Life & Work with Dito Abbott of Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dito Abbott

Hi Dito, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Saudi Arabia, then lived on a sailboat for over a decade as my family circumnavigated the planet. My love for exploration and adventure are the basis for my love of storytelling. I published my first novel, “Debunked: Volume One of the Terravenum Chronicles”, in 2022. Readers describe it as “Indiana Jones meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”.

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?
“Debunked” was a challenging novel to write on multiple fronts. I had to prove to myself that I had what it takes to usher a massive manuscript from concept to completion (prior to becoming an author, my longest work was a 5,000 word essay about Samuel Barber I penned for Music History class).

I wrote the novel during an attempt to sail from Florida to New Zealand. Every day, when my daughters pulled their school books out, I slung up my hammock and dove into Terravenum. Progress was slow, but steady. After crossing the Panama Canal, we made it to the Galapagos Islands just before the Pacific islands shut down due to COVID. The ensuing forty days of quarantine were a boon to writing, but stressful in every other way. Eventually, the approach of hurricane season forced us to abandon our westward ambitions in favor of running north for the Sea of Cortez.

I chipped away at my manuscript through the chaos, finishing by the time we returned to land and moved to Phoenix. Once I published, I discovered the joy of marketing books at live events. Weekends became filled with book festivals, comic cons, craft fairs, and dog adoption events.

I’m currently writing Book Two while sailing with my family on another attempt to cross the Pacific!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’ve dipped my toe in a lot of creative pools over the years. After college, I devoted a decade to pursuing music with my band, Too Many Drummers. That chapter drew to a close with a stop motion music video I made in my basement over three and a half years (search “too many drummers fast asleep” on Youtube to see my madness in action).

The positive reception to that music video gave me courage to tackle Number One on my Most Intimidating Life Ambition List: writing and illustrating a novel. The Terravenum Chronicles were born.

What were you like growing up?
I came out of the womb a happy person with a bent toward silliness. Music was my first love, manifested in two years of clarinet honking before I busted out of my shell and became a drummer. When I wasn’t rapping on things with spoons, I was reading, Once I discovered Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, and Star Wars novels, my destiny as an author was sealed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ditoabbott.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ditoabbott
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ditoabbott
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ditoabbott

Image Credits
All images by Dito Abbott