Bottom Line? I’m a writer in search of new and better ways to be a writer. After all, the journey is what shapes you.
Formally, the standard bio/professional profile goes something like this: Published author, award-winning copywriter, veteran educator and Creative Director-for-Hire, Scot Simmons is a multi-faceted master communicator and creative thinker with an extensive background in branding, marketing, advertising and public relations. His company, The Simmons Group, is a Los Angeles-based firm specializing in providing marketing content for start-ups, entrepreneurs and executives.
Born in San Francisco, CA, raised in the small East Bay community of El Cerrito, and currently living in Agoura Hills, he has, to date, written two celebrated works of fiction, Mr. Coleman and CREEK SONGS (and Other Seductions), and an e-book entitled The Five Foundations of Effective Promotion Writing. His brand battle-cry “Get It In Writing” is the foundational fuel for Scot’s abiding belief that we all have a story to tell…and that sharing said story is the key to our success — personally, spiritually and professionally.
Long-term loves and indulged seductions include: reading; swimming; jazz; Ray Bradbury; ducks; the 49ers; Charles Vess; comics; Gauchos; Vonnegut; swing; Japanese Maples; nine; Noir; Gatsby; Musso & Frank’s; cats; golems; Peach Melba; John Connolly; Steely Dan; slam poetry; Frazetta; speculative fiction; Bogart; Sinatra; Cary Grant; grottos; Rachmaninoff; dragons; Steak Sauce & Carrot Sauce; Mingus & Monk & Mose; metaphors (extended or otherwise); Casper’s Hot Dogs; fog; Fellini; preying mantids; Mind Surfing (Cowabunga!); Dizzy Gillespie; Blue River; Miles; Art Blakey; Sea Ranch; Dave Brubeck; OZ books; Edgar Allan Poe; otters; western movies; Cape Breton Island; Jimmy Stewart; rivers; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Billy Wilder; Lobster Thermidor; 1st editions…and, of course, Scotland.
What I’m working on…
• Writing the next book, tentatively entitled Lifesongs (and Assorted Lyrical Mutterings). Shooting for a release date sometime in early 2024.
• Reading and Writing Ghost Stories. I’m fascinated, of late, by the ghosts that haunt us…from the supernatural variety to the more commonplace — the memories, fears and regrets we carry through life.
• Taking a shot at writing Flash Fiction. New explorations in the September of my years.
• Consulting and Brand Strategizing with Select Clients. I’ve reached a stage in my life where people actually listen to me. Go figure.
• Working with Instagram Mayven, World Traveler and World-Class Photographer Par Excellence Anna McNaught on a soon-to-be-released Book That Will Surprise and Astound. More to come regarding this work in progress…and samples, too!
• Co-Leading, Seeding and Feeding My New Interactive “Think Tank” Group: MIND SURF™…ideas inspiration and answers for business professionals and forward-focused entrepreneurs. Always looking for speakers, contributors and new members…get on Linked-in and sign in, surfers!
• Updating my e-book entitled The Five Foundations of Effective Promotion Writing. Available FREE on this site.
• Building Robots and Gardens and Metaphors. Oh, My.
• Selling Books, Comics, and more on EBAY with my very savvy wife, Cindy. Together we are Buffalo Sundae Collectibles…Electric Eclectic!
• Binge-watching (and sometimes re-watching) “Suits” (Netflix), “Bloodlines” (Netflix), “Ted Lasso” (AppleTV)“ Love, Death and Robots” (Netflix), “The Diplomat” (Netflix) “Jury Duty” (Netflix), “Justified” (Hulu), “Jack Ryan” (Netflix), ‘Severance’ (AppleTV), The Shining Girls (Apple), “My Octopus Teacher” (Netflix), “Drops of God” (Apple), ; delicious Film Noir classics on TCM. Good stuff. Really good stuff.
• Reading Everything I Can Get My Hands On. Can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. True Story. Recent Reads: THE SUMMER GUEST by Justin Cronin …HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION; FLEDGLING by Octavia Butler; WITNESS by Jamel Brinkley; LIKE LIFE and BIRDS OF AMERICA by Lorrie Moore; THE FERRYMAN by Justin Cronin; THE GOLDEN GATE by Amy Chua; CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson; HEADS OF THE COLORED PEOPLE by Nafissa Thompson-Spires ; WE LEARN NOTHING (ESSAYS) by Tim Kreider. And let’s not forget my once-every-year-without-fail reads: THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald and 1984 by George Orwell.
