Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Beaulieu.
Hi Steve, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
From the earliest age, I wanted to be a writer. I can still recall writing my first short story on my grandfather’s Radio Shack-bought Tandy 1000 computer. I also remember designing the book cover on the blue-and-yellow graphics processor that came preinstalled.
A few years later, at around eleven, two things happened: I got a guitar, and my father took us to the weirdest and best church I’d ever been to. Trinity Church International in Lake Worth, FL, was where I learned that churches could have killer music, and I simply had to learn to play the guitar.
It was also when I decided I wanted to be a pastor.
What does that have to do with writing books and owning a publishing company?
Strangely, everything.
For several years, I toured as singer and songwriter in a band called Stonehigh. Even the name of the band came from a Fantasy book I started writing (and never finished) as a teenager. That book, sitting at 193k words, had no direction and no end—it will remain that way until the Jesus comes back.
While playing three to four shows a week, I was also working as a youth pastor at a start-up church in South Florida and freelance graphic designer.
In 2012, my wife and I packed up and moved away from my hometown of Wellington, FL, for the great nation of Texas. We knew no one, had nothing, but after months of prayer and consideration, we believed I was supposed to take a job as the Creative Director of a church in Benbrook, TX. Shortly after arriving, I was given new responsibilities that ultimately led to me becoming a pastor there, and namely: Worship Pastor.
That meant my years of instrument-playing and singing had brought me full circle into a tangible career. During those early months, I found myself in need of a bass player. In a moment I could only describe as a divine encounter, I met a guy by the name of Aaron who hadn’t touched a bass in years, but I knew he was supposed to be connected.
We hit it off immediately, and during a lunch break one day, he invited me to his house to try out his new VR rig. While that was fun, it was what happened afterward that changed my life. I saw, lining his shelf, a number of books with his name printed on the spine.
“I’ve always wanted to write a book,” I told him—a phrase uttered by most people in the world at least once. “I have started and stopped writing more times than I can count.”
“Let’s write one together,” he said.
That was the start of this odd and incredible journey. From Worship Pastor to writer and, ultimately, co-owner of the fastest-growing Science Fiction and Fantasy publisher in the world.
Aaron and I wrote that book, and since 2016, I have written or co-written 29 full-length novels, included in six series.
Later that year, my experience in graphic design (which I became quite proficient at through years designing band merch, logos, business cards, and websites as a way to supplement both musician income and pastoring) brought me to a guy named Rhett C. Bruno who needed a logo for a Science Fiction newsletter he ran. After a couple of days discussion about the project, he asked if I’d be interested in writing a book called The Luna Missile Crisis with him. It’s a fun, pulpy alternate history of the Cold War, and he needed someone who could bring humor into it. Me, a guy who had very little experience in the book industry, being asked to write a book with the USA Today Bestseller—heck yeah.
That was the first of ten or more books we’ve written together (Under the pen name Jaime Castle).
In 2018, after eight great years, I found myself without a job—a story that would take up more time than I have in this interview.
When I called Rhett to tell him the news and explained that I was no longer employed, he (without hesitation) told me he would quit his job as an architect to start the publishing company we’d been discussing for the last year or so.
With no experience outside of publishing our own books, in November 2018, he and I built a Kickstarter with the measly sum of $4000 as a goal. We met that goal within the first couple of days, and five years later, Aethon Books has grown into a multi-million-dollar empire.
Our mutual talents in art and business give us the advantage of being able to produce books and audiobooks from start to finish without the need for dozens of employees. While we have a handful now, including formatters, artists, and editors, in those first few months, we did it all.
Aethon specializes in LitRPG—a new but wildly popular genre that blends fantasy with gaming elements à la Dungeons & Dragons or video games. They often include statistics and levels through which the main character progresses. We are also one of the largest publishers of Military Science Fiction and all other sub-genres included in the overarching Science Fiction and Fantasy umbrella.
With hits like He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon (Travis Deverell), Defiance of the Fall by JF Brink, Grimm’s War by Jeffery H. Haskell, and hundreds to thousands more, Aethon has become a powerhouse in publishing.
When we started, we had one goal in mind: give a voice to authors who didn’t fit the traditional publishing model. However, that attitude of author-first publishing led us to sign amazing people like actor Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba, Young Guns, etc.), Timothy Zahn (The Thrawn Trilogy, Star Wars), Jonathan Maberry, Harry Turtledove, Scott Sigler and so many more.
