Interview with Author Ross Victory

Ross Victory is an Award-Winning American author, singer/songwriter, travel geek and author of the father-son memoir, Views from the Cockpit: The Journey of a Son (2019) and Panorama: The Missing Chapter (2020). Ross spent his early years collecting pens, notepads and interviewing himself in a tape recorder. With an acute awareness for his young age, Ross was eager to point out hypocrisies and character inconsistencies in children and adults through English assignments. If he weren’t keeping his English teachers on their toes for what he would say or write next, he was processing his world through songwriting and music.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: http://www.rossvictory.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/rossvictoryofficial
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rossvictoryofficial

About the Book

After a friendship ignites and morphs into a curious tale of parallel souls with a Brazilian-American soldier serving in the U.S. military in South Korea, Panorama reflects on the author’s contemplations

to return to a crumbling family life in Los Angeles or to endure his life in Seoul for an end-of-contract cash payout.

With a thought-provoking storyline that covers eating live octopus, philosophical debates about the gender of God, a pregnancy, and bisexual erasure in men, Panorama delivers a page-turning cerebral adventure. Ending with prose that simultaneously bites and soothes, Panorama suggests readers stand tall in their unique intersections of relationships and sex. Reminding us that as daunting as the vicissitudes of life, and no matter the view from the cockpit of life, the human spirit cannot, and should not, be restrained. While truth may be the bitterest pill of them all, the effects of our truth can bring us closer to an unbroken life.

PRAISE
In this small book are two masterpieces, a riveting remembrance of several life-altering experiences and relationships the author began in Seoul, South Korea, and an essay, let’s call it part tirade, part profound reflection on our view of men, masculinity, sexuality, and romance. You cannot stop until finished because there is no midway, no stopping point as you become a part of his world. After nearly every sentence you scream with or at his observations either with critical reflections or ecstasy. Ross has his pulse on his generation and the most precarious issues confronting sexuality and romance.
–Dr. Ritch C. Savin-Williams, Ph.D. –Cornell University & Author of “Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity among Men”

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Can you tell us what your new book is about?

Panorama: The Missing Chapter is a follow up to my first book Views from the Cockpit. Views from the Cockpit is a memoir that reflects on a father-son relationship using airplane metaphors to explore broken bonds, divorce, and memories. A lot of men struggle with their father's decisions, so Views was also of service to men who are trying to navigate life with their fathers. I discovered my dad being abused and neglected by his 3rd wife. The abuse was a lot to accept and cope with in the face of a starkly religious home, which taught me that prayer was the answer. Views helped me move past all of that pain into surrender and understanding. Panorama explores spirituality and sexuality as a coupling, using themes of fatherhood and masculinity to expand on topics covered in Views.

Panorama explores the idea of "Where do we find love?" Is character or one's gender/political affiliation/race the most critical attribute of a human? In a time of collective chaos (COVID-19) and personal chaos (health, finances, and isolation related to COVID-19), Panorama's theme resonates. My father's abuser illuminated how it is nearly impossible to glean one's character on a surface level. So, the healing journey of my dad's loss opened the door to also heal from past relationship traumas that I feel were explicitly tied to being a bisexual man. When I look out into the landscape, bi men are still underrepresented even though lesbians and gays have elevated into the mainstream.

Can you tell us a little about your main and supporting characters?

The main characters are Ross and Alví. Both men find themselves in South Korea—Ross by way of Los Angeles, Alví—by way of New York from Sao Paolo, to escape familial dysfunction. Ross moves to South Korea to teach English in a work abroad program, and Alví moves to South Korea to find shelter in the U.S. military from Brazilian gangsters. Ross is African American, and Alví is Afro-Brazilian. Sasha is a bi-racial woman (African-American and Korean). She moves to South Korea to escape her cat hoarding parents. Nerissa, the final role, is the only character living in the United States. All the characters identify as bi+.

Your book is set in Seoul, South Korea.  Can you tell us why you chose this location in particular?

Seoul is where the events naturally occurred. Seoul is a colorful, 21st-century metropolis filled with traffic, food stands, and the random Korean temple.

How long did it take you to write your book?

Panorama took approximately one year to write and was finally completed while I was vacationing in Tulum, Mexico.

What has been the most pivotal point of your writing life?

The most pivotal point of my writing life was the release of my first book—Views from the Cockpit. I never imagined writing a book and releasing it to the world and reigniting my passion for music. But then I never imagined all of the events and the pain that would occur that would inspire the need to write a book. Over the past two years, every moment, I am thankful I can express myself through the written word.

What kind of advice would you give other Memoirs/Real Life Stories authors?

Keep it real. Don’t write to please people. Write from your heart.