Author Bio:
I grew up in a small town on the island of Moloka’i in Hawai’i. I am the youngest of four children. I have four children my self and continue to raise them on Moloka’i. I have been with my husband for fifteen years but married for five. I enjoy spending my free time with my family doing many out door activities, reading, and writing. For eleven years I had been employed with the State of Hawaii, Second Judicial Circuit; but chose to leave due to the birth of my one year old son. When I left my job, I decided that I would try writing because I loved to do it any way, just never had the opportunity to try until now.
What inspires you to write?
The simple love of it. Stories will follow and just come out. Being on a small island like Molokai you get a real sense of connection with the land, surroundings, the people. I’m lucky to live in such a beautiful place where the inspiration can be pulled from nearly everything you see.
Tell us about your writing process.
I keep a lot of notes as I write. I try not to outline it too much because it in my opinion it takes the adventure out of writing it. I like to allow the story time to write itself. I guess you could say I am a seat of the pants kind of writer, but I also try to stay organized with the flow of things. I don’t sketch my characters, they are based completely on what suits the feeling of a particular person/character, so their demeanor, their looks, their personality is truly based on suiting the feeling of the story. However it is well noted.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Sometimes it’s much easier to talk to each of them in your head. I try to fit into their place so that I can get some kind of thought about what they would do at the moment.
What advice would you give other writers?
To keep on going. I have faith in myself and I am proud of my work. I’ve spent a long time working on it. You should do the same have faith in your work and in yourself. Be secure with your writing abilities, and keep positive. These are words that I myself use every day.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I wanted to do something more than just looking at a hand written manuscript. I wanted to know if I did have what it took to become a main stream author. I searched for different web sites that did free self publishing, and for me I found to trust createspace.com more and decided to go with them, not saying that there was anything wrong with other sites. Look for their offered services, formatting, cover designs, proof-reading/editing, those are very important features to look for.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think as long as the demand for stories continue to grow, the future will be good. Although. I have come to realize through my own journey that e-books and kindle downloads have become more popular.
What genres do you write?
Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
What formats are your books in?
Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To J. M. Lyons Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
http://twitter.com/kitamangca
