Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Lyon
Hi Catherine, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As a teenager, one of our family friends was an incredible sculptor. A WWII veteran who’d seen the worst humanity has to offer, he somehow couldn’t stop seeing the beauty in the world and offering his own sculptures to increase it.
My friend knew I loved to draw and loved to show me his projects, so I wasn’t surprised when one day he told me he had something incredible to share with me. He brought me into his dining room, where spread over every surface and lined up against the wall were… the ugliest drawings I’d ever seen.
“These look like kid’s drawings!” I exclaimed at the time, and he assured me that they were, a collection of hearts colored by a local elementary school.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” he asked.
I didn’t see it. One in particular made me cringe, a mess of clashing hot pink, olive green, and mustard yellow.
My friend went on to explain that the children didn’t know yet what colors were supposed to go together. They saw each color for its individual beauty, and that was true art.
Though over the years I’ve come to understand his words in a whole variety of ways, at the time, the only conclusion I could draw was that I must not be a true artist, because the pictures were still ugly.
Perhaps it’s surprising, then, that I became a writer, reveling in the beauty of the shades of color in words and paragraphs and stories. But from my early years of scratching out tales of dragons and adventure to now, where I publish my stories through my self-owned publishing company, Cannon Valley Books, I’ve alway tried to share the hues of goodness the world has to offer, even in my tales of murder and mayhem.
I think my friend would have seen them, too.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As a Minnesotan used to the woes of construction season, I have to question whether smooth roads even exist, either in reality or in the abstract. It’s the hardships, though, that make the best stories. Vladimir Nabokov once said “the writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.” Conflict births creativity, courage, and commitment, at least if we approach it right, and I’ll take the struggles if I get the character growth at the end of the story. I won’t regale you with the dozens of rejections and shelved manuscripts, the almosts and if onlys, or the agony of realizing being an indie author means having to create a TikTok account. But I will say that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to start my own business and take control of my publishing journey if it hadn’t been for the struggles along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I write stories for teens (and those of us who are older but still love a bit of romance and murder). The second book in my Rosie Canto mystery series, Dark and Deep, comes out next month, and my “The Truman Show meets Pretty Little Liars” mystery, The Real Life of Grey Monroe, hits shelves next April. Whether writing fantasy or mystery, my goal is to create characters you know better than you know yourself and worlds you can slip into more easily than a slip of the tongue.
One thing that sets my books apart is that each book comes with a playlist of songs written for and about the characters, themes, or events of the story. The songs are assigned chapter and page numbers, so readers can listen as they read. I have gained so much writing songs and lyrics to help me in my writing process, and my readers love getting additional insights as they read.
How do you define success?
Now you’re just asking me to get cheesy, aren’t you? As an avid reader, I’ve experienced the can’t-put-it-down addictive quality of a good book, the agony of a cliff-hanger and a sequel that isn’t out yet. Because of this, success for me is that message from someone I don’t know, saying they stayed up too late because they couldn’t stop reading. It’s the eagerness of readers querying about my next book. I think it’s true for any creative, whether a visual artist, musician, or writer: You create art to mean something, and when you see your art mean something to someone, it’s the best feeling in the world.
Pricing:
- Dark and Bright is avaiable for just $3.99 on Amazon right now, just $8.99 for the paperback.
- The e-book of Dark and Deep is available for preorder on Amazon for just $4.99!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.catherinelyonbooks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinelyonyaauthor/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.lyon.37
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CannonValleyBooks
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@catherinelyonbooks
