I met Lorna at an area annual business expo after her first book, “Tobacco Sun” came out in 2017. Her newest book, “The Ocean at Night,” came out in October. She lives outside of Charleston and has been a columnist in The Islander and was a magazine columnist for Skirt! Since “Tobacco Sun”, she has learned a lot about publishing as she has had her work published by Indie labels and in anthologies.

Now, Lorna is setting up shop here as Editor-in-Chief of “The Yellow Bird Press” which just had a Ladie’s Night Mar. 23, with the grand opening (with COVID-19 safety precautions) slated for Friday night, Apr. 2 from 6-8 p.m. at the publishing house at 139 West Luke Avenue/Suite A in Summerville.

Regan: You began to write in first grade and started pro as a travel and tourism blogger. How did you become an author?

Hollifield: I think I was always an author. I just finally figured out in my early twenties that no one was going to just discover me and give me a book deal. I matured into doing the research and learning how to get published.

R: Did you take Southern fiction writing courses or have a mentor?

H: No, I didn’t take a lot of courses but took some. I’m a college dropout. It is a different journey for everyone. It was the right move for me as I finished the work I wanted to get done instead of writing papers all the time. I had many influences. I had a poetry teacher at UNCA who I felt flared up my relationship with language. Otherwise, it was more experience than formal education. Voice is so much more than grammar and structure; it’s taking to the bones running around barefoot on wet grass and listening to your grandfather’s living room philosophy. It’s living.

R: Is “Tobacco Sun” based on any true stories?

H: Yes and no. The details weren’t based on anything personal although some of the personalities were. There were people I’ve met who inspired facets of all of them. Jimmi-Lyn and Sydra are very much the two sides to me...confident, sassy, and sensual vs. always feeling second choice and like I am late to the party dressed wrong.

R: How long did it take you to come up with the idea for “The Ocean at Night” — a romantic thriller?

H: The answer is the same for all my stories. When it shows up, I have the whole story. It hit like a lightning bolt. It could be during another project, a week after, or a year. The story taps on my shoulder and finds me. I don’t really brainstorm or do exercises much. I like the element of surprise. I loved when Teal from this book showed up. It was on a moody twilight walk on Seabrook Island. I saw her there fossil hunting, looking for shark’s teeth, but it is so much more. Then current events and the horrors of human trafficking influenced the details of the story.

R: What are your plans for The Yellow Bird Press?

H: We will periodically offer writing contests for both cash prizes and publications. We will host writing classes, workshops, tutoring sessions, and book clubs. I am excited about being on this end of things. I learned so much after my first book was picked up. I also learned a lot of smaller publishers claim to be full service but aren’t necessarily the best at marketing. Although I’m grateful to my early publishers, I found I needed more support and knew how to do it with my marketing background running social media and blogging.

I decided to open a full-service press to look for talent and not just for upmarket trends. The publishing label does just that. We’ve already found some incredible authors coming to shelves this year and next. We expect enthusiasm and partnership from authors but never money or efforts they’d have to take on if self-published. We also have a brick-and-mortar location with a stylish gift shop where boutique items with literary themes can be purchased and boast a tea nook and multi-purpose room, so we want to encourage people to come and hang out.

It’s truly a new concept altogether and I am so glad we just launched here. I had a premature baby right in the middle of it, so it was truly a labor of love. We do have special affection for southern authors and southern literature that tackles the region in new cutting-edge ways while still not losing the sense of culture that makes the area so unique. However, we will entertain most any fiction. We do not do children’s fiction or non-fiction (unless it’s just incredibly cool), erotica, or sci-if.

R: Do you have a lot of competition in this region?

H: I don’t believe in competition as there is enough to go around. I tend to make friends with others in the industry. It’s the best way. Our press is truly unique.

R: What would be your biggest piece of advice to aspiring authors? What are the core elements for a really good book?

H: First, never say “aspiring.” No one just gives you permission to be an author. If you write and you want to make a career of it, you’re an author. Above all else, be authentic. Speak your true voice or the one you hear from your character. Know that character, and don’t change it to fit other people’s ideas. Inauthenticity to your style will bury you and make you miserable. Some publisher will see your vision. Before submitting, brush up and format grammar and mechanics to appear professional, but don’t bleach the voice out of the work.

Mary E. Regan, Columnist, is a Literary Publicist with Meryl Moss Media. Story ideas? Email: Mary@ProPublicist.com