In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews American fantasy author Josh Rutherford, best known for his novel Kinghood. Rutherford shares a pivotal personal story: being laid off on the same day his second son was born, and how his family served as his "Gibraltar" during that turbulent period. He discusses the ever‑changing publishing landscape, emphasizing the importance of staying open to new information to grow as an author. His core business advice is to constantly adapt, learn, and pivot, warning against stagnation. When asked what he would tell his younger self, he urges trying everything—travel, moving to major cities, and taking on challenging jobs. On happiness, he says the key is inner fulfillment and peace, independent of external circumstances. Rutherford recommends Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer as a transformative guide to developing a writer’s voice, and cites Tom Bilyeu’s quote “It’s all my fault” as his favorite. He concludes by directing listeners to his online presence: Facebook (Author JKR), his website www.authorjkr.net, and his books on Amazon.
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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have a good friend of mine, Josh Rutherford, with us. He is an American fantasy fiction author best known for his best-selling book Kinghood. He has spent years mastering a variety of genres with his screenplays, short stories, and novels. So welcome to the show, man.
Thank you, Tyler. Thank you for having me.
Of course, man. Grateful to have you here. So, Josh, the first question we ask on this show is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Oh, wow. That, as a writer, is very difficult for me to narrow down. So I'm gonna go with the most recent one. About a year ago, actually January 12th, 2018, I was laid off from my job. And the same day my second son was born. And I kid you not, just the tornado that has happened, not literally, figuratively, that has happened in my life with all the changes that have gone on in my life and the life of my family has been just so overwhelming. But what's kept me so grounded is knowing that my two boys at home, three years and the other one 10 months now, and my wife have been just my Gibraltar, my rock, my pillar of strength. And having them support me through all I've been through with my job layoff, with finding a new job, with moving to a different city, and with all my novel writing processes going on simultaneously, they've been the bedrock that has allowed me to continue on. Hmm.
And then what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, definitely.
Um, within—
well, aside from my day job, I would say that book writing has definitely taken up the core of the past, gosh, you know, 5, 10, 15 years even. And I've gone through different phases and different cycles of that as well too. And with the publishing industry, as you know, Tyler, it's constantly evolving. And I would say being open to receiving all that new information is paramount to your growth as an author, not only in how you write, but also in how your message is getting out there to the world.
And then what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
I would say my best piece of business advice is to constantly adapt, learn, and grow. It doesn't seem that in this day and age that there's any room for those that are stagnant. You have to continually evolve and reassess yourself and most importantly pivot when things aren't working out. It's that evolution which I think so many businesses are looking for nowadays.
And then, um, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Try everything once. Just travel, move to New York City, move to LA, uh, work for a company where you think you're gonna fail, um, challenge yourself, uh, just give everything a try and hope for the best.
Then in your opinion, kind of going down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
That's a good one, man. My answer to that question is going to change every single time I'm asked. Definitely, I'm going to answer that right now and say that The key is to be fulfilled and not relying on your external circumstances, but being really at peace, having that inner strength within yourself.
Mm-hmm. And then what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from it?
Oh, goodness. I'd say from an educational standpoint, one book that was critical in my growth was Wonderbook. That was written by this prolific steampunk author, and he really did a deep dive into the process of writing, but also how to develop your voice as an author. And it was just so enlightening to hear that, especially from someone who did it himself. So that was very instrumental in my growth in art.
And then what is your favorite quote and why?
Ooh, my favorite quote. It's all my fault by Tom Bilyeu.
Awesome, brother. Well, listen, thank you so much for coming on, man. It was an honor having you on the show. The last question I got for you is, where can our audience best find you online?
Yeah, definitely. I'm on Facebook. My handle is Author JKR, my initials, Joshua Kenneth Rutherford. You can also find me at my website, www.authorjkr.net. And of course, you can find my books and myself on Amazon.
Perfect, brother. Thanks again for coming on.
All right, thanks, Tyler. Appreciate it. Have a good one.
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