Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hs Matthews. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

HS, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I currently work part-time in the finance department of a motorcycle dealership, so my writing is done in the afternoons once I have finished work. One day it would be nice to be able to dedicate my time to becoming a full-time author, but for now, I fit my passion for writing around my day job.

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

A bit about me is always the hardest thing to write; give me a story to tell, that is easy! I have been writing for a few years now. I should have been writing a lot longer, but I was discouraged by an English teacher when I was in my teen years, she told me that I had no imagination. I was encouraged by my family and friends to give writing a go and five years later I have published a Young Adult fantasy series and two short stories. On 1st October I publish the first book in my Supernatural Dark Fantasy series.
I live in the UK with my husband and two cocker spaniels, which keep us very busy! I have two children and two grandchildren I love to escape into a good book, and the genres I like are varied, from horror and love stories to fantasy fiction.
One of the proudest days in my writing career was when Lottie Jones and the Magical Realms: Dragoron was published, it felt so good to see my work for sale, and available for readers to step into the world that I had created. As I publish each new book the feeling does not change, though I am very nervous each time. Especially this time as I am moving from the Young Adult market to a series that is for adults.
I hope that my readers discover worlds that are full of fantasy and magic and that they fall in love with the characters in my stories, and even though the characters are in a fantasy setting they can relate to their trials and tribulations, even just a little.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I have slowly built up my presence on social media, beginning with Instagram and Twitter (now X) and started to connect with other writers. Getting to know other writers enabled me to learn more about being an indie/self-published author. Their advice was invaluable, and the support from them has been priceless. I have moved onto TikTok/Facebook and Threads, and I try to post on all of them regularly, and not always book-related, after all, readers want to know a bit about us, too.
My advice would be to be consistent, fun and engaging and eventually (yes, it takes a lot of work), you will find your readers and have fun finding them.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission or goal, you ask, is to write the best stories that I can and enjoy the process of creating them. I want to get better at marketing myself and my books, that is a work in process. I currently write, format and produce my book covers, and there are always improvements that can be made.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hsmatthews.wixsite.com/website
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehsmatthews
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/HS-Matthews-Author/100086391891281/
• Twitter: https://x.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fthehsmatthews
• Other: https://linktr.ee/hsmatthews

Image Credits

Artwork on the Lottie Jones covers by Jaime Ricciardi