We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kendra Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kendra below.
Hi Kendra, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
Well first off I have to say I believe energy is precious and I don’t think it’s wise or beneficial to invest it in wishing. So there’s that. But secondly, it seems people tend to mistake the public part of an endeavor as the beginning or ‘start’, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. My journey to a creative career started the first time I picked up a pen as a child and wrote, “Once upon a time”. So no, I don’t look back and wish I’d started this phase of my creative career sooner because everything up to this point brought me right where I’m supposed to be.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m an independently published author and my debut, “The Vicarious Life of Mina Price”, was released the summer of 2020. I write romantic comedy full of flawed but phenomenal folks, and my goal is to tell stories readers identify with. Some of the best compliments I’ve gotten center on how relatable my characters are! That’s always foremost in my mind as I write; to lay the groundwork that helps the reader connect and invest in the story. I’m always overjoyed to get feedback that I’ve accomplished my goal.
I’m currently writing my second novel which is tentatively slated for a summer 2023 release. It’s exciting and terrifying to be back at it again!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I’m employed full-time, so my creative career as an author is definitely a labor of love. I stopped writing for several years after my attempts to go the route of traditional publishing didn’t pan out. I took up another love, baking, as my creative outlet and started my own home based baking business. I enjoyed that, but the stories never stopped forming in my head.
When I started a new job in 2017, I became good friends with one of my co-workers. We immediately bonded over our love of books, and one day I discovered my co-worker was a self-published author! I had never given more than a fleeting thought to self-publishing because the task seemed so daunting. But with the promise of help and mentoring, I decided the time had come for me to take up the pen and evict the characters who had been living rent free in my head.
This is why I said I believe it’s not a good use of energy to spend time wishing. My journey to published author began over twenty years ago. I experienced discouragement and deep disappointment, and had to step away for a season, but I wouldn’t take anything for my journey. And all of the long days and late nights it takes to be an author are definitely worth it!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative was holding the paperback proof in my hands for the first time. After waiting so many years, finally seeing my name printed on the cover of a book is something I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully describe. It was life-changing. I definitely enjoy the positive and encouraging feedback from my readers. I love their excited queries about when they can expect my next book. But finally writing and publishing my first book and beginning this phase of my creative journey will always be the most rewarding aspect because I did it for me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendrajwrites/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kendrajwrites/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kendrajwrites
- Other: https://bio.link/kendrajwrites