theo takes the truth very seriously, and throughout the story, we’re challenged by information we can’t trust, and faced with the damage of hundreds of years of misinformation. It’s a bit of a hot button issue with me, as we find ourselves suddenly faced with political misinformation, opinions-as-fact, and crazy stuff like AI hallucinations. The other day I read a review of a limited TV series, from what looked like a reputable source, but with obvious made-up AI slop, and it hit me pretty hard. We’re in for a bumpy ride.
On balance, I think the world is still a wonderful place, with delightful and absurd stuff everywhere. So infusing humor throughout Sunnyside was as easy a looking around, seeing that it’s everywhere, in nearly every conversation and situation. Even in dark moments, we look for ways to break the tension, or put a smile on someone’s tear-streaked face. Of course, in my fiction I amp up the humor, because ultimately, I want these books to be a blast to read or listen to. I even love slipping a bit of slapstick into all my books, and a fart joke or two.
3. How do think you’ve evolved as a writer from your first novel Where the Hell is Tesla? to Sunnyside?
As I said, I’m never above a fart joke, so I’m not sure how much I’ve evolved! But yes, I guess I have, over the past ten years of writing long form. The first two books, Tesla and The Wrong Unit, just came out of me with reckless abandon, rules and norms be damned. And while there’s something to be said for that, and I loved the rawness in those books, there’s also a pleasure in growing as a writer, and learning rules, and seeing where that learning can take you. One example: Sunnyside, believe it or not, is the first book I’ve written in the third-person, past tense (all my prior books were first-person present). And I found that third person gives you this incredible power to look into all these characters’ minds, and express their thoughts and words, and not limit them through the lens of the main character. And not having everything stuck in the present tense gives you flexibility to jump into the past, present, or future more easily.
Also, once you’ve got a few books under your belt, and can look back a bit, it’s really fulfilling to see your progress, and to see that you actually have developed a style! Like it amazes me when people will post a review that says “It’s a Rob Dircks story, so you know the drill…” like they actually know my style, know what to expect, and dig it.
Lastly here, I think I’ve come a long way as a narrator. This is the eighth book I’ve narrated (and umpteenth short story for the podcast), and it’s super satisfying to learn the skill over the years and use that new knowledge, both in gear and in performance and nuance. It’s probably the most observable difference between newbie know-nothing Rob, and semi-seasoned professional Rob, listening to Tesla versus Sunnyside.
4. Okay, let’s talk business… We met on an indie publishing panel at the WD conference way back in 2016 (I think LOL). From your perspective, how has the indie publishing scene evolved, for better or worse, in the last decade or so?
Oh my God, it was that long ago? Wow. Yes, things have changed. Off the top of my head, I’d say that the tools and access have kept getting better and easier, so more and more people can self-publish their work more professionally. So that’s GREAT. But… that has also led to a glut of content, and combined with Amazon’s advertising environment, and social media, with EVERYONE selling something, it’s all created a discoverability problem. Ten years ago authors could still have a book break out through word of mouth, social media posts, and good keywords and descriptions, and Goodreads giveaways were free, etc. Now authors need to do or spend much more to get traction with a new book. They’re competing against not just authors, but every influencer and brand ambassador and cake decorator and tattoo artist, just for a wee bit of someone’s attention. I know, I know, Old Man Yells At Cloud.
I’d like to say things are looking up for indie publishing, maybe with hybrid approaches like Authors Equity or the Collective Book Studio, but it’s still new to me. Let’s say I’m cautiously optimistic. I like that people keep trying new things, tech keeps getting better, and people keep reading books!
5. You also write a ton of short fiction. Tell us what you love about short fiction, and share some intel about your podcast ListentotheSignal.com, which focuses on short fiction.
Where do I start? I love so many things about writing short stories. First, they’re SHORT. I can get in and out, do the setup and the payoff without the muddy second act and boom – done. And because they’re short, I have to be economical. I love trying to get across a world, or a character, in just a few sentences or paragraphs, letting the reader or listener fill in all the blanks themselves. And I love the “Twilight Zone”ness of them. Remember that show? There was always a single message, and very tight development, and a great twist, and if you were lucky, a double-twist. God, I love the double twist. I’m always looking to stick one in, so watch out.
I also love that I can give the shorts away on the podcast. After a while, I put them into paid collections, but for a long time they’re out there for anyone to listen. With so much out there for sale, I honestly treasure the fact that these are my little gifts to the world. I’ve been given a talent to tell stories, and I’m giving it back, and people tell me how much a particular story meant to them, or gave them a laugh when they needed it, or reminded them of someone they loved, or made them choke up a little, and damn, it doesn’t get better than that.
Rob, it was amazing to catch up with you, and I hope Sunnyside rocks the bestseller lists!
Rob Dircks is the #1 Audible bestselling author of You’re Going to Mars!, the Where the Hell is Tesla? trilogy, The Wrong Unit, and Listen To The Signal: Short Stories Volume 1. A member of SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America), his prior work includes the anti-self-help book Unleash the Sloth! 75 Ways to Reach Your Maximum Potential By Doing Less, and a drawerful of screenplays and short stories. Some of these sci-fi short stories appear on Rob's original audio short story podcast Listen To The Signal, also narrated by the author. He lives in New York with his wife and two kids. You can get in touch at robdircks.com.