We recently connected with Haley Ahern and have shared our conversation below.
Haley, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
My work ethic comes from my father, Michael. He was born in Brooklyn and had seven brothers and sisters growing up. When his family moved to California, they were dirt poor and had to move from hotel to hotel. With nothing but rags, many days he had to wear his sister’s clothes to school and eat nothing but ketchup sandwiches. Yuck!
He began working at a young age, taking the bus two hours to his job and back. He spent many years doing so, eventually reaching a point of success in his career. He built a life for himself and has inspired me to do the same. He always taught me to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get to work!”
Maybe it’s the lessons he taught me or my inability to stay stagnant, either way I’m very grateful for him.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am an author with my debut novel North of Sunset releasing in the near future. I am incredibly excited for this novel to be shared with the world. Being born and raised in Southern California, the novel touches on many important subject matters that not only L.A. residents, but Americans face. It takes place in 2125 and discusses subjects such as social media, government, and lastly existentialism.
Having my own video production company, Refuse Reality, North of Sunset started out as a screenplay I wrote three years ago. Once the movie script was complete, I began pitching. Landing numerous meetings with studios and major investors, I was enthused to get the story out there. There was a gap in the market that these big studios were missing and I knew I could be the person to fill it. There was one flaw in my plan…who would be crazy enough to give a twenty-one year old girl (at the time) 100 million dollars to make a movie! Everyone needed proof that the story could sell.
I quickly reorganized my game plan and went to work. I spent all of 2023 transcribing the script into a novel format, diving deeper in all the subjects mentioned. I fell in love with writing the book. The most amazing feeling is turning what is in your head into something tangible and writing has allowed me to do so. I am currently just starting to mention this upcoming novel to the public and am extremely excited for the journey ahead.
My generation needs a modern-day classic and I can whole-heartedly say North of Sunset is just that.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that I believe have been the most impactful on my career is self-discipline, strong morals, and lastly allowing my creativity to prosper.
I am going to touch on how each of these three things could be what sets you apart, especially starting out. Self-discipline doesn’t come naturally, it has to be engrained. The best way to improve your focus and discipline is to do something that is pretty simple…take yourself seriously. This is the key ingredient that sparks motivation. When I started writing, I took myself seriously. I wasn’t trying to write, I was writing. I spent eight hours a day in my office writing with zero distractions. I treated it like a job. So many people are willing to spend eight hours a day devoting their time to someone else, why can’t you do the same for yourself? So next time you want to begin any endeavor, take yourself seriously from the start.
Having strong morals has impacted my journey a lot. Growing up in L.A. and in the Hollywood scene, there are a lot of people willing to compromise themselves to get ahead. I have always been an incredibly stubborn person. When you are not willing to compromise your beliefs and stay morally strong, it may feel like everyone is surpassing you. I will tell you that in the long run you will end up much further ahead than the rest by staying true to yourself. Respect has to be earned, so once you treat yourself with respect others will too.
Lastly, I allowed my creativity to prosper which means I didn’t let doubt cut an idea short. Yes, I have proposed outrageous ideas before, but I viewed them just as attainable as grabbing coffee. It is never if, it is always when. Make sure the people you surround yourself with are supportive and that you have created a place where you feel free to express your goals and ideas honestly and openly.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am wanting to become more involved in the #BookTok and #Bookstagram communities. I would love to collaborate with avid readers of these communities and the younger generation that may feel like they don’t fit into this new world. I have a newsletter called “Ahern Literature” on Substack that discusses topics that are relevant to today’s youth, I also post updates and teasers in regards to North of Sunset.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://haleyahernliterature.substack.com/p/north-of-sunset-teaser-1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haley_ahern/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haley.ahern?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Twitter: @ahernliterature
Image Credits
Photos by Arian Mahboubian
