Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jillian Moody. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jillian, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
As a kid, I believed that anyone could make a living creating art. I drew portraits of my classmates and sold them for a quarter. I drew houses in my neighborhood and sold them to the people who lived there. I wrote terrible poetry for homemade greeting cards and started my own greeting card business. It wasn’t until I was a single mother working my way through college that I realized that creating art is a privilege in our society, not a right, Having the time and resources to hone your craft enough to succeed professionally is too often a pipedream. The only time I had to spare for writing was when taking a course that required it. This led to a short story collection and my first two publications, but after the courses were over, writing took a back seat in my life. There was just no time to create anything past jotting down story ideas or poetry. Painting, too, was off the table. Oil paints? Canvas? Who could afford these things? Certainly not me.
Art took hold of my life by lucky circumstance. After college, I spent a year living on a farm in Kentucky. This was a desperate act of a mother with nowhere to go. I hadn’t landed a teaching job out of grad school and was about to have nowhere to live. The farm was free and Kentucky had sub jobs aplenty. They were tearing down a fence on the farm property, and I eyed the wood as free canvas. That’s when I tried wood burning for the first time. We fell in love. I was truly terrible at it, but with trial and error over the last eight years, I’ve managed to make a small name for myself as a pyrographer.
Like many authors, I had been toying around with an idea for a novel for a couple of years before I sat down in all seriousness to complete it. All I’d needed was the privilege of time, and that came through the 2020 lockdown. With the closing of the restaurants, I quit my bartender night job. For the first time in my adult life, I wasn’t juggling two jobs. I’ll admit that I’m so used to being busy, it’s hard for me to relax. Using that year to lock in the first book in the trilogy, the rest of the story came to me like reading an addictive book, and I couldn’t stop writing for the next four years.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Burn and Brush is my artist brand, and I create wood burnings that explore the whimsical and often magical balance of animal and nature. I use fire, stain, and wood to create the original pieces. Most of my income comes from tote bags, stickers, prints, cards, and magnets I create from the original images. Wood burning is a very delicate craft, and those of us who create the art by hand are few and far between.
As the author, J. Moody, I’ve released a trilogy, a short story collection, and I’m currently working on a stand alone novel. My trilogy is very dear to me. The SEPA Project celebrates strong women and female relationships, critiques nationalism and border obsessions, normalizes queer relationships, and is an all out twists and turns adventure. My readers have really fell in love with my characters, which means the world to me. The short story collection, What Kind of Monster Are You? is my first stab at atmospheric—and sometimes a bit comedic—horror. It was wonderfully fun to create and I hope readers enjoy the ride.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Society would be wildly closer, more creative, and successful if we tried to always shop local. There are always markets, pop ups, and events that give artists and crafters a chance to sell their wares. Choosing to purchase your new hat or earrings from local creators over shopping at Target brings you quality and original fashion while also lifting up local art, giving artists stamina and funds to continue. This goes for a local cheese maker, painter, toy maker, or farmer. We that create are all artists in our own way, and we depend on people taking a chance on supporting their local creatives, even if it takes more than a click of a button to purchase.
The best thing you can do to help writers specifically is to simply spread the word. Writing is hard, but marketing is harder. If you like a book, take the time to write a review. It helps our books be visible online and also lets us know that someone read it and enjoyed it, which inspires us to continue. Once you’ve left a review, recommend it to someone you think would like it. This could be through social media or just chatting with a friend. This is the work that makes a book stay alive.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Like many artists, the urge to create takes over when an idea strikes. The end goal or mission happens later. My goal as a writer was always to write a trilogy, joining the ranks of my favorite authors and leaving my mark on the literary world. Once The Sepa Series was finished, my goal became to find readers. I always say that my characters aren’t alive unless someone is reading the story. In being read, they get to live through their adventure in someone’s imagination. This means the world to me and is all the reward I need for my efforts. Financially, my goal was to make enough money from my writing and art to purchase my parents’ first home. That is still a long way off, but the hustle isn’t over!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jmoody.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomreadersmoody/
