Growing up in Jacksonville Beach, local author Kevin Pettway figured out early on that his path to success would not look the same as most people’s. He didn’t fit the corporate mold. Putting in long hours at a series of decent paying jobs that he just didn’t love left him feeling drained and unfulfilled.
His wife Lena Shore (a local artist and web designer) encouraged him to focus instead on his creative talents. He got an early introduction to publishing when he illustrated a series of children’s books. He created a long-running web-comic called Heroes of Lesser Earth, and while he enjoyed drawing it, he discovered what he really loved was the writing.
He decided to make writing his work. After some initial research, he dove straight in and wrote what he describes as “a huge-long book” which Lena persuaded him to share at a writers’ conference. He garnered some editors’ suggestions and enough encouragement to rewrite this first manuscript FIVE times… before tossing it out and starting over!
“That’s the way you learn to write” Kevin insists. “You do it over and over again until you figure it out. If you really commit to doing this – there will be an inner voice saying ‘you are not good enough – nobody is going to want this.’ The hard truth is, that voice never goes away. Everybody has it. A successful writer learns to ignore it and just put in the work” he suggests.
The “forge ahead and figure it out” approach actually worked for Kevin. With renewed confidence and fresh material to workshop, he returned to the same conference, vowing to find a publisher or an agent, or if not, to self-publish. This time he got the break he was looking for, after reading his material to a crowd.
“My stuff was funny – so people engaged with it. There were opinions. Pretty soon I was batting ideas around with 200+ people.”
Turns out, one of those people was his future publisher, Kelly Colby. She was impressed with how deeply people were connecting with the material, and a bond was formed that changed the trajectory of both of their lives.
“I could see the potential in the world and characters he sampled, making me eager to read more. I asked to meet up with him and discuss publication the next day. Ironically, the manuscript that first attracted me to Kevin’s work didn’t make it into the final series—he never lets me forget it either. But it served its purpose and I’ll always be grateful to have attended that event and met this gifted author, the first author I signed for Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing” Kelly adds.
Kevin’s biggest project to date has been Misplaced Mercenaries, a five book fantasy series about bad people who are forced to do good things. That led to the Misplaced Adventures project, in which other writers were invited to write their own series set in the Thirteen Kingdoms, the fictional universe Kevin created for Misplaced Mercenaries.
An upcoming project he’s excited to share is a sci-fi novel set in Jacksonville, about a man who gets paid by wealthy men to seduce and marry their ex-wives. He meets his match when he targets the wrong woman. He assures us this is not autobiographical.
One Step Forward…
Not unlike his band of Mercenaries, Kevin has seen his share of adversity. Several years ago he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. While initially it came as a shock, he suggests it turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to him, after meeting and marrying the love of his life, of course.
He turned to healthy eating and increased activity to reduce his glucose levels and reverse the effects of the disease. He learned to cook and love whole foods, greens, fish, uncut grains and unprocessed meats. Walking, stretches, weights and moderate activity keep him feeling fit. He shed the excess weight he carried around in his 20s and 30s, and now at age 57, he feels much better than he did at 42.
Kevin writes every day and still has time for a full life. He manages the couple’s Riverside home, cooking, cleaning, feeding and caring for their two dogs, and enjoys spending time with Lena and his younger brother and sister.
“I’m just deliriously happy, every day. I’m much more in control of my circumstances. I try to appreciate the good things. That gets easier as you grow older, you can see the good more clearly, and you learn what you are and are not willing to put up with” he shares.
In the spirit of gratitude and giving back to the creative community that embraced and nurtured him, he also teaches free seminars for writers about all aspects of the craft. He loves attending conventions to meet readers and to sell and sign books.
“This is my favorite part, meeting and talking to people who might be interested in my books, or have already read them and just want to chat about it. ”His next appearance is at Ancient City Con, September 13-15 at World Golf Village. Stop by and say hello! You can find more events, free stories, and ways to buy his books at kevinpettway.com
