We were lucky to catch up with CJ Grant recently and have shared our conversation below.
CJ, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I suppose the short answer is from not having everything handed to me. I was sixteen when my father lost his job. My parents sat my sisters and me down and explained that money would be tight for a while. That motivated me to get my first part-time job to help the family. Happily, he found a new job just weeks later, but the feeling of earning my own money felt good. I also knew that my family did not have the funds to send me away to college. I chose to save as much as I could and spent my first two years of college at the local community college. Even then, I kept working part time and kept saving. I switched to the local state university for my final two years and earned my teaching degree. I graduated debt free. It wasn’t the college-life experience I had dreamed about, but that degree was all mine. From this experience I learned that I am capable of achieving my goals.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have had several jobs over the years, but my real passion is writing and reading stories. In 2020, I self-published my first full-length novel <i>Kit’s Rebellion</i>. The feeling of having my book out in the world was incredible. My second book was just released from a small press publisher. It is a thriller titled: <i>Sometimes Death is a Blessing </i>and is the first in a series. I love being a part of the writing universe. The other authors and book professionals I have met have not only been supportive, they have helped me to achieve my goals. I am working on a new manuscript and can’t wait to see that one published.
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?
The first quality is that my family instilled a love of reading into me. Fiction, nonfiction—it was all encouraged. That played into the second quality I developed which is a respect for learning and knowledge. Being curious and having access to libraries meant I could teach myself anything I wanted to learn. The third quality I embraced is the ability and tenacity to follow through with a project. Not everything we need to do to be successful is fun and easy. Being able to summon the strength and discipline to complete tasks and projects is critical to succeed at anything.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Everyone has heard the term ‘poor starving artist’, which I have experienced as an author. Even with a publishing house behind them, an author is expected to do most of their own marketing and advertising for their books. The expenses add up and, in this economy, it is difficult to secure enough funds to maintain a steady stream of marketing and ads. I am learning how to use social media and book influencers to get the word out about my stories. There is always something new to learn or try. And each book sale makes a little spark of joy in my heart.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.authorcjgrant.com/
- Instagram: cjgrantauthor
- Facebook: CJ Grant, Author
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cindy-hospador-4b5582352/
- Twitter: @authorcjgrant
- Other: Bluesky: @authorcjgrant.bsky.social
