Life & Work with Kawika Miles of Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kawika Miles.

Hi Kawika, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I’ve always loved writing; I’ve loved how it offers a different way to think and process ideas. On Christmas of 2009, shortly after returning home from a religious mission in French Polynesia, I came across the newly released album at the time, “This is War” by Thirty Seconds to Mars, and blasting that first song on a bass-heavy sound system, I had the vision for my first dystopian novel. What first started as a rock opera quickly turned into a screenplay before I decided to turn it into a dystopian saga was the best way to tell this story. For the next ten years, I picked at the story as I developed an eclectic set of skills through blue-collar work, digital marketing, software sales, eCommerce, and even military service. It wasn’t until 2020 that I picked up the story and finished it, using my unproductive time to write, develop, market, and publish book 1.

Coming from a Chinese, Hawaiian, and Scottish background, I am grateful every day that my ancestors made their journeys to America to offer their children and legacy opportunities in this country. It ultimately led to my decision to enlist in the Army, and although my military service didn’t turn out the way I envisioned, all of it laid a foundation of greater appreciation for my ancestors and appreciation for the sacrifices across the board that gave me the opportunity I have to make something out of my life here in the United States. My brand and publishing company, “Damn It, I Love America,” comes from a place of deep patriotism that will be at the heart of everything I do for the rest of my life. Faith, family, and freedoms are principles and ideals I strive for and hope to inspire others to aspire to with my words and actions.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
While developing some digital marketing experience, I quickly realized I could publish this myself. Agent after agent and publisher after the publisher has turned my manuscript down. Nothing worth having is worth the grit and sweat of hard work and effort. Marketing is tricky because anyone can write a book or develop a product/service. Driving traffic to a product is a tricky endeavor. It’s getting people to notice your book that is the failing factor for a lot of authors. Still, with the internet, it made it possible for a dumb grunt like myself who barely got his associate’s degree to not only write what I think is an epic story but to get it in the hands of readers, all with little overhead and without the help of traditional publishers.

The saddest thing in today’s on-demand world that touts and condones a get-rich-quick mentality is that people’s bank accounts grow before their personal development does. Would it be easier and faster to do it with a big publisher backing me? For sure! But not only would I lose a lot of control of my story, but I would be held to the standards of their money. I quickly developed a taste for free enterprise, and I’d rather have slow, controlled growth than a big boom of income I wouldn’t know what to do with.

Am I a best-selling author yet? Nope, but you can bet that it is my goal to get there and couple that dreams with my work ethic and attitude, and I know it’s not a matter of “if” but “when.”

Thanks for sharing that. Can you tell us more about your work next?
As an author, my stories and novels are the products I have to offer. The dystopian genre has so much potential for a new generation of readers. As we see the trajectory of the world, we are seeing history repeat itself, and the thing that sets my authorship apart from others is my unabashed love for America. The last thing I want to see is this country falls victim to the Utopian delusions countries like China, Soviet Russia, and Venezuela have. These beliefs are scattered throughout my work (what author doesn’t do this?), and with all that being said, I want people to be entertained by the story I have begun and am continuing to develop.

What makes you happy?
My faith, family, and freedom in this country bring me the most joy and happiness in the world. I hope everyone can develop faith in a higher power, have a family they love (chosen or not), and have the freedom to progress and achieve their dreams.

Pricing:

• Hardcover: $32.99
• Paperback: $17.99
• Ebook: $9.99

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.damnitiloveamerica.com
• Other: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22637241.Kawika_Miles 

Image Credits
My publisher image (kid screaming into microphone) was designed by my sister, Pika Katsuki (https://www.instagram.com/pikadrawsthings/). All other images were all designed and edited by myself using Adobe.