Missy Lyons

Q: You have written quite a few different genres and your characters vary widely. Where do you get inspiration for a new story?

A: Every book is different. Sometimes the characters start by whispering something in my ear. Sometimes it might start by something as simple as hearing one word and the story just unfolds. I have a very vivid imagination and frequently the characters in my stories will visit me in my dreams. If they need to have their story written they make sure they are heard over any other voices in my head at the time.


Q: What are you doing when you arent writing?

A: I have a job managing real estate properties, and I freelance as a graphic design artist using my marketing skills for small businesses and writers. I also have the normal responsibilities of most mothers and wives, like taking care of the household, but I dont want to bore you with my never ending chore list of dishes or laundry. I love crafting and artwork, but most of my creative energy has gone into my writing lately.


Q: What is your writing day like?

A: Chaos. Im serious. Its absolute chaos.

Other writers might tell you they have a plan when they start. They set aside time to write every day. They carefully manufacture a synopsis and storyline. They have structure. I have none of that. I dont have a routine. I dont have a schedule. Every moment I write is stolen. I work and have very young children that still require a lot of my time, so I write when I can and where I can. You might find me at karate practice scribbling down notes in my spiral notebook, or if I am really desperate to finish a scene, hiding in my closet, but a writer has to make time to write to be a writer.


Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

A: Currently I have this secret fascination with vampires, so I would love to see Draculas homeland and the Carpathian Mountains. I want to make a trip to Romania and visit the country where people will still use a horse and wagon to get where they need to go. It seems every good vampire story can trace its roots to Romania. I love to travel and if I can call it research for my next bookeven better! On my writers budget, I limit myself to the best tourist guides I can find and the few interviews I can find, but a girl can dream, right?


Q: Can you tell us something about yourself that not many other people know?

A: Youre asking me to tell my secrets? You understand that unlike the characters I write about, I dont bare all. Okay, okay, just for youI have an addiction to coffee. Not just any coffee, but the stuff they grow in Hawaii, and I have it shipped to my house every couple of months. I dont even have to add cream and sugar, it is that good. It's a secret indulgence that just makes me feel good every morning.