Meet Riley S. Quinn | Author and Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Riley S. Quinn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Riley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
For me, starting my own business wasn’t necessarily the original goal. Writing stories that made people feel seen, that was what drove me. Creating art that people could connect with, books they could enjoy! Once publication plays a role, a business sort of happens on its own, especially when self-publishing like I did. That sure doesn’t mean it starts out easily, though. Lots of research and support from friends and family who wanted to help realize that vision were needed. I’ve learned a lot from becoming Riley Quinn Art, but first and foremost I’ve learned that most challenges must be faced with a team!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel the easiest answer to this question would be the fact that I write, illustrate, and animate work for the same fictional world, and that given my choice to take the self-publishing route with a small team, I’m also the voice of my audiobook and the majority of my marketing. That said, I’m proudest not of any checklist of achievements, but of the fact that so often I get the honor of receiving messages where people tell me they connected to a character I created. Either because of how they feel, how they look, how they think— it’s beautiful to hear someone say this is a character they always wanted to see in a story. A character that they connect to! I don’t even know if I would call it easy or challenging, because the motivation I received from that love and support pushed me to find my way around any obstacles. I felt that I could do it no matter what, and when I did question if it was possible, I thankfully had loved ones and fans alike to cheer me on and help me push through. If anyone could know one thing about my debut trilogy, The Pendant of Hyacinth, it’s that within it I’ve created something that can be seen at its core as a product of that love.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being a college student, I tend to travel around a lot between states and cities. I’m always a fan of local bookshops wherever I am, as well as hikes that show off the native flora and fauna! Desert or forested waterfall, I think there’s so much in this world to admire.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
David Asimeng, otherwise known as Indaviduall, was a fantastic mentor for me when I was first visualizing the series and learning to market myself and my work online. He gave me so many pointers then that really helped me develop a brand.

Website: rileyquinnart.com

Instagram: rileyquinnart

Youtube: rileyquinnart

Image Credits
Riley S. Quinn