Meet Wofford Jones | Author/Artist/Book Cover Designer

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

Hi Wofford, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
In short, I can genuinely say that whenever I am creating something, I am at my happiest. This could be any number of current creative projects, from writing on my latest novel or short story, drawing, watercolor painting, and designing a book cover for myself or another author. Those are my most focused creative activities to date.
A secondary activity that brings happiness is reading a great book while drinking a hot cup of coffee. My favorite place to do this is my comfy chair in our library. And by our, I mean my wife, Laurie; it’s even better when Laurie is reading her book (and drinking coffee) in her chair beside me—a snapshot of a perfectly happy moment in time.
If you had asked me this question about happiness a few years ago, I would’ve said something like, “Working on the craft of acting or rehearsing or performing in a theatre production or an independent film.” That was my most intensive laser focus at one time—that dream of being a working actor.
Most recently, my main creative outlets have been writing a great story, drawing, painting, doing some book cover design, and doing a tutorial on Photoshop (to learn more secrets of that powerful program and become a better book cover designer).
I seem to have been involved in numerous creative outlets at various times in my life. I was into theatre and film acting. Then, photography and making independent films were a huge part of my happiness makeup.
Since I published my first book, Soul Dreams, in 2017, I’ve been more focused on writing. I am at my truest and most focused happiness writing/creating a story for my super fans and readers.
But in the slightest sense of the word, creating something from my mind, body, and spirit helps me see that I am a creative person. And that makes me extremely happy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The road to my current artistic endeavors was long, but I wouldn’t say it was hard. My journey went by way of a more creative scenic route.
Before I get into that, I want to submit my updated nutshell bio from my latest best-seller to kick things off. Just so you get a snapshot idea of what I do now and where my focus is. It goes something like this:

Wofford Lee Jones is a horror/thriller writer who loves coffee, good books, and great stories. His love for horror grew from watching movies in the late 70s/early 80s. However, it was only in his 20s that he started reading horror. He enjoys art, drawing/painting, book cover design, watching live theatre and movies, traveling, reading, and supporting his fellow writers. He works as a designer at Yates Construction by day, but engineering is different from where his true passion lies. Nightly and on the weekends, he can be found with a hot cup of coffee, studiously banging out that next chilling tale. He always strives to keep it dark, disturbing, and a little bit creepy. Welcome to his darkness. He lives in Greenville, South Carolina, with his wife Laurie. He is working on his fifth book, These Bloody Games We Play. Stay tuned; there is much more coming down the pike.

