An Inspired Chat with Aaron Harp

Aaron Harp shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Aaron, 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. Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
My proudest moment recently came at the beginning of July. On July 1st, I published my third full-length novel. Like my others, I wrote and edited it myself, while also designing its cover. It was the shortest time for any of my books to go from the first word to being published.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an indie author who has penned three full-length novels that are currently available on Amazon. They are all entirely solo projects, from the writing and editing to the audiobook narrations. I also designed and coded a website where you can find links for all books, as well as free audio samples and direct-to-consumer downloads of the full audiobooks. In just the past week, I have also launched a new product called “The Mythology of You.” With this product, I aim to turn people’s real-life victories, defeats, loved ones, and even pets into works of literature. Whether they are seeking autobiographical nonfiction or adaptations in which the events or people are in mythical worlds of dragons and magic, I will adapt to whatever they desire, delivering a deeply unique and personal product.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
In the summer of 2023, I had a health scare. I’d been having chest pains, and when the doctors ran some tests, they discovered a lump in my lung that they told me they believed was cancer. For nearly six weeks, I was under the assumption that I had lung cancer, but thankfully, further test results showed that wasn’t the case. However, those six weeks had completely changed my outlook on life, death, and the meaning we each assign to our own experiences. Since then, it has greatly shaped my approach to my writing, causing me to focus on trying to deliver the same kind of ethereal and existential emotion I felt when I believed I was facing my own mortality. I do this while also incorporating an optimistic approach toward that inevitable and what may come after it. I like my stories to investigate how people approach an immediate and unavoidable end, focusing on how many actually approach it with hope, optimism, and purposeful retrospection.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Nearly every single week, I have doubts and question if this is the right course. My first book sold incredibly well, even making it into the top 1,000 books on all of Amazon, so when it came time to focus on my next book, my hopes and aspirations were a bit higher than what reality was willing to bring me. While finishing my second book, I quit my cushy Client Success Manager role so that I could put everything into my writing, but even with decent sales and a growing name here locally, it never took off like my first novel did. This has caused some extreme financial stress over the past year and a half, especially with the medical bills from all of the tests. With the job market like it is, and with living in a tiny town far from civilization, finding work again that pays my bills every month has been impossible. I’ve had to find work at a local convenience store in order to help make ends meet, and whenever a new bill comes in, the doubt once again creeps up. However, it isn’t really a choice, no matter how stressful or tight things may get. There is no giving up. Writing is a part of who I am. There is no giving up.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
No matter how long it takes, I’m committed to finding meaning with my writing. For me, that isn’t fame or fortune; it’s getting my words in front of people so that those words have an impact on the readers’ lives. I’ve given so much to it already, and I will either see it happen or I will go to my grave trying. There is no other way for me. The stories and words don’t need millions of screaming fans or millions of dollars, but I am determined for them to find an audience that cares.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
My hope is that people will say, whether I tried and failed or tried and was successful, that I never said, “That’s too hard.” I want people to look at what my life was and the things I tried to accomplish, and I want them to tell of my ability to always push through and try. I want them to say that, no matter the outcome, I gave it my everything and that any falling short I’ve incurred wasn’t due to my lack of trying. We may not always succeed, but to never try is the only real failure a person can have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aaronsharpauthor.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-harp
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/aaronsharpauthor/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@AaronS.HarpAuthor

Image Credits
All of the images are mine, with the aurora image being photographed by myself during an event in 2024 when they were visible all the way to my area of Southern Arizona