We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Duley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have been writing and sharing stories with friends and family since I learned how to string words together in a sentence. When I was in first grade, I vividly remember sitting in the bay window of my room writing out alphabet books for my grandma, you know those “A is for Apple” sort of books. I must have written her at least a dozen of them.
When I was in middle school I wrote a lot of fan-fiction, although I don’t think that was a term used at that time. They were simple little short stories, or retellings of popular movies that my friends and I enjoyed. We were the main characters of course.
Despite all of that creativity and love of writing, I never considered actually publishing anything. It always seemed too unattainable, something out of my depth. I always felt that there were so many talented, award winning writers out there, no one needed my simple little stories.
During covid I started writing again. I sent a few chapters of this story I’d been working on to my best friend because we were both bored and it was just something fun for us to do. She kept asking for more so I kept sending more and soon she I had a full book written. If it wasn’t for her encouraging me to publish my book would still exist only in a Google Document taking up storage in my drive.
After receiving the amazing feedback from ARC readers, sales like I never even imagined, and a new fan base that can’t wait to get their hands on my next book, I really wish I would have started publishing my work sooner. It has been such a joy to meet so many wonderful new people who are just as passionate and excited about the characters and the world I’ve created as I am.

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

I am a wife and mother of two, with our third on the way, residing in Fort Worth, TX. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, being outdoors, storm watching, binge-watching TV shows, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and having cozy nights in with my husband playing board or video games. Recently, I’ve taken up fossil hunting as a new hobby!

Most recently, my debut novel, A Bond of Fate, has received an overwhelmingly positive response from a growing fan base. The joy of connecting with readers who share my love for the characters and their story is truly surreal. I feel like I am geeking out over another author’s book with my book club friends, rather than discussing my own published work with a fan.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Apart from my goal of releasing the next two books as soon as possible for my readers, my primary aim as a creative is to motivate others to share their stories. Often, when I mention my recent book publication, many individuals reveal their own book ideas but feel it’s beyond their grasp or too challenging to pursue.

My editor shared a surprising statistic with me: 97% of people with book ideas never see them through to publication. This means that we are only exposed to 3% of the incredible stories and concepts waiting to be shared with the world. What a missed opportunity!

My mission is to inspire everyone I encounter with a story to tell it, publish it, and share it with the world! While there are numerous authors, there is only one you, and the world deserves to hear your unique story!

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

If I had discovered Reedsy.com when I started writing my first book, it would have been published much sooner! Reedsy is not only an excellent platform for organizing and planning your novel, but it also offers a plethora of resources for cover designs, editing, production management, marketing, translation services, and more – all just a click away. Currently, I am utilizing this platform for book two and intend to continue using it for all future publications.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephduley_author/