The following is an interview with writer Domenick Dicce on the release of his latest book, Alternative Facts Journal: The Small-Handed Tweets of Donald Trump. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Dicce about the inspiration behind the book, his creative experience in compiling the tweets, his decision to donate half of his author royalties to charity, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of your latest book, Alternative Facts Journal: The Small Handed Tweets of Donald Trump! What inspired you to write this book?
Dominic Dicce: Thank you. I was reading an article about how one of the top-selling books on Amazon was Reasons to Vote for Democrats. The book is just a bunch of blank pages that people could use as a journal. The thing is, it was not the first book to do this. There were already a couple of journals available on Democrats and Republican. It just happened to be the one that caught people’s attention. I did some research and there were lots of book about Trump’s tweets, but none of them had been made into journals. Since my work usually leans toward comedy, I decided to throw my hat into the political humor ring.
BD: How would you describe the book’s format, given that it is both a collection of tweets and a journal?
DD: Formatting wise, I have Trump’s tweet and the time it was tweeted on the top of the page. The center is filled with about 20 journal lines for people to use. At the bottom, I have my (hopefully funny) interpretation of what that tweet means.
While the journal can be used as you would any other journal or notebook, I encourage readers to come up with their own hilarious alternative facts. I think that gives it a fun Mad Libs vibe. It’s also what makes alternative facts so much fun. They are only limited by your imagination or level of paranoia.
BD: What can you tell us about your experience in writing this book, and how do you hope that readers will navigate the collection of tweets?
DD: Since a journal is typically 150 pages, I wanted to keep the number of tweets I used to around the same number; however, Trump would not stop being a train wreck on Twitter. I finally decided to focus on tweets from the first time he used Twitter to right before being sworn in as POTUS. The follow-up Trump journal will be released during the next election and cover the tweets made during his presidency. Researching these early tweets made me feel calmer. I still disagree with Trump politics and think he is an immoral man, but looking at those tweets before the election even started to help me see the marketing behind them and not the “crazy” man on Twitter.
As for readers, I had my Republican and Democratic friends help me edit this book. While I poke fun at Trump, I wanted to make sure this was a comedy and not just a bunch of mean spirited jabs. Even though I disagree with my Republican friends on many issues, I still respect their opinions and beliefs. I hope the readers can use this book to laugh and maybe find some catharsis with our current events.
BD: You have noted that this book was self-published, allowing you to donate 50% of your author royalties to charities. What brought you to this decision, and what are some of the charities to which you will be donating?
DD: There were a couple of things that led to this decision. I’ll get one part out of the way. It is a marketing strategy. Making fun of Trump’s tweets is not an original concept. Let’s face it: His tweets are comedy gold. I am hopeful that people will be encouraged to pick up a copy, because they know half the money I make as an author (and part of what they are spending) goes to charity.
The reason this marketing strategy even occurred to me is because I have always wanted to have my art benefit society. While writing my first book, You’re a Vampire: That Sucks! A Survival Guide, I worked into the story reasons to donate blood on a regular basis and encouraged people to help impoverished countries.
When you get down to it, how much money do any of us really need? Of course, this is from the perspective of an actor who for many years truly lived the life of a starving artist. I have since gained over 20 lbs.
For the Alternative Facts Journal: The Small-Handed Tweets of Donald Trump, I’m donating to charities that support some of those things I believe make America great that the Trump administration is overlooking. The 50% will be divided between the environment, civil rights, women’s health, and the arts. I left the description vague in the book, because I wanted the flexibility to change the charities based on current situations. The specific charities right now are the Sierra Club Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and DonorsChoose.org.
Since this is the internet and somebody could be reading this article years from now, they can visit the charity page of my website for the current charities being donated to and get more information on the ones listed above.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
DD: I always have lots of projects in the works, but in relation to this book, I am developing more Alternative Facts Journals. The next ones will focus on Republicans and Democrats. Trump does not have a monopoly on saying ridiculous thing to the public; however, these two journals will go beyond Twitter and cover quotes from any public source. I will still be donating 50% of my author royalties to charity, but the charities will be based on what I believe the different reader demographics would like supported.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about your work and purchase copies of Alternative Facts Journal?
DD: The best way to find out more about this book and my other work is by visiting my website or going directly to Amazon.
