Elzbieta Tibai asked Josh Lanyon:

My question is a two-parter: What made you decide to be an author, and how did you get started?

Josh Lanyon Hello, Elzy. That's a very interesting question(s). ;-)

I don't think I ever really officially decided to be a writer. I think I was kind of born this way. :-D When I was a little kid playing with other little kids, I would always narrate and direct what we were doing (I guess I could have been a director in other circumstances) ;-D So when we would be coloring, I would be making up the stories for the illustrations. And when we were dressing up, I would be making up the story to fit the draperies and high heels. :-D

My teachers recognized my bossiness -- er, talent :-P -- and early on began to tell me that I was going to be a writer. I think this was key because when you are young, you believe what grown-ups tell you, and since everyone believed I would be a writer, I believed it too. In my early teens, I began sending manuscripts out to publishers. I had some success with poetry, but did not sell an actual novel until after college.

And really, that's pretty much it. I began early, had some minimal success, and kept going from there. There have been a few set-backs (some seemed earth-shattering at the time) but basically I just kept moving forward, doing whatever I had to do to pay the bills until I reached the point where I'm able to (precariously) support myself writing fiction.

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