Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kodi Gonzaga. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kodi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember, and I began writing them down when I was about nine years old. However, I was twelve when I realized that writing and telling stories was something I could do for a living! I remember reading the Percy Jackson books and realizing that people not only COULD print and publish something that sounded like the stuff I wrote, but those books I wrote could be popular too. And if my stories were printed and published and became widespread and known, they could find people who needed them and touch those people in incredible, meaningful ways. Since then, I’ve been writing and creating and telling stories nonstop.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Kodi, and I’m a storyteller and creative writer originally hailing from Atlanta, GA. Most of the stories I create are about kids, teens, and young adults with strange powers trying to navigate their complicated lives, trauma and marginalization, and supernatural abilities together. As a member of several marginalized communities myself, it’s always been important to me to include a wide array of experiences in my stories and intertwine the more mundane experiences with the magical or supernatural ones.

The main thing I deliver to the world is stories. First and foremost, I’m a creative writer, and writing forms the backbone of all my creative endeavors. I plan on publishing several YA and New Adult fiction novels as well as many TTRPG books in the future. I’m also hoping to break into the TTRPG actual-play community through shows like Pocket Dragon Pub, Happy Jacks RPG Network, and the podcast I’m currently creating called Literally Anything But Dungeons And Dragons! Right now, my two main projects are The Power Thieves and Extra Ordinary. The Power Thieves is a YA fiction novel series about a girl named Pen Carter and her struggles to keep her little brother safe, master her own superpowers, and find herself in a world determined to shape her into whatever it wants her to be. Extra Ordinary is a rules-lite TTRPG about being an extraordinary kid on the run from danger in the ordinary world, and it’ll be coming to Kickstarter in March 2025.

My inspirations for what I do are honestly too numerous to list here, but they definitely include the Percy Jackson series (and Rick Riordan in general), the Dimension 20 series (and Brennan Lee Mulligan in general), and all my friends. I’ve learned that a lot of my storytelling begins with my own desires, but it carries through to the end thanks to the encouragement and excitement of others. I wouldn’t be anywhere without the supportive people around me backing me up and encouraging my work!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Now, every book I’ve ever read has been impactful to how I write and how I see the world (some more than others, of course), but the two most important books on writing itself that I’ve read are Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott and Tell It Slant by Brenda Miller and Suzanne Paola. The first is a highly personal and delightfully educational reflection on writing, life, and taking things one step at a time. The second is a book about writing creative nonfiction, and it taught me how to write about myself and my experiences without the narrative distance of a superpower or a grand destiny or an entirely different world.

Books on writing aren’t always great places to go, is the thing, or at least not for anything more than advice, which you should always feel welcome to discard if it doesn’t apply to you. The two books I mentioned above are the only exceptions I’ve seen to that, and that’s only because they worked for me at that point in my life. The best thing you can do to learn how to become a better writer is read. Read everything. Read whatever you want, and even some stuff you don’t want to read. It worked for me, and hopefully it works for other people too!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think my biggest goal in life, creatively speaking, is to make and share stories that help others feel like they aren’t alone. That’s what stories were for me growing up. I felt a connection to others through books and movies and other storytelling forms that I didn’t always feel in my real life, and that connection alone, as tenuous as it was, almost certainly saved my life. I want to do that for other people with my stories. I want to show people who feel alone that they aren’t alone, and that there are people out there who they’ve never met who understand them and love them and accept them. That desire to connect, to see and be seen, is I think one of the main reasons humans tell stories. It’s certainly the main reason I tell mine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kodigonzaga.com/