We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Reaves recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?
I can’t narrow it down to one particular person, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without the kindness and support of my Alliance. When I first started my subscription service, it was those that supported me that encouraged me to take it further than even I could imagine. The alliance members’ eagerness to learn more about the world I created prompted so many world building discussions. They shared that the reason for the questions was a genuine love of hearing me talk about a world I was so passionate about. As they helped me cultivate my world through their dialog, they continued to show their kindness through unwavering understanding as I worked to keep up with orders and rewards’ delivery, and at the same time, never failing to remind me to take time to rest. This group has shown me truly the meaning of love and support and they mean the total world to me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
There is so much anger, hate, discouragement and general negativity in our world today. So many people are hurting and living short of their potential, lost in a sea of hopelessness. There are so many influences that bring us down daily with almost nothing to pick us back up. This was the problem I desired to fix.

I formalized the world of Astria to be a world that would be easy to promote positivity (self-love and encouragement) while providing valuable lessons in dealing with the types of negativity we experience daily (empowerment). This takes the form of color-personified angels (Astrians) who need to learn to work together to form UNITY, because not all colors get along. Meanwhile, negative entities such as depression, doubt, anger, jealousy, fear, etc. are also personified, becoming the main adversaries for the Astrians. In this way the lessons, or legends, would all have the deep meanings that reflect the beginning goals.

As the world grew and God wrote Himself more into it, so did the company. In order to preserve the meaning of the brand, the company would take the name of the world and the lessons thereof, “Astria Legends” and its main theme would be used as the company tagline: It takes ALL colors to make a BEAUTIFUL world.

Astria Legends is a visual and performance arts company specializing in bright, colorful, meaningful storytelling that advocates positivity, unity and the idea that everyone has a purpose and can follow their dreams. We have comic books, novels, handmade dolls and other merchandise, as well as perform live in cosplay!

Once of our biggest services is our Astrian Alliance subscription! The Astrian Alliance is an Art Collection RPG (ACRPG) and one of the only RPGs like this that exists today. Once you are a member of the Alliance, an Astrian will be created for you and become your blank slate to grow and develop! Participate to earn everything from weapons to items to Creatures and more for your Astrian, and as such, you receive all the art of everything you earn! The Alliance is designed to be an open RPG in that there are ways to participate whether you have a lot of time or not, and isn’t defined by how skilled an artist or writer you are.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building your audience isn’t about building an audience at all, I’ve learned that its all about building Community. I found that having a strong community behind your brand is the best way to have growth. Word of mouth is still the best form of marketing because its genuine and people take that to heart more than any ad. The key to building that community is starting small, with close friends and family that believe in what you do. Find a platform that you are comfortable with and bring them all there together. I use Discord. Use it as a hub to really talk to your community, not just post updates and ads. Give them a sense of creating right along side of you. As you foster genuine relationships, your community will grow and that will grow your presence online as well.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Remember that artists and creatives are constantly striving to put a new spin on the old. The best way you could support them is to step out of your comfort zone and purposefully looks for art and creative works that are new and different. It is extremely difficult to introduce new and original concepts because if it isn’t mainstream, isn’t instantly recognizable or already popular the mass majority of society will walk right past it. If we took more time to give new ideas a chance, more creatives would have an easier time getting their work out. Also, if you know any artists and creatives that you support please please follow, comment, and like their posts, buy their products and services if you are able, and tell others about them. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising and its one of the best ways to help creatives grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.astrialegends.com
• Instagram: @angelicempyress
• Facebook: @theangelicempyress
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/angelicempyress
• Other: Twitch: Twitch.tv/angelicempyress Patreon: Patreon.com/astrialegends

Image Credits
Dalmatine Cosplay Photos by Well, Shoot Portraits by Victorya Red Cosplay Photo by Blue Coco Photography