In recent days, we have partnered with Vault Comics and Laurel Pursuit to enter the comic book landscape in a powerful way, including several Webtoon Originals and more upcoming in the physical market.
It’s been an incredible five-year journey with Aethon Books that started as an eleven-year-old boy in a bright red church pew in Lake Worth, FL.
I couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds for me, my family, my business partner Rhett C. Bruno, and whatever the Lord has for me beyond.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
You know, every endeavor has struggles.
I count myself among the blessed, but things weren’t always easy. My wife and I spent many years in what I didn’t even realize was poverty.
When I moved to Texas, it was to take a job that paid $22k a year. With my wife not working, that wasn’t easy. When we had our first child, it became even more difficult. By the time my second came around, I’d been given a raise to $33k a year. Still not a ton for a family of four, but we learned to make do.
Thankfully, we had a lot of people who had grown to love us, and our children always got the best hand-me-down clothing.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I write books as Jaime Castle.
It’s a passion. With Aethon being as successful as it is, I get to write for fun. That means I don’t have to worry about what’s trending or hot at the moment. My bestselling series is a weird western, something I wouldn’t encourage anyone to write if they endeavor to make money. But we found a strong niche, even securing actor Roger Clark (Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2) to narrate the audiobooks.
Audio is actually where I find the most joy. I listen to a couple hundred books a year, so when I write a book, I always have audio in mind. I’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry to provide the absolute best quality audiobooks out there. From R.C. Bray (The Martian) and Roger Clark to Hall of Fame narrator Luke Daniels and Star Wars legend Marc Thompson—not to mention the dynamic duo responsible for giving voice to all of Brandon Sanderson’s titles, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.
Additionally, being that writing isn’t where I earn the living to put food on my table, I’ve decided to make most of my books free on Audible Plus. That means if you’re a member, thirteen of the titles listed below are entirely free to listen to.
My complete list of titles:
The Buried Goddess Saga: Web of Eyes, Winds of War, Will of Fire, Way of Gods, War of Men, Word of Truth
Dragonblood Assassin: Black Talon, Red Claw, Silver Spines, Golden Flames (late 2023/early 2024)
RAPTORS: Sidekick, Superteam, Scions, Justice, The Trench, Invasion, Baron Steele
BLACK BADGE: Dead Acre, Cold as Hell, Vein Pursuits, Ace in the Hole (2024)
JEFF THE GAME MASTER: Manufacturing Magic, Manipulating Magic, Mastering Magic
This Long Vigil
The Luna Missile Crisis
ROGUE STARS: Purgatory (2024), Divine Intervention (2024), Reclamation (2024)
You can find out more at www.jaimecastle.com
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was always a social kid. I like laughing and making people laugh. Not everyone gets my humor, but that’s okay. I grew up watching a lot of British shows with my dad, and their humor can be dry and sarcastic. Sarcasm is the lane I live in. People often say, “If Steve makes fun of you, it means he loves you.”
I played a lot of sports even though I have no interest in them today. My late grandfather, who I had the joy of living with most of my life, was the first announcer at ESPN (Lou Palmer), so baseball was the backdrop to just about everything in my childhood. (Go Rangers!)
Around 11, my interests shifted to music. That led to going to many a concert with my father. Most memorable—Peter Frampton. Man, that was a killer show.
My parents are the best, and I’m lucky to still have them both with me, even if they are 1500 miles away.
I have one brother, older than me. It’s funny; we fought a ton as kids, then something crazy happened around 18, and we became friends. Not just brothers but friends. He and I still talk through text all day, even if it is mostly sharing stupid memes and news articles. He met his wife when she was only 12. (Thirteen the next day, which led to some funny confusion about how old she actually was since “I’m thirteen, my birthday is tomorrow” wasn’t as clear as she thought it was.)
She also grew into one of my closest and best friends. She introduced me to Harry Potter, and I have probably exceeded her in terms of obsession.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jaimecastle.com, www.aethonbooks.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/authorjaimecastle
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorjaimecastle
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/thejaimecastle
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1wuNxAH4hcmcKT2z77osns?si=0pGTrZ2gTtu-z1_oQ8Lpdw
