We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nash Hudson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nash thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

So, this was right before I received my first royalty check from Undertow.

I was on the “Embrace Your Undertow” Book Tour across North America in 2024 and I got a call from a library on Block Island (located off the coast of Rhode Island) asking me if I would come to do a reading from Undertow! I mean these are the calls authors dream of, and because I love Block Island so much, it was a no brainer for me to agree to the gig. I was thrilled to get to share my book with one of my favorite destinations!

I made my travel arrangements, packed snacks for the trip, and after barely making it to the ferry (which is around a 50 min ride from my house) I was set for the course. It was my first time doing a reading, so the three-hour ferry ride, where I had to transfer ships in Connecticut, gave me a lot of time to decide which parts of the book I wanted to read from.

I arrived at the library with my tour merch and books to be greeted by police and the local librarians in a state of elevated excitement. I mean, I was happy to be there, but didn’t know why they were … come to find out, the library received a bomb threat just hours earlier and the team was trying to contact me while I had my phone on do not disturb (focusing on creating the best reading experience.)

The bomb threat didn’t scare me, and once the local authorities assured me we were all clear, I knew the message of my book couldn’t have landed in a more Godronic location and we went on with the event. This was the first book event where I did not know a soul, and sold a good amount of books and collected some cool gifts from the readers that day (talk about artistic validation in action.) Then, the moderator for the event whipped out a check book at the conclusion of the reading and wrote out a number that covered the cost of my roundtrip ferry ticket, a copy of Undertow for the library, and the icing on the cake was being paid an author stipend!

I was speechless. I still have that check framed in my house. That moment showed me I could make a living doing this and it has been a whirlwind of an experience ever since that iconic day (and I have a feeling, I am just getting started.) I will never forget feeling like the burning dreams I’ve always had about this idea of becoming an author would come true after receiving that check. That entire experience taught me that the journey may be long, and unexpected detours may arise, but the key is to remain committed to the craft and always give readers a great experience. I carry that day with me daily. It was my 4th book signing event and is still one of my most memorable to date.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Nash Hudson. I am a two-time book award winner, cruise line industry survivor and heeler dad to an incredible Australian Cattle Dog named Phoenix. I love being on or near water and finding the best boba tea and cinnamon roll creators in the world!

I became a writer out of desperation to stay alive … literally.

I was working in the cruise industry as an entertainment manager and I had big dreams to one day be a cruise director (it was my dream job ever since I was eleven years young; and I felt super blessed to know what I wanted to be so early on in my life.)

So, after getting my degree in Hospitality Management, and working very hard in the industry to be on the world’s largest class of cruise ships for the time, I was working on a ship off the coast of Australia and was finalizing my audition for the next promotion to my dream job. Before this, I spent years in the cruise industry as a travel writer and social media influencer–amassing a cruising history of over forty sailings before I would transition to becoming a crew member. The morning I signed my promotional packet happened to be the same exact day COVID shut the cruise industry down … and just days later, I was laid off and the seventeen years I spent working toward this dream were ripped from my grasps and gone without an explanation.

I was laid off from my dream (can you imagine such a thing?) but the plot twist was, I could not get home as the ship was not allowed to dock and I couldn’t get off to get a flight back to the United States. I was stuck inside a cabin by myself for days … that turned into weeks … and eventually months. I knew if I did not do something to keep myself mentally engaged, I may lose my mind (as unfortunately some crew members were not mentally dealing with the circumstances of those days favorably.)

So that was when I started writing. Originally, Undertow was titled “It Was Just Too Good To Be True” and then I floated the title of “Docked in Destiny” before arriving to Undertow: The Rip Current that Drowned mySELF and Saved mySOUL. Undertow was just supposed to be one book that told my seventeen year’s journey in the cruise industry – the good, bad, and nearly three times circle around the world that took me to every continent except Antartica – but something wasn’t quite right with that concept.

It came off very vindictive and angry (which is not wrong for how I felt during that time), but my journey in the cruise industry wasn’t all bad and I wanted readers to know the whole story, objectively, so I began building out the different years of my lived experiences and that is how we landed on Undertow being a hexalogy (or series of six books). I am in the studio right now recording the audio experience of Undertow while also finishing up the second installment titled: “Laying My Ship Bare: Sinking the Nautical Mirage of my Empty Dreams.”

My writing pulls from my faith, my emotions, and my love of music (which I have heard isn’t as commonplace together from authors like me.) These stories that I share with the world are anchored in getting readers to embrace the transformative power of letting go while learning more about the art of surrender.

I am most proud of hearing how these stories are touching the lives of those who are in desperate need of hope. When I go to book events and readers recite to me chapters and excerpts by heart – that feeling is indescribable. I know that feeling because I do it with my own favorite artists and it blows my mind that a few words I put together is being used by God to help someone navigate the days of their life. It leaves me speechless really.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I would have known how the publishing industry works. Wow, this place is vast and so intricate. The way representation works with book fairs and book deals and royalties. I wish there was someone in the industry I could have called to get a better understanding of how this all works because it has been a lot of praying and asking God (which is not wrong to do when you don’t know), but having a voice alongside would be so helpful.

It’s funny now because people look from the outside and think I know what I’m doing (and I am legit still without a clue on what I am doing) and I get several friends always referring someone to me who is trying to publish their book, and I’m like, “Um…. why couldn’t you have connected me to someone when I was new … and can you let a brotha figure this thing out first before you refer me out? haha”

I have learned a lot and know I will continuously learn more on the horizon and that makes this journey all the more exciting!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

This may sound peculiar, but hey, it has motivated me so much and there are so many great lessons as an artist and creative I took away from Mariah Carey’s memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” is definitely a low-key blueprint for any artist trying to make it in the industry starting at zero.

The way Mariah talks about ownership, her involvement in not just her music, but her brand, not negotiating yourself off the table for the sake of whatever may be placed before you (e.g., like she knew she wanted a record deal where she could not just be the singer but also the song writer and she signed one that gave her that). Her business smarts, and the vulnerability she shares about the downside of fame, the pressure that comes with the territory, and how to always hold onto faith and your dreams amid madness.

I keep it on my nightstand and read from her chapter “Make It Happen” which was inspired by her hit song by the same name, and know it’s gonna happen for me the way it happened for her! Her will to fight and scrap away from her traumatic childhood into her dream alone is enough to have anyone ready to run; the business savvy notes along the way were a true unexpected bonus! Mariah, if you’re reading this, I just want to say, thank you for always being there for me. I hope we can meet in person one day so you can hear it from my heart!

Contact Info:

• Website: nashhudson,com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nashhudson
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NashSpeaksLive/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nashhudson/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NashHuds

Image Credits

Photo Credits: Nash Hudson