As the world slowly (hopefully) begins its recovery from an international pandemic that has forced millions of people to shelter for months, the self-publishing industry continues to flourish. Perhaps it is due to the combination of extra time, increased saving habits (which shot from approximately 5% to over 30% in the United States between the first and second quarter), and the proliferation of worldwide catastrophes and causes–which have ranged from an unprecedented virus outbreak to an unprecedented unification of people from all walks of life demanding the overdue resolution of racial inequality.  We are living in a time of big moments. And nothing cements into time big moments quite like big books.

Outskirts Press authors have always been able to secure amazing levels of exposure for their self-published books, whether it be a TNT-series starring Star Trek alum Chris Pine or an inspirational documentary based upon an inspiring woman’s autobiography/self-help book. And while we are sure to see a fair amount of books about COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter in the coming months (and we look forward to helping those authors with all of them), today we’ll shine the spotlight on a book that, while it may not be as culturally relevant, is still an amazing story in its own right. So much so, that Outskirts author Guido Roberto Deiro was recently interviewed for an American Masters documentary on Mae West, which aired two days ago on PBS.

The book that led to the interview, Mae West & The Count, takes you inside Mae’s relationship with the man who launched her career and stole her heart.

Set in the first half of the 20th Century, this is the heretofore untold story of the torrid romance, lust-filled five-year marriage, and entwined show business careers of the Vaudeville headliner “Deiro” and the “Queen of Camp” Mae West.

Unpublicized by mutual agreement, the improbable, humorous, and often heartbreaking, personal and professional relationship between the Italian nobleman, who rose to “rock-star” fame, and the Brooklyn-born fifth-grade dropout who became a show business legend and an icon of sexual freedom, is intimately and elegantly exposed in this volume.

About the author

Retired after successful careers in casino gaming, aviation, and real estate sales, Guido Roberto Deiro resides with his wife, Joan Marlene, at their estate Villa Kismet in the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nevada. The writing of Mae West & The Count – Love and Loss on the Vaudeville Stage came about because of an instruction given to the author by his father, Count Deiro, shortly before his father’s demise: “Never forget that I introduced and made popular the piano-accordion, and tell everyone, including someday your children, who I was and what I did with my life. And if Mae West ever says anything to you, I want you to listen to her…she could have been your mother.” The author hopes that the publication of this biographical novel meets his late father’s imperative.

For more information about the book or to purchase directly from the publisher for up to a 50% discount, click here.

Congratulations on your PBS interview, Guido. And for memorializing such a romantic yet complicated tale. We’re sure your father would be proud!