To expound on the above, here are my creative outlets in more detail and the journey that got me to this point.
I am an author of horror and psychological thriller books. I currently have four books published and one on the way. Those are Soul Dreams (2017), a possession/revenge tale. Off the Beaten Path (2019) is a collection of eight horror tales, each with its claws in various sub-genres of horror. Hell Night in Hopewell (2020), a Halloween horror story located in the Hopewell Sanitorium, and Lethal Doses (2023), another collection of various thriller and horror stories ranging from one- to two-sentence horror tales up to a psychological thriller novella to close it out the book. Have you had your daily dose of horror? Step into my world and take your medication. And coming out later this year, These Bloody Games We Play (Fall 2024).
What caused me to want to become an author was after reading the book Second Child by John Saul. It was a great psychological thriller that was locked into reading. This was around 1997—years ago. When I finished that book, I just sat there reliving the story in my mind and gazing at the cover. It started me on the beginning path of questioning: how does someone come up with a story and write it out to become this entity I had just read? How does someone go about doing that? And is it possible for me to do the same? I continued reading more authors and how-to books to figure out this mystery.
Before Soul Dreams was published in mid-2017 (yes, it took me that long to publish my first), Laurie, my wife, had a chance to read the finalized version. Upon finishing, she dubbed my story and all my writing dark, delicious, and disturbing. I have taken that compliment/tagline to market my writing. I’m always trying to keep it dark, disturbing, and a little bit creepy. Another note about Soul Dreams: it was my first publication and is still, to this day, my favorite story that I have penned. This could be because it took so long to get this story written and published. Another could be that it was my first story published. Either way, it is near and dear to my heart. I am proud of my other books; they have a special place, but Soul Dreams is extra special.
While reading and studying, I was also interested in acting for film/television and theatre (late 90s/2000s). I was also finding my way as an actor, and live theatre dictated my life. Rehearsals and performances took up a great deal of my time. But it was time well spent because it had a bearing on my writing when I could sit down and type out some chapters. Eventually, photography, film and making movies became an interest. I started Third Mind Films with two of my friends, Dean Ferreira and Chris Cashon, and for a time, scriptwriting and weekend shoots were all I had time for. But that passion for writing and my dream of being a published author never went away. I worked on my stories whenever I could.
Then, during the second week of performances of Walking Across Egypt, a production at Greenville Theatre in 2013, it hit me that I didn’t want to do acting anymore. I wasn’t getting where I ultimately wanted to go with it, which was making my living as a paid working actor. It was the Saturday night of the second week when I realized I had four more performances to go, and I could not wait for them to be over. After that show was over, I hung up my acting shoes. I never auditioned for another show. I’ve had directors call me and ask if I was interested in roles. I had done my time on stage. The writing was calling to me.
A couple of years after that, I stepped away from photography. At this time, I was doing the production photos for three different community theaters. Although I loved photography, I began to hate it. I would finish with one theatre’s production but then have to go to another and photograph their show. It was never-ending. I finally turned in my notices to the theatres so they could find a different photographer because I was stepping away from the lens in photography and film work. I explained to my other two friends that the writing was calling out to me, and I couldn’t do it with all these creative outlets taking up my time.
I don’t miss daily/nightly rehearsals or performances in theatre stage productions. I don’t miss the long hours on set in the blistering heat or the frigid cold. I don’t miss being locked into doing actors’/actresses’ headshots or production photos for theatres. There was a time and place on my life’s timeline where I did, and I loved it. Those times are over. I have found my true happiness in my writing.
Aside from my writing career, I have recently gotten back into drawing/sketching. I did this as a kid and was pretty decent at it. I just never harnessed that skill. I’ve also started delving into watercolor painting. This has always called out to me, but I never pursued it. And lastly, I have started designing book covers. I have gone into book cover design because, as an author, book cover design is expensive if you want a great cover. A great cover will make or break a sale for someone buying your book. You must snag the reader’s attention to at least pick up your book to examine it. Then, if they have picked it up, you want them to flip the book over and read the synopsis. Hopefully, between the cover and the synopsis, something there will make them head to the counter and purchase your story.
With some of my earliest covers, I felt that if I knew the Photoshop program, I could design my own covers. Sometimes, the back-and-forth dialogue of telling my designer what I wanted done with my book cover was agonizing. I had tried learning Photoshop once, but it wasn’t easy. It was an intimidating program, so I never stuck with it until recently.
When I set my mind to learning Photoshop, I had my friend Chris Cashon help me with the lettering for my third book, Hell Night in Hopewell. I had Italian watercolor artist Daniele Serra paint the book’s cover, and I would do the lettering. With Chris’s help, it was the initial kick that sent me off into the learning of Photoshop. After that, I helped author Evan Bond with two of his covers where he’d had an artist do the artwork, and I helped him with lettering as I had done on mine.
I attribute my return to art to Florida author Evan Bond and California author Patrick Delaney. We are fans of each other’s writing. Evan was talking about his 2023 release, Charred Remains (a collection of short horror stories), and that he would like to have some hand-drawn art sketches to accompany some of his stories. Since I’d done art in the past, I told him I could try my hand at getting him something he might like for his book. With each consecutive drawing I did, each one was better than the last, and he loved them, and I was falling back in love with art. After I finished with Evan Bond’s drawings for Charred Remains, I was approached by Patrick Delaney, who had seen my recent artwork posted on Facebook, Instagram, and in my newsletter. Patrick had a book titled Return to the House that Fell from the Sky, which he was working on. I had read his prequel work, The House that Fell from the Sky and was excited that he had contacted me about doing a wrap-around cover for that book. I told him I could try my hand at it and see if I could come up with something he would love. If so, then it would be an excellent experience for me. I’d already started to play around with doing book cover design for my Lethal Doses and my upcoming release, These Bloody Games We Play, but working with a client was new to me. Long story short, Evan Bond and Patrick Delaney were genuinely happy with my artwork for their projects, and my inked drawings were the best I had ever done.
