Sometimes I am honestly shocked by how far my books have come. I created this comic in 2016 for a class project, and it quickly grew into something more. I had a narrative, a story that had to be told. In the year 2014, I already had drafted out a book that I want to publish as a 'short story'. Never had I imagined in my wildest dreams that it would turn into a four novel saga.
It was in 2015 that I published the original version of the story, even though it admittedly had many, many errors. It was in 2016 that I revised the tale, and repackaged it entirely. Through artwork like the rudimentary comic page above, I was inspired to take the story to new heights.
In the original manuscript, the story was painfully boring. I'll freely admit that, being my own worst critic, but I knew it had potential. It was only after I first started to create concept art for the book that I discovered many of the ideas that are in the final version today. I had always been an artist, but I came to realize the power of illustrating my story, and the spark of creativity that would follow.
Since then, I have constantly been illustrating my story world. From the characters to the creatures, and even to the geography itself, my artwork has brought the books to vivid life. Even if I never share all the plethora of messy sketches and anatomy concepts with the world, they have been an enormous wealth of inspiration.
What really blows my mind is seeing my characters in other artist's art styles. From the covers to commissions, seeing my characters through other's interpretations is honestly amazing! Since I've always done my own art, thinking of other artists drawing MY characters is crazy! Who would have thought? I certainly didn't.
It all goes to show you that you never know what God will do with your gifts and talents, and when you put them to His uses, you never know how far you'll go. Now that I'm nearing the release of my second novel in The Warriors of Aragnar and my own self-publication of my poem book, Dauntless, I certainly have been busy. But these busy days have quickly become some of the best days of my life.
I'm doing what I love, and I'm able to share it with the world. It's what I've always dreamed of doing, and to see it actually taking place just takes my breath away. I sure have a long way to go, but I'm choosing to enjoy the ride, and see where life takes me. It's a choice that it's easy, but one we must all make. God knows what He's doing even when we don't (which is honestly most of the time) but He is faithful to us!
No matter where we are in life, we can find happiness if only we focus on the bringer of life, instead of the lies whispered in our ears. The enemy tried to convince me to stop writing, but something inside of me refused to give up. Likewise, we must never give up in the face of trials, and once we finally emerge from the storm, we'll see that we are stronger then ever.
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