My GOODNESS it's been ages since I've sat down to write a blog post! And I didn't even plan on writing this one ... oops!
Life has been wild and my publishing/writing journey even more insane. My publishing company, Dragon Bone Publishing, and I have
grown immensely, more than I could've even dreamed imaginable. I have a partner co-running my company with me (the amazing Nathaniel Luscombe) and we just opened a poetry imprint, Dragon Heart Press, with the equally incredible MJ Anthony. And even more crazy?? We officially open novel and novella submissions to the public NEXT MONTH!! I'm not quite sure how I got here, and I couldn't be more grateful for the help I've received that's made it possible.
The journey has not been easy. More than once in the last couple years I've suffered from immense burnout (especially the two times I revised Child of the Dragon Prophecy), been afraid of success, doubted my abilities, and even wondered if I could continue to keep struggling day in and day out for this dream of mine. Sometimes I felt like I'd lost my passion, like I was stuck in a rut of working on the same books and projects over and over, never moving forward, never progressing. But despite all odds, I pushed through, forced myself to work the days I didn't feel like, found some sort of motivation even if it was knowing I'm too deep to quit now.
Finally, after publishing Son of the Prophet, the third and best book in my fantasy series The Shadows of Light, I felt like I'd broken out of some curse and stepped into a new age of my writing journey. Dragon Bone Publishing once again became my passion, rather than just something to suck up more of my time, energy, money.
So now I stand at the cusp of something entirely new. The air is fresh around me, the keys light under my fingers, itching to dance across the keyboard once again and create new worlds out of nothing. I am no longer stagnant. I'm flowing, moving forward with the current, forming new paths in the world around me and eager to see where this road takes me. For a long time, I wasn't sure I'd feel this way again. Last year was a difficult year of finding my stride in the publishing world and even starting a new job at a movie theater.
Maybe it wouldn't have been such a hard year if I'd known the foundation I was building.
There are still many big and scary obstacles ahead (I'm filing taxes as an LLC for the first time this year!). But I'm starting to feel like a pillar in my community. I'm starting to trust in myself, in my almost five years of publication experience, artistic skills, and writing prowess. Since I started writing at age twelve almost ten years ago, I feel I'm finally finding my stride and settling into a place where everything is just a little easier, just a little less scary and that much more exciting. I can write now without worrying what others will think of it. I create art now that flows easily instead of coming with a whisper of doom saying "It's not good enough. You're not talented enough. You made that by luck."
I'm growing and developing as a creator, becoming more and more free and healed every day. And that is somehow much better than numbers, money, likes, views, sales or any other superficial form of success.
As much as I wanted to go viral, get famous, have a wildly successful publishing company a few years ago (and feeling very discouraged each day it didn't happen), I'm starting to realize the universe's timing couldn't have been more perfect. Not only was I mentally not ready to take on that kind of success, I also didn't have the infrastructure ready. My business only just became an LLC last year, and on top of that, it took THREE editions for Child of the Dragon Prophecy to be a book I'm truly proud of, and that only just released December 12th, 2024!
Now, I'm working on a book called Human Scars on Planet Skin that I wrote with Nathaniel Luscombe. It's nothing like anything I've ever written before. It's gruesome, heart-wrenching, emotionally deep, fantastical, and it's healing every part of my I didn't know needed to be healed. Most of my character's plotline is about them facing the inevitability of death and learning that it is but the start of something new. A part of me died last year. But rather than sinking into the earth and rotting away, I was able to form something new out of the ashes left behind, something that shines brighter and stronger. And someday, I'm sure a part of me while die again, giving way to something new and beautiful yet again. And again, and again. And that is the most comforting thing I've ever taken the time to think about.
I've no real point to present with this blog post and I'm positive no one will read it since it's been such a long time since I've posted, but I felt drawn back to this blog, back to a time when writing was fresh and exciting and the savior of my soul, not just another chore to check off a list. The nostalgia wrapping me now reminds me where I've come from and where I'm going and all the amazing things I've accomplished in between.
And if you are reading this, then maybe you can take away a peace, internalizing the reality that sometimes it takes years to become successful and that's OKAY. In a world of fast entertainment, be the person to create something that lasts. And trues that the universe knows your journey and will present your success to you when you're ready for it and not a moment sooner. I'm still not fully ready to be rich and famous, and now that I'm older and I've learned to cherish the small things, I don't think I'll ever be ready or want that again. But someday, I'll grow to a point where I'll look back at where I am now with the same fondness I'm feeling looking back four years ago. And I'll know it was all meant to be, and the journey really is the most important part.
Thank you for reading this far, and for all your continued support. None of my dream could be possible without people like you, reaching out to small artists and readers, consuming art that will make a lasting impact, and putting energy forth that we really are capable of shaping our own realities.
May the suns smile upon your presence,
—Effie Joe Stock
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