To set myself up for success in the book cover design world, I most recently started in the online school Nucly (www.nucly.com), an online school teaching Photoshop. I am part of the Nucly Academy. I have found it is the best way to learn Photoshop. The school deals with doing composite tutorials, and by following master instructor Rikard Rodan, you learn Photoshop so much faster than searching for a single YouTube video that tells you how to do one specific thing. All these different classes have set me in a new creative direction.
I plan to have some of my watercolor and ink drawings framed and some prints made and eventually rent a space at Westside Market. This Greenville, SC-based consignment mall has numerous vendors who rent and sell their creations. I hope to have my small area open to the public by the fall.
You may be thinking, but much of your time is now occupied with art, drawing, painting, and making cover designs. True, but I am enjoying this new side of the creative universe. All this creative outlet of artwork only helps me make better covers for myself, a cost I am not paying out to a designer. It is also a good break from writing. It lets me clear my mind and approach it with a fresh mindset when I return to write more.
If there is anything that I have learned from when I started out on my creative journey, it is to try what interests you. Do not be afraid to start, even if it scares you. In theatre and film, stage fright was a big scare for me, but the more I did it, the easier it became. I never truly conquered stage fright, but it never caused me not to step out on the stage and play that role I was cast in. With my writing, there will never be a perfect first draft. But each time I do a first draft of a new story, it will be better than the one before. Writing that story will be a touch easier. And there will be bad reviews along the way; every writer has them. You just must remember that a hundred or even a thousand more readers love your stories. One bad review does not determine who you are as a writer. I always think that my story didn’t resonate with this reader.
Don’t be afraid of the few negatives that might come your way because those are not what dictates who you are as a creative. Do not be afraid to pick up a pencil, pen, or paintbrush because, more than likely, the first marks will not be those of a master artist. It takes hundreds of tries to get to a great piece of art. But all along the way, you will see your improvement. It will be enough to show yourself that you are on the right track. It will be enough to show you to keep going, and each consecutive try will get you to the place you need and want to be.
And by trying your hand at something that interests you, you will find that they are good for a time or that they are something you don’t want to pursue. Each creative endeavor has led me to something greater, and I am doing new things better because of all the interests and time spent on those I have had before.
I’m still finding my voice as an author and am on a new side quest to find my style as an artist. I will get there; I have to have faith that I will.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So, I will tackle this in sections, such as restaurants, establishments, etc.
Let’s talk restaurants first because you must have good food and energy to take in Greenville.
Laurie and I always mention a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Yellow Ginger Asian Kitchen. It serves some of the best Asian food we’ve eaten.
At some time during our week-long trip, we would go to Elvino’s (Pasta and NY-style pizza). I recommend the Ziti Bolognese. It is one Laurie, and I often gravitate to.
The 07 is the place to be for a little more upscale dining. Fantastic food and killer drinks (I suggest This Peach is on Fire, like a Peach Fireball. It’ll take your breath away in the best way—it’s oh-so-good).
As far as things to do, I would suggest going by Furman University and taking a walk around Swan Lake. That way, you can get a little exercise and walk off some of that good food you’ve just eaten. Swan Lake is peaceful and serene. It’s a nice walk.
If you want to go further, the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail Network is a 28-mile multi-use (walking and bicycling) greenway that traverses along the Reedy River, an old railroad corridor, and City parks to connect Travelers Rest with the City of Greenville, South Carolina.
In the heart of downtown Greenville is Reedy River Falls, part of Reedy River Park, a picturesque, landscaped area to kick back and take in. See the breathtaking view of the falls from Liberty Bridge. It is a thing of beauty, expert craftsmanship, and engineering.
For night activities, I would take in a show at my old stomping grounds when I was acting on stage, The Greenville Theatre. I have been in numerous shows and won two acting awards while on stage. The Greenville Theatre always showcases something incredible to experience.
Then, if you’re up for more entertainment, I would take anyone to anything going on at The Peace Center for the Performing Arts. It is a 2000+-seat concert hall with state-of-the-art acoustics. Don’t miss a show there if you can help it.
And to top it all off, a stroll down Main Street is always a great experience. There are more food joints along the way as places to shop. It’s a growing hub of excitement and activities. Come and visit and take it all in.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Hands down, this would have to be my wife, Laurie. My books usually have a dedication written to someone, but then after them, I always add: For Laurie, always for Laurie.
And secondly, I would dedicate this segment to my superfans. The list is too long to add here; they will know who they are. These are the readers and lovers of my writing, my newsletter subscribers, those who like my art and encourage me along the way, and those who follow me on my social media. I wouldn’t want to try and list them because I would probably leave someone out, and I would feel awful if that happened.

Website: https://www.woffordleejones.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wojo7/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/woffordleejones

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/woffordleejones

Other: My art on Instagram:

www.instagram.com/wojo7_art/

Image Credits
1. Headshot Smiling Silas James Rowland
2. Laurie and I.jpg Renee Carolla
3. Soul Dreams Alex J. Knudsen
4. Off the Beaten Path Evan Bond
5. Hell Night in Hopewell Silas James Rowland

All other images submitted were made by me Wofford Lee Jones