We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Katlyn Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Katlyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?
My hero would have to be my grandmother, Shirley Jones. I do realize that no one is perfect, but to me, it’s not about being viewed as perfect. It’s about being one’s authentic self and believing in yourself even when you feel the weight of the world on top of your shoulders. My late grandmother was a remarkable woman. She was not only a sister to many, but a wonderful and loving wife, mother, nurse, teacher and even a mentor to others. Not only was my grandmother an incredible woman through her careers, but through loving her family she proved this everyday as being one of the centerpieces that held our family together. I truly believe she had helped me to become the woman that I am today. My grandmother would be considered to be my hero because although the world always had a way of making me feel like I had to be perfect, she already thought I was in her eyes regardless of how I felt about myself. Her love was the type of love that no one could ever take away from you. The type that surrounds you fully and you never have to ever doubt it, not even for a moment. Through the years that I shared with my grandma, she had always inspired me to always be grateful for what you have in each step of your life, but more importantly, to always remember your talents and to never waste them. She used to say to me in times of despair, “Kati, you have so many incredible talents and I can promise you if you just pushed past the fear, the things you could do with your life would inspire so many.” I would say she had encouraged me always to look at life, as my good friend Nicole Beauchamp would say, “as a stepping stone.” Dreams are amazing to have and she would inspire me to reach for them and to use my talents in a way that would help myself and others. She used to say, “Kati, life is short. We never know the length of our days here. What will you do with your time? Who will you be? What inspires you? Who do you want to be remembered as?” Those words have always stuck in my mind. For many years, I used writing to cope with things that I had gone through. Writing has always brought out such a feeling of relief and gratitude. One of my favorite parts about being a writer is how words can come together and how they can ultimately bring your emotions out, I am truly blessed for this talent. I truly feel I have found my peace with this gift. After losing my grandmother, I will admit, life got extremely difficult for me. I felt I had lost everything and that life no longer had same meaning. I felt my life had no purpose and that I didn’t know how to go on and be happy living my life. I believe if it wasn’t for my grandmother’s words of encouragement circulating in my head and also being reminded by my dear friend Nicole of the same similar words that, I wouldn’t be having the time of my life right now being an author. I am not only accomplishing one of my dreams, but one of my many talents. I am an author, writing my first book with Arcadia Publishing. My book will be called, “Ghosts of Florida’s Panhandle” and will be apart of the Haunted America Series. It will have lots of rich history as well as a spooky side that will leave readers wanting to know more about the Northwest region of Florida. What I’ve learned is while life is short, it isn’t about what you bring to the table, it’s about living your life the way that helps you to fulfill your own dreams. Doing what makes you happy in this life is something I believe everyone should do. I would like to leave anyone who sees this with these last comments. If no one has told you this lately, remember, you are loved and cherished. I’d like to encourage you to reach for your dreams and when you fall in times of fear or failure, know that you can accomplish anything if you believe enough in it. If the people you are surrounded by in those moments try to drag you down, know this comes with the territory of success. You can do anything with your heart and soul, just believe. As for me, this stepping stone has been the greatest and I can not wait for the road that lies ahead of me.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am Katlyn Jones. I am from the Florida Panhandle. I am a paranormal Investigator who founded my team Mysteries Of The Unseen back in 2017. I am a reiki master, a photographer, a content creator for a spooky channel by the name of Lightinthedarkness ASMR and now an author. I am a thirty year old woman who has recently learned that my dreams too can become a reality. I believe that you are never too young or too old to go after your dreams. I got into the Author industry by taking a leap of faith by reaching out to a well known and credible publisher, Arcadia Publishing. My dearest friend, Nicole Beauchamp is also a author and encouraged me to reach out to the Florida district and to chase one of my dreams. All of that being said, it wasn’t a easy process at all. After my ideas were shut down time and time again, I never gave up. I refused to have this opportunity slip through my fingers. As reaching out and presenting my idea in a variety of ways, I finally got the ok and here I am writing my first book. My book will be called, “Ghosts of Florida’s Panhandle.” This book will have lots of rich history and will even have ghostly legends and experiences of locations throughout the Panhandle. This region has locations from the west of Florida from Pensacola all the way to Monticello. I am proud of the work I have put in. No one ever tells you the mental game you play with self doubt at times with writing. It can be a struggle, but to find your strength in those times are what has helped me to appreciate myself a little more. When it comes to writing this book, I would like to encourage anyone out there who has an interest in history or even the paranormal, to check out your local historical societies. You never know what you might find out. Growing up I was more into science never history. Writing this book and putting forth all of my time into researching and learning more about this region, I can say with complete confidence that I have a new love for history. I definitely feel that this book will be a stepping stone for me and my future as an author.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
As I am still very early on in my journey of being an author, I can say the most rewarding aspect thus far has been people getting excited to hear more about my work. I tell people briefly all the time about my book coming out and what all it will be about and people are excited to hear more. I’ve had several people wanting to share their historical stories and even their own personal ghost stories, either way this has been incredible journey for me. The most rewarding part of all has been learning more about these counties and having a better understanding of the life around us. It has truly been rewarding feeling like this book will make a difference in the world.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
There definitely is a goal that is driving my creative journey. This book has encouraged me to want to pursue writing more books within the future. My goal for this book is to not only spread awareness of it’s beauty and history of each location, but it’s a way of getting people to visit these locations as well to fully comprehend and have their own experiences. By writing this book, I’d like to give a portion of my earnings back into preserving history at these locations. I’d like everyone to know that each book purchased is a way of giving back to history.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092731242255
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorkatlynjones/?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093022204404
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LightInTheDarknessASMR
- Tiktok: http://www.tiktok.com/@authorkatlynjones
Image Credits
Myself