Check Out Colleen Young’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Young.

Hi Colleen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
That’s a hard question! Because where does anyone’s story really start or really end?

Here’s a stab, I thought I wanted to be a pilot so I went to college to become one. Four years later, I was a certified commercial pilot, with a bachelor’s degree in Professional Aviation, but I disliked how time-consuming it was, not conducive to family life, and a struggle to rise from the bottom to the top. It became clear to me, that it wasn’t likely to be my career path forward, so I went in other professional avenues. But I never forgot my time in school.

Many years later, with a successful marriage and three kids born I felt the urge to talk about my story. After all, I am a woman. A woman who successfully completed flight school. In fact, I was one of the only women in most rooms I walked into. On top of that, I pledged a fraternity. Because in aviation school they didn’t have a sorority, that was my only option.

When I started to think more about it I realized I have quite an interesting story to tell that not many other people could. So I wrote, and I wrote and I wrote some more. In 2016, I published all three books of The Taking Flight Trilogy loosely based on some of my personal experiences but mostly a fun romantic ride.

I fell in love with writing and from then I continued to publish books. I now have 6 full-length novels. Some of them are New Adult Romance, like the Taking Flight Trilogy but the rest are more “women’s fiction” or “chick-lit” genres. I love writing and I love writing books that I want to read. I have a tattoo of a quill on my arm after I got after I realized that writing isn’t something that is ever going to change in my life.

It will be a constant, as is breathing.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Writing is the easy part. Coming up with characters and letting them take you on a journey is like having the best bite of food you’ve ever tasted or breathing in the smell of the ocean right before a storm takes comes into shore.

The hard part is all the other stuff: i.e. questioning your worth because of sales, marketing, putting your intellect out there for people to judge, dealing with negative reviews, the list goes on and on but you have to know your “why” and make the best of the hard work you’ve done.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am known for writing romance novels. What sets me apart is my ability to captivate my readers on an emotional level with captivating dialogue.

I am most proud of the fact that I’ve continued to produce good work, book after book, and that I write stories that make people feel and think. Those are my favorite comments to hear, for that reason, my favorite book that I have written thus far is The Life We Share.

I also enjoy lifting up other creatives. Throughout my career in writing, I’ve always been connected to the writing community by attending workshops, reading through other authors’ manuscripts to help find continuity errors or anything else of relevance, reading/buying independent authors’ books, and talking about them on social platforms.

I believe in other authors, like me, and like to put my money where my mouth is.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I just moved to Orlando in the summer of 2021 (my husband’s job brought us here). I love how vibrant the city is with so many different cultures co-existing harmoniously. I’ve lived in many places in the US and that can’t be said for many of the places I’ve inhabited. I wish the rest of the world could be and live like Orlando.

Dislikes: Traffic.

Pricing:

• Approx. $8-10 per book.

Contact Info:

• Email:colleenyoungwriter@gmail.com
• Website: http://www.colleenyoungwriter.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleenyoungwriter/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenYoungWriter/