Philbo Publishing

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I honestly don't have a process. I get ideas randomly from life experiences and daily interactions and just jot them down as vague notions. I will sit at some point and I just start writing and whatever comes out comes out. Its kind of like sitting at a campfire and making up a story on the fly.

As a nine-year-old boy who saw Uncanny X-Men #115 on a spinner rack in my local candy store, I fell in love with comics immediately. I started collecting and never looked back. When I was laid up in bed for 6 weeks and almost didn't survive an illness, I started writing and it was like a flood gate had opened.

I have always been a self-motivator. I rarely need external avenues of motivation. I have all these bottled-up stories that seem to be coming out from my subconscious, and I am just going with the flow and enjoying it.

I was just talking to my wife about this actually. Tragedy is my most successful title. It's what started it all and is considered my flagship book, but I have to say I am really proud of my writing for POPPA and SHAMAN. I think they are proof of my ability to grow as a writer and storyteller.

Honestly, I don't know if it does or doesn't. I just want to keep writing and creating and if people enjoy it, then I am all the richer for it. Either way its cathartic and brings me great joy. I hope it is valued in the industry someday but if not, I'm content with enjoying the journey.

Writing is my form of self-care. Its cathartic. My whole life I felt this unexplainable frustration, as if I were not meeting my potential. I was a musician and have always had a creative spark, but it wasn't until I started writing comics and prose books that I felt the frustration wash away. I found my calling.

Yes. I have felt powerless and frustrated at times with not getting the attention that others do. Sometimes I feel like no matter how good my stories are, they will be overlooked because I am an unknown. I get down about it sometimes but this annoyed part of me starts telling me to stop feeling sorry for myself and figure out the solution.

I unfortunately get about three hours of sleep a night because I don't have a great work-life balance. I do make sure my family gets my attention and time though, as they are what is most important. I work a full-time job, have two small children, a wife, my mom living with us, a house and my publishing, and soon distribution companies. As far as strategies or techniques, I trust my body and mind and when I need a break, Ill take it in the form of sleep, vegetating in front of a video game or T.V. show.

Mental health and emotional health intertwine and are part of everyday life. Stories can reflect this in an entertaining way and at the same time they can provide comfort and healing for some through the ability to relate to the characters and their situations. The best stories touch on the most basic human wants and needs. We all want to belong, feel like we matter and feel like this life is worth something. We all want to be relevant. Goos stories draw from these feelings and can unite people knowing we all feel the same things. So many movies have inspired people, motivated them or just let them know they aren't alone in feeling that way. Rocky is a great example of how we all just want to feel relevant and know that we matter; that we can go the distance and still be standing.

No matter what happens throughout my day, I am blessed with two beautiful girls that ground me and a wife that sticks with me no matter what. They give me purpose, strength, and the desire to always be better tomorrow than I am today.