Today we’d like to introduce you to Glenn Somodi
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Glenn Somodi is an American author who writes his stories in the short space between lying down and dreaming. The stories are written over many nights, replayed, and rewritten in his head for enjoyment. His mission is to find anyone who enjoys reading the stories as much as he enjoys creating them.
He is a proud graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. His paying job is as a partner at EYEMG.com, LLC in Akron, Ohio, a website development company.
He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, raised by a schoolteacher and a mechanical engineer in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, and has resided in Brunswick, Ohio, for most of his adult life.
He has a patient wife whom he met at Ohio University in 1989. He also has three beautiful children that are his favorite creations. His coworkers include three cats and a dog – a Siamese tabby named Nala, a Chantilly-Tiffany cat named Coco, a Maine Coon named Josie, and the loudest coworker is Beckham, a Yorkshire Terrier. All five share office space for the entire workday.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The only challenge I have is time to do the things I love to do. When Covid hit, it allowed me to work from home, saving me almost nine hours of week in commuting time. I used that time to start getting creative in my home studio.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My middle grade fiction book series, Olly & the Spores, currently has two books available with a third on the way. Book awards include a Readers’ Favorite Book Awards Silver Medal, a Golden Wizard Book Prize, a Page Turner Award for Best Middle Grade Fiction, and a Bookfest Winner for the audiobook. It was also recognized as a finalist in the International Book Awards and also in the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence® Awards .
Aside from writing a middle grade children’s fiction book series, I am also writing an adult dystopian fiction novel. I illustrate my books and also dabble in other creative art forms. As a hobby, I create and sell original book cutouts (photos attached), recycled book art, custom watercolor illustrations of mushrooms and flowers, as well as whimsical mushroom characters. I also teach free classes to teens and adults with disabilities how to paint with watercolor.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Inspired by some of my favorite childhood movies, like Star Wars and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, I always wanted to be a movie director. I used to build small models and blow them up with firecrackers, filming everything on my Super 8 movie camera. A long path starting with this hobby led me to New York City and into the advertising field, and eventually into advertising on the Web back here in Ohio.
Years of playing in the woods with friends allowed me to create an imagination that flooded my brain with story ideas. Those ideas are finally coming out on paper in the later part of my life as an author. A childhood love of art and illustration has also been revived and I have been creating and selling art based on altered recycled books.
Pricing:
- $12.95 – Olly & the Spores Paperbacks
- $6.99 – Olly & the Spores Kindle version
- $9.99 – Olly & the Spores Book 1 Audiobook
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.GlennSomodi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gsomodi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gsomodi
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OllyandSpores
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GlennSomodi
- Other: https://www.OllyandTheSpores.com
