Meet April Skelly

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful April Skelly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have April with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I’m happy to say that I was raised in a very loving home where I had two parents who cared for me and wanted the best for me. Both of my parents also have an exceptional work ethic. They expected their children to do their best, too. That didn’t mean I had to be perfect, but it did mean that I had to give it my best. If my best was only half of what everybody else was doing, that was good enough. But if I only did half as well as everyone else and I was capable of doing significantly more, that was not okay.

I’m thankful for those lessons and that encouragement to do work hard as it’s served me well in writing and running a publishing house. It has required hard work, and if I hadn’t had that instilled early on, I’m not sure I would have seen the level of success that I’ve seen so far.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve always loved the written word. I was a voracious reader growing up, and I could always be found with a book (usually with a spare, too, because what if I finished the first book!?). This translated into a degree in English Education, and I enjoyed teaching and spreading the love of books and writing. However, when I began teaching at the height of the Twilight craze (yes, those are grey hairs I’m sporting now), once my students finished devouring those books about sparkly vampires, there were precious few other options for clean paranormal romance. A few students kindly offered to let me borrow other paranormal books they were reading. They were not age appropriate.

As a teacher, I went on the hunt for more clean romance books in this popular genre for my students, but came up dry. There just weren’t many offerings.

So I decided to write a series for them.

My first series, The Wolves of Rock Falls, is upper YA paranormal romance. There’s plenty of romance to be had, but it stays at a PG-13 level, showcases integrity, healthy family relationships, and what real romance looks like–not the toxic, self-centered variety so often found in similar YA books.

Fast forward a few more years, and I was still frustrated with the bookish market. There were lots of squeaky clean romantic reads, and there was a lot of content that went well beyond the PG-13 level, but there just wasn’t a lot in between.

Quill & Flame Publishing House was born. Quill & Flame strives to hit that middle mark. We focus on YA and NA books that have PG-13 or cleaner romance, and must show romance in a healthy way. This doesn’t mean we don’t have dark themes or grit; a lot of our books do. But it means our books have certain lines that remain uncrossed. We don’t have major swearing. The door shuts by second base. We want heroes that have integrity and heroines who know their worth. We have everything from sweet contemporary reads to dystopian to PG-13 paranormal.

Most recently, we’ve opened up a new imprint. FIREBRAND is our Christian imprint. These stories have the same elements as our regular Quill & Flame titles, but they feature a strong faith thread.

We’ve been thrilled with the response to our books. The world needs this PG-13 romance option, and it is our desire to fill this void.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

There have been so many lessons I’ve learned on this author and publishing journey, and so many hands that helped along the way.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is to be teachable. It’s hard to take criticism on something you’ve poured your heart and soul into. It hurts. It’s painful.

But it’s also necessary for growth.

Without growth, there is stagnation. And nobody wants to read a stagnated book.

The next quality I had to make my own was courage. Authorship and publishing both require a huge amount of courage. The courage to put your work out, to face rejection after rejection, to pick oneself up, dust off the dirt, and try again. It’s daunting. It’s hard. But it’s good.

The third area is simply the ability to learn and pivot. This industry changes so quickly, it’s nearly impossible to keep up. The ability to pivot when what you’re doing isn’t working is hugely important. Sometimes you just need the tenacity of a bulldog to set your teeth in and hang on for dear life. Otherwise, you have to learn to let go–sometimes of things you want–to try something else to get a desired outcome. It’s all about the learning and the journey.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I was so fortunate to have several friends and former co-workers who poured themselves into me early on. These friendships and mentorships have been invaluable. The things I learned, the support I received, helped me in ways I didn’t even understand at the time. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my parents again, too. They have always done their best to support my writing, and been wise sounding boards.

Karen Sargent (a shameless plug for her) was a former co-worker who had been traditionally published published not long before I finished writing my debut. I sent her a message saying, “Karen, I wrote a book, and I’m not sure what I should do next.”

Without hesitation, she responded, “THIS is what we’re going to do.” And immediately she not only outlined the entire process to publication, but also selflessly gave her time and expertise to help me each step of the way. She also launched my debut book, First Shift, into the world, which made a ton of difference.

Other friends who came alongside early on (some of whom I met during my initial book launch) have remained friends, and some of them, Meghan Kleinschmidt (Literary Pearl Editing) and Jessica Gwyn (Gwyn Author Services), authors Brittany Eden and Crystal Grant, have become integral parts of the Quill & Flame structure and staff.

While hard work is essential to success, it’s also just as important to have a support system and have a community to surround you.

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Image Credits

Black and white author pic credit to Nate Vogle

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