We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Noah Lynch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Noah below.

Noah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

The signs were there when I was a child. When I was younger, I always imagined scenarios and adventures in my head and didn’t hesitate to act them out in real life. But I couldn’t share them with anyone. Not just because of the difficulty, but also because it was hard for me to interact with others, being both a high-functioning autistic and an introvert. Thus, I wanted to find a way to get the stories out of my head and, if possible share them. First, I tried coding. I thought that making my stories into a computer, or several computer games would scratch my itch. But I never caught onto coding. Thus, at my parents’ suggestion, I turned instead to writing. I immensely enjoyed it! It was then I caught the first taste of the path I was destined to pursue. When 2017 came around, I published my first book, Squire of Valana. But, as I went to Lancaster Bible College to improve my writing skills, I realized I needed a lot more work on my writing skills if I ever wanted to dive fully into authorship. I worked hard, read more books than I have in my life, and published my second, far superior book, The Silver Hand, in 2021. I knew then what I know now, this is the path God has called me on and has gifted me for. Thus, I spend every day reading, writing, and gathering inspiration to write the myriad tales swirling in my head.

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.

It was my hyperactive imagination that still works to this day that led me into writing fiction. I still act out conversations between characters in my stories, mostly when others aren’t around. Getting these stories out was paramount and writing is the best medium for me to do this. Thus, I sought to write out my tales into novels and short stories. Only after writing my first book and leading to my second book, did I full invest in a life of writing. As an author, I write mainly novels and short stories, ranging from science fiction, to fantasy, to horror, and sometimes in other directions. But as a rule I lean towards fantasy fiction. Granted, only one of my short stories has been published, but I hope to change that soon. I’ve published the three following novels: Pale Phoenix, The Silver Hand, and Squire of Valana. Those along with my short story, “Mother Knows Best” are all on Amazon for Kindle and/or paperback. Pale Phoenix, my latest novel, is a 1960s mafia thriller about a hitman who loses his memory and, when he’s discovered again, sets off on a journey to rediscover himself and to see if he can be redeemed. In The Silver Hand, Matthias is alone and afraid. But through a journey to another world and the introduction to two new friends, Matthias must battle his fears and a looming threat awaiting him just beyond his world. In Squire of Valana, Kevlar promised his father that he’d become a knight, yet he has had no chance to fulfill that promise. When a knight’s guild comes to town, it could be his only chance to fulfill his promise. But will he succeed, particularly against a guild member bent on discouraging him?
I’ve rarely had troubles from my clients as publishing through Amazon solves most of those. But if anyone does have any questions or concerns, they’re free to contact me at https://noah361.wixsite.com/noahlynchauthor/contact-8.
What sets me apart from others is that I want others to join me in my fantasy worlds and experience an adventure. I noticed in literary and entertainment world, a movement away from the disassociation and adventure in a land far away. I saw that people wanted to put all of modern day’s problems and quarrels into our stories and yet not tell a good story. I felt God calling me to use the stories in my head, to write them out. I chose to do so, not to use my stories as a platform, but as a gateway for others to enjoy the stories and to learn, through the actions of the characters and the story’s twists and turns, Christian morals. I want my readers to enjoy the story while also witnessing God’s work shown in the goodness of my heroes and heroines, flawed and broken though they may be.
I want my followers/fans to know that they’ll be meeting well-written characters, worlds wonderful, strange, and terrifying, and walk away eager to read again and emboldened to face the world again. I want them to know that I write my heart out for my books, not for my glory, but for God’s alone.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The biggest reward for me is seeing my stories grow better and better with trial and error, and the guidance of God and other authors. I think this came about right as I was about to publish The Silver Hand. Leading up to it, I went back and reviewed several books. One of those was my own first novel, Squire of Valana. Oooh boy! I cringed a fair bit when I looked through that book. Not that it was bad, mind you. But it suffered from a lot of issues that I, having read a lot more books and gotten more experience writing fiction, see as issues. Character consistency, lack of something pushing the protagonist, contrivances, etc., were present concerns in Squire of Valana. For a bit, I sat in horror and wondered why on earth did I ever think I was good in this field. Then I remembered The Silver Hand. Going to that book, I read it and saw the improvement that almost 4 years hiatus from writing had done for me. As I had learned and read in those 4 years, I had grown from the novice writer I was when I wrote Squire of Valana. Inspired, I continued on. It’s sometimes hard, when my stories don’t sell or don’t get the attention I hoped for, to continue. But I look back on where I’ve come from and see that I have more friends among authors, I have written much more since then, and my writing has grown better. I wonder if that joy of seeing my stories grow better is the same joy God has when He sees Christians grow in their faith, never perfect, but always getting better and better. I know my stories will never be perfect, but I pour my heart into making them the best I can, knowing that someone will be touched by them and that God has called me here.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The audience I have, while it is small compared to the likes of Neil Gaiman, was built from my taking an interest in other people’s accounts. I found a few accounts of fellow authors like myself and started following them. I commented on their posts, asking questions or providing genuine encouragement. They would often respond to my comments and sometimes we would have discussions. I joined many launch teams for people’s books where I’d meet more people. Before I knew it, I had a cloud of friends and followers, many I never would’ve expected to know or meet. Yet, they encourage me and comment on my posts. Moreover, they will share my posts and join my launch teams when I ask. I enjoy the help, but even more so, I love the friendships I’ve built with these fellow authors and book lovers. When I was younger, I found few people who shared the interests I had or even thought writing was a good thing to do. Now that I have friends on Instagram who share my passions and mission to write stories bringing glory to God, I no longer feel alone. If you’re starting out, I recommend finding some people who have your interests and/or who are in the same profession as you. Follow those people and comment on their posts as they leave stuff up. Remember, they’re putting themselves out there as much as you when you post on social media. When you show genuine interest in their stuff, that encourages them and endears you to them. Do this for a long time and watch how they interact with your own posts. Also, you don’t have to target the mega influencers. Seek out the low-medium level influencers (1,000-5,000 followers) and give them your full attention. Start with a small ring of people who you can follow and comment on their posts with relative ease. This will make growth easier. Make sure you have an ambassador/launch team for your books/posts, people who can come in and promote your stuff if you ask them. Also, if you’re attacked for some reason, your ambassador team can come and defend you. Don’t talk down to your fans or to anyone else for that matter. That will make you look immature and childish which is something you don’t want. Try to keep a semi-consistent tone. If you’re more serious, keep that tone in your posts. If your focus is mainly pictures of your art, make that the main staple of your social media. You want your readers/followers to know what you want and to expect that from you. Not that you cannot have any variety, but when you do, have a reason for it. E.g., If I were to post something on space travel, I would connect it to tips for writing science fiction.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://noah361.wixsite.com/noahlynchauthor/contact-8
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/silverhandpublishing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Silverhandpublishing

Image Credits
Squire of Valana cover was done by Johnathan Beaujean. Family picture was taken by Beth Reifsneider, owner of Lizzy Grace Photography. Pale Phoenix and The Silver Hand covers were drawn by Noah Lynch (Yours truly!)