We recently connected with Rona Simmons and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rona, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Shortly after seeing my book of stories of World War II veterans who made their contribution behind the lines published. I connected with another group of people passionate about preserving stories from the war. The group, Stories Behind the Stars, was created to honor the 400,000 Americans who perished during the war and to ensure they and their sacrifices will not be forgotten by future generations. Today hundreds of volunteers have contributed stories to the effort. My own include soldiers who share my last name, airmen from the 100th Bomb Group (the topic of my most recent book), the fallen at Pearl Harbor and D-Day and those who served on the USS Indianapolis. In late 2021, after completing one story for each state in the union, I set a new goal – to tell the story of one soldier from each of the 149 counties in Georgia.

The reward has been two-fold. Not only do I learn more about our country’s history, but I am heartened by uncovering the story of a member of the Greatest Generation who paid the ultimate price for their country and were it not for the project might be just a name on a tombstone.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I am an author of historical fiction and nonfiction, including Images from World War II (2017), The Other Veterans of World War II: Stories from Behind the Front Lines (2020), and A Gathering of Men (2022). My stories, articles, and interviews have been published in literary journals and local newspapers and magazines. To give back my local writing community, I have given my time and expertise to the Georgia Council for the Arts, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s Arts and Business Council, the Gilmer Arts Council, and the Dahlonega and Milton literary festivals.

I act as a contributing writer for two military-related organizations: DODReads.com (dedicated to reading and lifelong learning) and StoriesBehindtheStars.com (with a mission to document the lives of America’s fallen in World War II).

My interest in World War II stems from my family’s connections with the military. I am the daughter of an army air forces P-38 fighter pilot and the daughter-in-law of a 100th Bomb Group bomber pilot—both of World War II–and the wife of a Vietnam-era Navy pilot.

I live in Cumming, north Georgia. I graduated from Tulane University and received my post-graduate degree from Georgia State University. My thirty year career in business was capped by a period with International Business Machines as a business consultant.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

There’s a saying that writing is the loneliest profession—after all authors spend their days sitting at their desk and, except for the tapping from the keyboard, silence surrounds them. It’s not a life for everyone. Yet, few people new to writing realize how important time away from the keyboard is. In fact, interaction with others, whether family, friends, mentors, fellow writers, librarians, book store owners, agents, publishers, and of course readers are as integral to the success of their work as is a good story.

Effective networking can catapult a writer’s career forward just as it can for any other profession or avocation. Unfortunately, many writers put networking on the back burner when they are deep in the midst of a writing project. And then, when they finally emerge from behind their office’s closed door, the task of reconnecting is daunting.

The recent pandemic may have given many—whether they are writers or not—a false sense that life can be lived in isolation or virtually. It will be doubly hard for some to go back to what is “normal” and most important.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to develop my computer and information technology and exercise my creative skills throughout my career. Thus, when Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn and all the other social media platforms emerged, I was not intimidated. Quite the contrary, I dove in with both feet and had websites and blogs and newsletters and photo sharing apps up in no time. But after a few months of experimenting with social media, I learned how time consuming (and often wasteful) the effort can be. The best advice I can offer to those who are just starting out on social media for their chosen profession is to:

(1) Be selective: Use only the social media that delivers your message to your chosen audience (research the demographics of the platform before engaging)

(2) Start small: Begin with the fundamentals, a website, or a blog, or a newsletter, for example. Look at what others in your industry are doing on these platforms and emulate the best of what you find. Perfect your presence on those platforms before moving on.

Contact Info:

• Website: ronasimmons.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronasimmons.author
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rona-simmons/