Story & Lesson Highlights with A. R. Redington of Wichita, KS

We recently had the chance to connect with A. R. Redington and have shared our conversation below.

A. R. , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Energy. Many people don’t realize how incredible it is to have the luxury of energy each day. I say this because I used to be overly ambitious. I thought I functioned best when I kept busy nonstop—working a job, writing books, freelancing on the side, helping others with their projects, and never taking time to care for myself. I worked myself nearly into the ground, and now I struggle with two autoimmune diseases. The medications to treat these illnesses have their own array of side effects, especially the immunosuppressants (chemo). My life is chronic fatigue and sickness, and it is now a struggle day to day to feel well and have enough energy even to create. Having energy, along with good health, every single day would be like winning the lottery. When you’re so wiped out, it’s hard to create, and I must create in order to feel like I have meaning. So, heed my warning: work hard, but don’t burn yourself out, especially for others. Take care of yourself and rest before your body makes you.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a number-one Audible and Amazon best-selling author. Born and raised in Kansas, I thrived creatively at an early age, focusing on art and storytelling. My passion for gaming and character design led me to pursue an artistic career. I attended the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, receiving a BFA in illustration/children’s book specialization. With experience in graphic design, formatting, illustration, editing, publishing, and writing, I create and design everything for my novels while working freelance on the side.
I am the author and illustrator of the sci-fi/urban fantasy series, The Esoteric Design, Guardians of the Ellem [originally titled Masters of the Ellem] (fantasy), The Trouble with Mystery (romantic thriller), Whispers from Beyond: 30 Miniature Tales (horror), and “The Trophy” from Predator: Eyes of the Demon.
Currently, I’m reworking Guardians of the Ellem for print, a dark poetry book, and a sci-fi thriller. I have also recently written two short stories for separate anthologies, which should be published soon.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was the weird girl, the “tomboy” who loved video games and superheroes. I wanted to grow up to be an assassin or make video games. I was voted class clown, and I firmly believed I would succeed by becoming an honor student, going to college, and working hard. Everyone thought I would grow up to be a famous artist or comedian. However, my youthful naivety and love for people were crushed by the “harsh, real” world, primarily due to my work in customer service and because I didn’t always allow the best kinds of people into my life. I would say I used to be a bit of a floormat for others, and I got burned out quickly and have dealt with health issues since. Stress will try to kill you. I discovered how to isolate in a healthy way and only allow a limited number of people into my close and personal life, especially those who bring positive or creative energy. I find value in peace. And though I feel I have lost a big chunk of the good parts of my youth, I’m slowly getting them back. I love using humor to market my books and attract followers to my social media. Making others laugh, or even cringe at my bad jokes, makes me feel good. Plus, it makes marketing more enjoyable when I don’t take myself too seriously.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. I actually have felt close to giving up the past few years before 2025. My life changed drastically about 8-9 years ago, and then COVID hit right when I got pregnant. Having a child is beautiful and wonderful, but it’s exhausting and time-consuming in many ways. I also developed a second autoimmune condition right after having my daughter, and my life nearly stalled. I republished all of my books under a new name and lost about 9 years’ worth of reviews on Amazon because of that. It felt like I was basically starting over. My social media platforms were dead with little to no interaction, and no marketing ever worked. I felt immense success in the beginning, in 2014, and then it all just went to crickets around the COVID era. However, I became active on TikTok last Fall, and things quickly changed. In one year, I have gained thousands of followers and have made tons of amazing creative friends. Surrounding myself with authors and readers has helped inspire me all over again. Plus, it has helped with marketing. My latest promos got me nearly 850 book downloads over one weekend and about 3,500 more the next. The BookTok community has helped me feel more like my old self again. My creative energy is slowly coming back, along with my sense of humor. Now, I’m feeling a bit more hopeful.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
It was drilled into my head growing up that having a degree and getting good grades would make you successful. All it did was stress me out and land me in immense student loan debt. I did all the “right” things, and even though I’ve paid my loan back and more, interest rates have kept me locked down and still nowhere close to paying it off. Also, going to college barely taught me anything useful for the real world, other than a few of my final grad courses. Actual, real working experience was more helpful. And with the internet, you can pretty much teach yourself anything. I learned so much about the publishing world just by working as a graphic designer for a newspaper firm, which didn’t even require a degree. And by publishing my books myself, I’ve educated myself to help others publish theirs. I’m an editor, graphic designer, illustrator, and publisher. I help some format their books, upload to the proper channels, and even manage one author’s entire website. I wouldn’t say college is useless, but I definitely don’t think it’s as necessary as they made us all believe. I’m not against education at all. I think it’s essential to stay educated! But we don’t necessarily need to fork over loads of cash in order to learn new things, whether it’s knowledge or physical skills.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
Playing video games. If it weren’t for games, I wouldn’t have created The Esoteric Design series. I also started drawing at a young age because of gaming. I loved drawing the characters and writing stories about them. When I game, my mind is quiet and at peace. And sometimes, gaming inspires my own creative flow.

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