Meet Job Merkel

We recently connected with Job Merkel and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Job, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Growing up with eight brothers and sisters, life always seemed to be spinning out of control. Reading became a sort of therapy for me, helping to soothe my overactive ADHD brain, and allowing me to escape to fictional worlds. Books were always a safe haven, and I learned from a young age that I loved writing my own stories, too. They helped me regain some control and understand the world a little better. Stories like X-Men, Pokemon, and Beast Wars ignited my love for adventure, taught me about empathy, and showed me the immeasurable value of second chances. I knew my purpose in life would revolve around storytelling and giving readers the same kind of second chances that stories still give me.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

My tagline on social media platforms is “bending your mind with sci-fi and fantasy,” and that’s something I always try to do with my stories. I love writing stories of rebellion and revolution, taking things we know in our world and turning them on their head. I have two different sci-fi fantasy series in progress right now, and I’m very excited about both of them. The Fall Gauntlet is a fast-paced novella series about two estranged brothers trying to save their family and bring down the Crown. I love those book covers so much—the artist did such an amazing job bringing intrigue and mystery to those animal masks, and I can’t wait to see the whole set (9 books in Part One) together once they’re all released. I’m also thrilled about The Fourth Portal, Book 1 in my Song of Saudade series, and how much fun I’m having writing Book 2 as I explore the elemental chakra magic more and open up the world further. Book 2 in the series, The Other Tribe, is slated for a late 2025 release, and I’m excited to see what my readers think of the story!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I’m going to say strategic thinking, work ethic, and passion. Strategic thinking has allowed me to hone my strengths, improve my weaknesses, and plan ahead. I had written so many stories through the years, but it wasn’t until my writing coach and I developed a plan that things really started to change. She pushed me to do all kinds of research, which helped me decide which stories I would focus on and publish first. For folks early on in their journey, my advice would be to work hard and write the stories that you can’t stop thinking about. Write a lot of words and stories to work on your weak areas, but don’t forget to have a plan. Know how you are going to get from where you are to where you want to be. Then let your passion drive you forward. And get in the early habit of not comparing yourself to others!

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

“Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott has been one of the most influential books of my life. Her book taught me so many impactful nuggets of wisdom, and here are three that I still remember to this day. First, her advice of carrying around notecards and noticing/writing things down about your day was a major breakthrough for my writing. It taught me to be a writer outside of scheduled writing time and make new connections with my brain. Second, she suggests writing down memories from every single year of your life, which to this day, has become one of the most life-changing exercises I’ve ever done. I learned more about myself and uncovered parts of me that were hidden, which ultimately made me a better writer. Third, her quote about perfectionism allowed me to shed an old part of me that was holding me back. Here it is: “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”

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