We are sharing our exclusive interview with author and music artist Ross Victory.
Pro Media Mag : First of all please introduce yourself to our readers?
Ross Victory : I’m Ross Victory. I’m an author and music artist–a creator and visionary. I’m an introvert with bouts of extroversion, and I like nerdy activities like playing chess and reading. Still, also I love traveling to far unknown places, having adventures, and meeting exotic people. I also have a special place for sports cars. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and over the past year or so, I have been pushed to share my art on a path of healing past traumas.
Pro Media Mag : Who or what inspired you to get into writing?
Ross Victory : Writing has always been apart of my life. The earliest evidence for an affinity of writing was seven years old. I would write love songs for my grandma and 1st-grade teacher crush. Writing has been one of my go-to hobbies. For a while, I lost my connection with writing (stories and music) in exchange for comfort and money and job security. After years of working in a state of disconnection, writing became a safe place to express.
Pro Media Mag : Tell us about your recent book “Panorama: The Missing Chapter”?
Ross Victory : 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 the story is also of service and helps readers explore relationships and themselves. I wrote Views on a path to exploring and healing that relationship. I discovered him being abused and neglected by his 3rd wife. Abuse was a lot to accept and cope within the face of a starkly religious, emotionally disconnected home. Views helped me move past all of that pain and attain weightlessness in my body. Panorama explores spirituality and sexuality as a coupling, using themes of fatherhood and masculinity to expand on Views. It explores the idea of “Where do we find love?” In a time of collective chaos (COVID-19) and personal chaos (health, finances, and isolation related to COVID-19), Panorama’s theme resonates. Is character or one’s gender/political affiliation/race the most critical attribute of a human? My father’s abuser illuminated how it was nearly impossible to glean one’s character on a surface level. Everything that is superficially right may not be substantially right when it matters. The healing journey of my dad’s loss opened the doorway to also heal from past relationship traumas tied explicitly to my bisexuality of twenty years. Panorama is of service to the millions of bi men, bi women (and people who love us) who feel invisible, misunderstood, or just asked to thrive despite contention related to our authenticity. Panorama analyzes how oppression is disbursed from straight and LGBT collectives onto bisexual people and how erasure is perpetuated and normalized person-to-person and in mainstream media.
Pro Media Mag : What about the song Panorama. It will be based on same theme?
Ross Victory: The theme of Panorama–the song–will be broader than the book. The song encourages listeners to look at the full “Panorama” of a situation. I sing, “Can you see the full Panorama if you stare at the moon?” So the idea is to provoke introspection and openness to everything else that surrounds us, which is of the same creator.
Pro Media Mag: What kind of response have you received so far?
Ross Victory : The book is coming out for Father’s Day, June 21, 2020, so it’s available for pre-order now. The cover is quite evocative and depicts two male characters holding hands behind a female character while staring at the moon. So people are curious to see what it’s all about! The book was #1 in New Releases in Amazon Travel Guides because of the global narrative.
Pro Media Mag : What attracts you more, Writing books, making music or traveling?
Ross Victory : Writing books, making music, and traveling all denote freedom and expression to me. I would have to say that writing in text form feels more attractive because written words outlive humans. Music can be reduced to lyrics, and travel experiences can be reduced to journal entries. So definitely writing!
Pro Media Mag : Tell us a little about your previous books and music releases?
Ross Victory : Views from the Cockpit was released in 2019 for Father’s Day. It was my first book. The cover was illustrated by David Izaguirre Jr. and colored by William Sikora. From that book, came the audiobook version of Views that I recorded after I met a man who said he wanted to read, but could not. While I was recording the audiobook, I met a producer named Pxncho! from San Diego at Good Vibez Studios who encouraged me to get back in touch with my music. He produced the single called Savor the View to join the release of the audiobook. Since then, I’ve released three songs: “Everything Means Nothing,” “Two Keys to Moonlight,” and “Biggest Fan.” My next music release will be a song called “Luminous,” which appropriately speaks to light in dark times.
Pro Media Mag : So what’s up next?
Ross Victory : Good Pro Media Mag! We are in the middle of a global pandemic, and each day feels like an accomplishment—to somehow stay positive, engaged, and hopeful that we will make it through this in one piece. My immediate goal is to see the release of Panorama through. I will continue writing and recording singles through the year. Bookwise, I am exploring some ideas that match our current global situation related to isolation, separation, but also re connection.
Pro Media Mag : Anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Ross Victory : I need to tell your readers that they are valid; they are real, their story is not in vain, no matter the trauma, pain, or invisibility they feel. For me, the test was: do I have enough courage to use my story, my platform to empower myself and inspire others. Once I saw how the broken pieces fit back together, you may wonder why it took so long to build something new.
For further news and updates you can visit https://www.rossvictory.com/
