BY VANESSA ECHOLS
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — When Derek Ellis was studying agronomy at Auburn University 20 years ago, he had no idea he’d end up an author and founder of his own publishing company. But earlier this year, he stepped away from an 18 year career in human resources to focus on his passion for writing books and getting them published.
The writing turned out to be the easiest part, Ellis said, because he has been writing for a decade. But trying to find a publisher was brutal. Ellis said he sent out 300 letters to literary agents, heard back from 150 of them, and all of them said no. So in March, Ellis founded his own company to self publish his books. He chose the name Oak & Lantern Press in honor of the grandfather who taught him to read.
“He’s who my main characters in my books are named after. He taught me everything I know as far as taking care of things in the world. And he was like a lantern because it lit up the world as I learned what he taught me. So it’s called Oak and Lantern Press because you have to have something that’s sturdy, but also lights the world as you carry something forward,” Ellis said.
So far, Ellis, who writes in the adult fantasy genre, has published four books under the pen name D.W. Ellis. Three of them are a part of a planned 12 book series, The Aurora Borealis Chronicles. The published titles are: The Jewel Of The North, Jewel’s True North and The Protectors Of Humanity. As a self described Christmas nut, Ellis said the series reimagines Santa Claus.
“I’ve explored what it looks like to carry the cost of being Santa Claus and raise a child at the North Pole. So he has to carry the weight of the world by trying to keep humanity human by taking care of the world’s children and reminding them you can be ok and in that, he’s almost crushed by the weight of being Santa Claus,” Ellis explained.
He is also working on an audio book, which he hopes to release this fall and two more books he plans to publish in November. Oak & Lantern is
based in Clanton, where he lives now. As the founder and owner of the company, Ellis is responsible for every detail in getting the book from manuscript to publishing, including editing, cover design, production, distribution and marketing. It’s hard work and time consuming, but Ellis said his purpose outweighs the challenges.
“I write stories for people who serve the world but feel unrecognized. Think of nurses and school teachers, the people who are out there everyday caring about humanity, but they often feel very left out. When they read my stories, they will recognize themselves in that because the people in my stories are carrying that same weight every single day. I write words that live with you long after you’ve finished the book.” Ellis said.
You can find more about Ellis’ work at oakandlanternpress.com and connect with the author directly on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/d.w.ellis/
