Interview With Author Myles Katherine Coleman
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I released my first book, Temporary Beauty: A Memoir About Panic Disorder and Finding Purpose Through Art and Meditation, in April 2024. I am currently working on my second book and hope to release it in 2027. While I am a full-time photographer, writing has always been a passion of mine, and I also run a successful photography blog and YouTube channel where I review cameras, film, and gear.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Temporary Beauty: A Memoir About Panic Disorder and Finding Purpose Through Art and Meditation is my most recent book and was inspired by my journey as an artist. When I was growing up and going through the dark moments of my mental health journey, I was constantly searching for books that would validate my thoughts and feelings so I could feel less alone. I loved angsty coming-of age novels and books like It’s Kind of a Funny Story and The Bell Jar. I like to think that I would have loved stumbling across Temporary Beauty during that time. In my more adult years, I fell in love with books like The Collected Schizophrenias, Educated and World of Wonders – creative memoirs and honest accounts of personal struggle. While I’ve never really been the kind of artist to be creatively influenced by the work of others, I do think Temporary Beauty falls somewhere in the vein of these books.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My favorite place to write is on my phone, sitting on my floor next to my electric fireplace with my two cats.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Collected Schizophrenias, The Bell Jar, Educated and World of Wonders are a few of my favorites. I tend to gravitate towards memoirs and self-help, while also cherishing writers that are poetic and original in their writing. I also enjoy reading first hand accounts about travel, spirituality, and self-healing.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on my second book, a memoir about my journey with fertility and my experience as a career-oriented woman in society. It is a collection of essays that are both heartfelt and utterly upsetting. If you’ve ever read Bad Feminist by Roxane Fay or Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn, it may be for you.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have used many methods of promotion, from Amazon and Meta Ads, to NetGalley, GoodReads forums and contests. I’ve also participated in in-person events, which tends to yield the best results because people love supporting real people!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Manifest! If you imagine that two years from now, you’ll be publishing your first book, it’s amazing how your mind will create the steps to make that happen. Give yourself a timeline and imagine it’s already done. Sign up for that writing class. Sit in that coffee shop with your computer. Lie in bed at night writing on your phone. If a thought or idea comes to you, never tell yourself, “I’ll write it down later.” Trust me, you WILL forget your idea and it may never come back to you. Accept the challenges, and don’t listen to anyone else. If you believe you are a writer, you ARE one.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“No one ever said it was going to be easy.” This may sound like a negative quote, but for some reason it really resonated with me. It somehow validated a fear in me that things were more difficult for me than the average person. But they’re not. Life is hard. It’s okay. Just keep trying and surviving.
What are you reading now?
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. I’m also working my way through an old alternative medicine guide from the 1990s called New Choices in Natural Healing.
What’s next for you as a writer?
While I spend the majority of my time as a photographer and blogger, I’m always writing in the background. Every time an idea comes to me, I write it down. I tend to write completely out of order, so at some point, I gather all of my ideas and reorganize them in a way that makes sense. My goal is to complete my next book by 2027, while also releasing a photography book with images I’ve created over the years, alongside my poetry I’ve been writing on my travels.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Author Websites and Profiles
Myles Katherine Coleman Website
Myles Katherine Coleman Amazon Profile
Myles Katherine Coleman’s Social Media Links
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