We recently connected with Blake Elliott Hill and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Blake Elliott , thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Every single day. I’ve heard more rumors about myself than I care to mention, and I’ve lost my patience with explaining myself to people who don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. I started going by blakedamnsure instead of my legal name when it comes to music, and that happened after people used my previous band’s social media as a platform to discuss a break up with a woman I was engaged to. It felt like everyone had forgotten that I’m a human being, and not a TV show that exists for their entertainment.
As for my work as an author, I got into a heated argument with a family member who said that I need to “humble myself” and that said family member is “worried that I can’t see that I wrote nothing more than an autobiography” after reading part of my debut novel, Secrets of the Song. I find it hard to think of as an autobiography, considering I’m not a famous rockstar with endless amounts of money, platinum records, I’m not an only child, and my parents are alive. But whatever said family member wants to think. It’s his problem not mine.

Blake Elliott , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Blake Elliott Hill. I’m a 31 year old husband, father of 8 kids, author, musician, and volunteer coordinator for a hospice. I released my first novel (Secrets of the Song) in May of this year, and my second book (Echoes of Green) comes out October 3rd.
In the music scene, I go by blakedamnsure, and I’m the singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band Just Fan Fiction. I’ve written several songs about things that I’ve been through, and I’ve expanded my storytelling into novels based on some of those experiences in a fictionalized way.
The hardest part of doing these things is the amount of sleep I give up, especially when it all comes second to my family, and my day job. It’s disheartening when negativity gets posted, but I’ve learned to mostly tune it out, and simply appreciate the ones who do enjoy what I do.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I have this argument with my father a lot. I didn’t choose to have the calling to play music, and write novels. I physically NEED to feed that part of my soul, the same way that I NEED water and food to survive. When I try to suppress it, I fall into terrible depressions. Musicians can’t quit being musicians. Sometimes we’ll grow resentful of our need to create music, but we can’t quit. It’s something that lives inside of us, and it’s a hunger that must be fed. Same goes for writing novels. I spent my entire childhood writing short stories, and I was labeled a “dreamer” and called “distracted.” Non creatives seem to have a lot of trouble accepting that THEIR reality isn’t OUR reality.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Give the independent artists and authors a chance. When we answer to no one but ourselves creatively, you won’t believe what we’re able to come up with. Learn to enjoy things before they become the popular thing to do. You have no idea how much beautiful music and amazing stories are out there. When your creative friend releases their art (music, film, writing, etc.) just give it a chance. It may not be your thing, but regardless-it’s worth finding out firsthand.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @blakedamnsure
• Facebook: Blake Elliott Hill
• Youtube: @justfanfictionhtx

Image Credits

Georgie Roe, Kelley Hill, Melanie Melchor