We had the good fortune of connecting with Lenox Stafford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lenox, what role has risk played in your life or career?
My entire mission through my platform of storytelling is to inspire kids and teens to take risks. Why? Because taking risks builds self-confidence and serves a major role in having you live the life of your dreams. I target the youth because when I started my first real adult job, I noticed a bunch of my older colleagues being too afraid to take chances on themselves. I figured somewhere along the way in life they allowed life to control them.

I can stand on this square because I moved to Chicago without ever visiting, after that, I moved to NYC with no job and when I left New York, I moved to London, England with no job or family. Of course I was afraid, but every single time I take a chance on myself, I always end up saying, “I didn’t know I had it in me!”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So, under my professional name, I had a former career of working in the press office in NYC while also coordinating Wednesday’s Child segments for WNBC in New York. Throughout this time, I started taking creative writing workshop classes and joined the Society of Children’s Books Writers & Illustrators. These spaces inspired me to really be committed in writing my first book. I would write in the early morning hours before going to the gym and getting ready for work. I would also write again after my nightly nap.

Once I started submitting my manuscript to literary agents for representation, I faced endless rejections or partial manuscript request from agents. This process was lengthy and discouraging. Once I got tired of depending on other people aka strangers deciding if my writing was good enough for them, it became clear to me to just try the self-publishing route.

Self-publishing is not an easy journey, but what I do know is that I’m growing. As someone in this field, I can’t solely focus on the writing, there’s a business side to it as well and I find myself gaining more confidence in learning and understanding the world of business.

What sets me apart from others is that my voice is unique due to my life experiences. I create characters and stories based off of all the places I have lived. In addition, I’m a cartoon creator. Yes, I have a cartoon series titled, Maestro’s Madness. One of my good friends, who is a professional in the animation industry taught me how to write scripts for cartoons because he emphasized the importance of me learning how to jump from medium to medium. My message to the world is to stay curious and just be willing to try once whatever that thing or those things are that pull at your heart strings.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m still getting reacclimated to the city of Atlanta after being gone for so long. However, I’m a person who always provide solutions, so what I’m doing is connecting them with my sister, Cherise, who is the ambassador for Atlanta. I think she would take them to the Beltline, the West End Brewery, the Underground, Muchachos for some tacos and Frequency Fridays at the High Museum.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m dedicating my Shoutout to my parents who instilled and supported my love of writing and reading books at an early age. I’m also giving a shoutout to Paulo Coelho, the author of my favorite book, The Alchemist. My last shoutout would be to all of the people on NYC trains who fearlessly sold their products, snacks or performed in front of passengers. They taught me the importance of speaking loud and clear about my mission and just putting myself out there to see what happens.

Website: https://lenoxstafford.my.canva.site/

Social Media: @LenoxStafford

Other: They can also follow my Authors Page on Amazon. It’s under Lenox Stafford, where all of my books are located.

Image Credits
Books: I See Posts! Harlem Got It I See Posts! The Blackout Cartoon Maestro’s Madness

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