Introduction
Mya Bell is a published full-time writer living in the Pacific Northwest. She has recently written four lengthy nonfiction books under another pen name, two of which have done well in their respective categories. She has also written and ghostwritten many technology manuals, magazine and newspaper articles.

Mya's output is prolific. In addition to her nonfiction books, ghoswriting projects, and magazine articles, she has been writing poems, plays, and short stories since the age of eight (going on nine). Three of her short plays were performed in her local community by the time she was 13. At the age of 14 she had two poems accepted by a reference textbook on writing well. Since then she has had several short stories published in local and national literary journals.

Mya is now writing novels and screenplays full time. She finished her first novel in October 2004 and is three-quarters of the way through the second and a third of the way through the third.

Genre
Mya's novels are mainstream fiction. If you enjoy stories like Cider House Rules, Terms of Endearment, On Golden Pond, and Accidental Tourist, then you have an idea of the general tone of Mya's fiction. (Mya's reaction was, "Don't forget to mention I have my own voice, my own style and that I hope I am adding something new and interesting to mainstream/literary fiction that isn't derivative of other writers."). Her short stories range from light popular fiction to literary fiction.

Background
Mya was born on an island in the Pacific Northwest and has traveled from Canada to Mexico and across Europe as far as the eastern border of Hungary. She also hopes to see Japan some day. She is a resident of Washington State and British Columbia, living near the U.S./Canada border. "I've made hundreds of trips back and forth across that border!" Mya says. "My friends and relatives are pretty evenly divided between the two countries, so I have to stay on my toes to keep in touch with everyone."

Hobbies
Mya's hobbies include reading, writing, watching films, amateur birding (and other outdoor activities), and occasional bell collecting. She's also a big music lover. "Birding is a fairly recent hobby. I'm trying to learn more about birds, beginning with the names of the birds that frequent my yard. Writing has a tendency to chain you to a computer and I wanted a hobby that would help round out my activities and give me a bit of exercise. So far it's been a lot of fun!"

Personal
"People are understandably curious about my age and my pen names. I hope readers can appreciate that I already share a great deal of personal information on the Web and that I prefer to keep what little is left of my personal life personal. Any further details are largely unrelated the content of my writing and the important thing is whether people enjoy my books."

Credentials- (added 22 May 2004)
Mya was reluctant to include her educational background in this short biography, but we insisted that some segments of the publishing industry are interested in credentials, so she provided this statement: "I feel strongly that a mainstream fiction writer's credentials aren't important to a reader's enjoyment of his or her books. But, for the record, I have a B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree, a Master's degree (top graduate in my department), and I was halfway through my doctoral studies when a high tech company induced me to quit and come work for them--in that sense, at least, I can claim to be a university dropout. :-) "

Interviews
Mya gets a lot of requests for interviews. She has been interviewed on a number of Canadian and U.S. news shows as well radio shows in several countries. In the past, she has been featured in a full-page article on the front page of the Vancouver Sun. Mya has had to reduce the time devoted to personal interviews (they cut into her writing time) until she finishes her second novel, but she is willing to answer email interviews and radio interviews by prior arrangement, time permitting. Email requests may be sent to interviews at the above domain name (or you can use the form email on the Contact page). Publicity photos are available from Mya's publicist at the same email address.

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