Konn Lavery shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Konn, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I am most proud of building the encyclopedia/wiki for my fiction stories. Each short story and novel that I write takes place in the same universe, the Macrocosm, which spans across time and space. Once a year I do a large update to track the characters, places, locations, items, and key events that happen in the universe. Then, I update the timeline that pinpoints the stories in a linear order.
The task is a long effort and requires a lot of cross-referencing and rereading of stories that I have written, but it is worth it. The wiki is available on my site for newsletter subscribers, but seeing it from the backend is a whole different thing. I’ve got folders within folders, Word documents, Scrivner files, and graphic files to compile it into the final wiki. It brings me a lot of joy to create a massive database for avid fans to enjoy.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Sure. I am a self-employed graphic designer and web developer since 2014. I’m also a fiction author. My design business keeps me busy most of the time, but I write every day. Both sides of my life do have crossover where clients become readers, or the other way around.
With my design business, I specialize in branding and custom WordPress sites. I also provide stationery and large print support, but less since 2020.
My stories are dark fantasy and horror based, with the majority of them taking place in Canada. Readers of my work have been following me for a long time, some since 2012 when my first novel, Reality, came out.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
I would say my dad taught me the most about overall work ethic. He was a salesman for most of his life and had discipline, strength, and focus. His skills of being his own boss and insight into practical steps of being bold, practicing public speaking, and being consistent, had helped me a ton to get going early on in my career and still helps me to this day.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Wisdom. Failure and suffering are the best methods for learning to understand. If you are successful all the time, you never grow or change. Suffering is a lot like exercise to me; you need it to be stronger. When I have suffered, I have accepted and gone through the process of misery, grief, or pain. Then I lick my wounds and come back at life with a clearer, humble, head.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
Finishing my first novel series, Mental Damnation. I actually wrote a blog post about the process during the pandemic, in which I fictionalized the process into what I called The Doubt Demon. The post is on my site.
The four-part dark fantasy series took me 14 years from the first original draft to the final book, Mortal, in 2020. Reality, which I mentioned earlier, was the first book, which came from a single larger manuscript. I then released it in 2017 as a second edition, where I rewrote the whole novel. I did the same for the following two sequels before writing the finale.
There were plenty of moments when I wanted to quit for good. But I made a pact with myself, if you can even do that, and saw it through to the end. In the end, I learned a lot, and as the previous question alluded to, through suffering, I became wiser and stronger for it. Now I write novels and series far faster and of higher quality.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
When I am completely lost. Being scared, fearful, or unsure is a different feeling than the blank nothingness that runs through my head when I really don’t have the skills or the knowledge about something.
When that does happen, I figure out if it is something that I have the time and resources to learn, or if I need to outsource it, or if I even need it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://konnlavery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/konnlavery/
- Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/konn-lavery
- Twitter: https://x.com/konnl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/konnlavery/
- Other: https://www.revealdesign.ca/
Image Credits
Author Photo Photography Credit: Nadia Dzyakava
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