Tony V Rodriguez, author of the inspiring and empowering book Standing on Positive Ground, offers readers a roadmap to harness the power of positivity and resilience in the face of life’s challenges. Today, we dive into the story behind his book, the journey of writing it, as well as any wisdom Tony has to share with all of us. With this purpose in mind, we explore Standing on Positive Ground and discover the man behind the words.
Please describe your book.
This heartfelt, inspirational memoir shares the incredible life of Tony V Rodriguez. Before he was three years old, he had experienced two car accidents, one that nearly cost him his life. His life and physical appearance were forever changed. As a medically challenged son of an interracial migrant working family, life presented many challenges for him. His family, unable to afford the needed extensive care prayed for a miracle. Tony experienced many blessings from his community, God, and organizations such as the Shriner’s Burns Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Tony would undergo many reconstructive burn 
surgeries over his childhood and young adulthood. He started sharing his story verbally at a young age, maybe six or seven. His facial scars drew people’s attention, and instead of shying away, his mother encouraged him to engage with those curious kids and adults. So these conversations created a connection, and people related to his difficulties and triumphs. Tony experienced shame, negativity, and depression, finding out that he wanted no part of those feelings that only seemed to weigh upon him negatively. He soon learned he was not alone as he faced his arduous journey with determination, strength, and a positive attitude that inspired those around him.
Tony miraculously overcomes many obstacles that he is faced. Obstacles, such as three near-death experiences, twelve auto accidents, three motorcycle accidents, cancer, stroke, discrimination, numerous surgeries, and two divorces, his faith and the act of so many caring individuals have allowed him to live a mainstream, blessed life. He worked hard to create a career to support himself and his family, at the same time having to juggle his physical limitations and needs. Most people face multiple life challenges and become defeated by those experiences. If you made a list of labels for challenged individuals, I would check off several.
Over time, Tony’s Evil Knievel body began to take its toll. In the Spring of 2016, he became medically retired. After a hard reminder from the heavenly realm, he wrote his story for those who feel isolated, afraid, or alone from an illness, disfigurement, or discrimination. Those who aren’t feeling connected and have ended up on the fringe of society are guarded and afraid. Tony has shared how faith and his relationship with God and the heavenly realm influenced how he lived through life-threatening injuries and illnesses from toddlerhood through adulthood. He writes about lost faith and grace. He’s shown the life of an imperfect man, fallible and faults included, so as to bring comfort, relatability, and inspiration to the reader.
Standing on Positive Ground is filled with examples of faith, positivity, unconditional love, determination, life miracles, personal growth, and joyous and heartbreaking outcomes. He hopes that this memoir reaches many, uplifts, and brings inspiration to the reader. Tony has currently had 66 surgeries to date. He continues to Stand on Positive Ground.
What inspired you to write this book?
Being a survivor of countless events and coming out of it all with a positive perspective on life. So I deeply wanted to share my story with others in hopes of inspiring, empowering, and uplifting their lives. A higher calling to do so.
How do you make sure the information for your non-fiction book is accurate and up to date?
Researched data that was used in the book came from historical newspaper articles, medical records from hospitals, school yearbooks, and information shared from family members.
What does literary success look like to you?
My literary success is being able to reach out to as many people as possible on a survivor level. People of all ages, to let them know they are not alone in their struggles or mishaps that life has brought to them. To lift them up, inspire them, and share some positivity with the reader. In hopes of making a positive impact.
Do you outline your books beforehand? Why or why not?
Yes, my ghostwriter and I formed an outline to be used in order to ensure the story flowed in a data/chronological order and from an order that seemed to support how I wanted the story to go.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned while writing?
How difficult writing can be, but at the same time, how instrumental it can be as well. I’m not a professional writer, but I have learned the utmost respect for writers. As for the publishing process, I found it impossible to reach out to various literary agents and publishing companies since I am not an established writer. So finding a self-publishing company like MindStir Media was a true blessing that enabled me to get my story out to the world.
What are some publishing tips?
My advice: when you are ready to publish, do your research on finding the right publishing company to help get your story out to the world. Mine was divinely influenced, because I found the self-publishing company MindStir Media. Also, the important thing is to file for your copyright to protect your writing. When you find a publisher, retain all your rights to your manuscript.
How do you make non-fiction interesting and engaging while still being informative?
I believe it’s how well you paint the picture per se for the reader. Be as descriptive as you can be about the setting, provide photos that the readers can actually see and relate to (pictures are worth a thousand words), and at the same time, write from the heart.
What is your favorite part of writing?
It would have to be working with my ghostwriter Karen Danner and watching how our teamwork in the creation of my memoir brought life to my story. Also being able to express my life in words that most people can relate to.
What do you find enjoyable or difficult about non-fiction?
I enjoyed writing my memoir in my own personal voice as if I was sitting next to the reader telling my story. I found how difficult it was not to go in too deep into a topic but yet at the same time make your point. It was also difficult to pick the topics I wanted to write about since there were so many in the span of my lifetime.
Was this topic suggested or was it something you were already interested in?
Growing up, my mom really instilled in me that I needed to share my life story with people. So it was something that was already interesting to me, to tell my life story.
What other types of research did you need to do for this book?
Google Maps to find exactly what the area looked like to help to be more descriptive in the writing process. Along with reaching out and contacting people I have not heard from in a very long time, for example, my main surgeon who did my surgeries from the early 70s to the late 80s.
Who will this book appeal to? What age range would you recommend it for?
The book appeals to so many different readers and any age group (children to adults) in so many different aspects. For example, people that have or know people that have been through or find interesting: survivors, medical workers, people with disabilities, Spiritual, motivational, non-fiction, true story, memoir, inspirational, uplifting, burn victim, burn survivor, scars, surviving, cancer survivor, Shriners Burns Hospital, Shriners, Masons, burn reconstruction plastic surgery, positivity, heartwarming, heart-wrenching, perseverance, remarkable, challenging, inspiring, meaningful, powerful, factual, healing, empower, enlightening, persevere, resilience, love, determination, positive thinking, miracles, divine events, divine intervention, angels, DUI victims.
What is your next project?
Do not currently have one, and writing my memoir was a blessing.
Talk a little bit about yourself. What is your background? What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I have been a handicapped, disabled individual all my life. I come from a migrant working family that worked tremendously hard, just to maintain a very poverty-stricken way of life. So it made me appreciate earning things for myself and putting myself through college to rise above the migrant way of living. My professional background was as an Electronic Technician for approximately 28 years until I medically retired.
After being in several car accidents as a child and being severely hurt, which involved near-death experiences and countless surgeries. I still wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle and enjoyed it immensely until my Evil Knievel body no longer made it physically safe for me to ride.
Do you have a favorite book – fiction or non-fiction? How about one of your own?
90 Minutes in Heaven-A True Story of Death and Life by Don Piper, non-fiction
Hope, Healing and Miracles by Alex Hermosillo, non-fiction
Into the Light by Dr. John Lerma, non-fiction
The Daily Walk (NIV) Bible, non-fiction
Do you have an author website or other platform where readers can find more information about you and your books?
What’s one exciting thing about your book you want the whole world to know?
Being a survivor of countless events and coming out of it all with a positive perspective on life.
