1. What drives you to create stories?

What inspires me the most is conveying a message through the pages. Ironically, the most intriguing element of a graphic medium like manga is what you can’t see at first glance.

2. What inspired the story published on Chronicles?

It was like a spark of inspiration. It all began on the first day of work during a call with the editor. He had the idea and I had the intention. As a result, the atmosphere expanded in many different directions, and we had to explore and understand the characters’ intentions.

3. Describe your process for creating a character, including what you start with, what inspires you, and what challenges you.

First, I think about their nature and their role in the storyline. Then, I try to envision their appearance and make many sketches until the character matches the personality I had in mind. The rest of their backstories usually come to me once the design is finished, and then I can add layers to it.

4. What tools do you use the most?

Unfortunately, I had to switch to digital supplies for practical reasons, but ink is the tool I have always loved. Creating effects with light, shadows, and textures using cross-hatching makes everything come alive.

Illustration from Simone’ project ‘IceBreakers’

5. What kind of scenes move you the most when you’re drawing?

I want the panels to be as powerful as possible. If you want to create a strong narrative scene, you can’t think of drawing without writing, or vice versa.

6. Your main sources of inspiration right now:

It might sound strange, but I find inspiration in injustice. When I hear about the injustices in the world, I feel responsible for telling stories about them, and a sense of urgency pushes me forward. The downside is that telling these kinds of stories takes a lot of time and energy, which always makes me feel stuck.

Simone sketching an original character back in 2017, after winning Tottori’s International Manga Kingdom Contest in 2016.

9. How do you deal with work stress and creative blocks?

I’m really bad at dealing with stress, but going on a mountain hike always helps. Or maybe eating something I like. Even better is eating something good during a mountain hike. What I need to understand is that I’m human and I need to take breaks from work every now and then.

10. Describe one of your typical workdays. Do you have any rituals to help you immerse yourself in the creative process? Is there a specific place or type of music that helps you?

My workdays start with two or three coffees. Then, I listen to my favorite daily news podcasts. After that, I immerse myself in the process with music. Sometimes I feel like listening to ’90s music or rock, but I usually go for Italian indie music. The hardest part is not getting distracted (I get eeeeeeeeasily distracted).