The Butterfly Memoir Series by M.J. Kane

Butterflies symbolize change, evolution, the shedding of the old and bringing out the new. A memoir is a story, a narration told first hand, of someone’s personal experiences.

Like butterflies in the spring that disappear into cocoons and emerge, completely changed, my characters are no longer the same when their story ends.

The Butterfly Memoirs are stories told by the characters themselves. It is Women’s Fiction, Contemporary and Interracial Romance.  Each story addresses  the realistic trials every woman and man face in a relationship. My goal is to inspire hope, comfort, and encourage anyone who may be able to relate to these stories.

Download A Heart Not Easily Broken by M.J. Kane
**Download for FREE on major ebook retailers**
A Heart Not Easily Broken is a Amazon Bestseller in Multicultural Romance, African-American Literature & Fiction, African-American Women’s Fiction, and RomanceButterfly Memoirs Book 1 – Amazon Bestseller
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016QAXZ04A Black Pearls Magazine Conversation with M.J. Kane

M.J. Kane stumbled into writing. An avid reader, this stay at home mom never lost the overactive imagination of an only child. As an adult she made up stories, though never shared them, to keep herself entertained. It wasn’t until surviving a traumatic medical incident in 2006 that she found a reason to let the characters inhabiting her imagination free.  Upon the suggestion of her husband, she commandeered his laptop and allowed the characters to take life. It was that, or look over her shoulder for men caring a purple strait jacket. And the rest, as they say, is history.

MJ:  Life experiences and curiosity. I learned first-hand that you can’t look at someone and assume you know what’s going on in their lives or what type of experiences they have had that make them react to situations the way they do. That motivates me to write stories that explore how and why people react to life changing events, good or bad.

MJ:  I write for the reader who is looking for a story that deals with the reality of life. I don’t do fantasy or unrealistic stories. It’s all life…an exploration of relationships between family, friends, and lovers. It’s about discovering yourself, and evolving into something better. I write stories my readers can relate to, see themselves in, and hopefully find peace or motivation to try something new. Do I consider authors as role models? Of course! If it weren’t for my love of reading and discovering authors who have taken their talent and created stories that touched me, I would never have been able to discover how to find my writing voice, much less get brave enough to put my work in the hands or readers.

MJ:  I wanted to take a conventional idea of a BW/WM romance and explore the reality of what it would be like realistically for two people to open their minds and hearts and look beyond skin color to discover a love neither of them were looking for. I also wanted to see what would happen when the relationship was tested by outside forces that had absolutely nothing to do with race. In today’s society people are finding love openly in relationships some of us may not be able to relate to, I thought it would be good to recognize that despite the external differences a couple has, when it all comes down to it, we all face the same issues and problems.

 What makes us strong is the way we address them.  How we handle them is shaped by our beliefs and past experiences. I don’t write un-flawed characters. We are imperfect and we make bad decisions…its how we learn and grow. If we’re lucky, we survive the journey and come out on the other side as stronger individuals.

MJ:  This is the first book I’ve ever written, so the entire experience was wonderful! I had the most fun diving into the heads of the characters and for once, allowing my imagination to run free and listen to the ‘inner voices’ that became my characters. Each one is like a real person to me, so I guess it’s like having family that will never leave!

MJ:  The ideas for my novels come from watching and listening to people around me. It can be something I’ve heard in the news or an idea I’ve seen in a movie. My stories are definitely character-driven. I will take a ‘what if’ scenario and see what would happen if two people from various social, economic, and racial backgrounds fell in love and had to face a life changing situation.

MJ:  The series I am writing now is called The Butterfly Memoirs. The first novel in the series is A Heart Not Easily Broken. My most current release is the fourth novel, Nobody’s Business. For this part of the series, I decided to flip the script a bit and focus on a male character and the issues he faces when he discovers he has a two-year-old son with a past girlfriend, and his son is ill. To make matters worse, he has an eye on a women he met during a one-night stand, but is fighting an internal war with his heart. Should he rekindle the romance with the mother of his child and build the perfect family for his son, or should he follow his heart and seek out the woman who’s captured it. All of my novels are available on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Smashworks, as well as paperback. A Heart Not Easily Broken can also be found on Audible.

MJ:  My goal with all of my novels is to allow readers to hear the characters voices as they go about their lives. By writing in first-person narrative, you get a chance to see inside of them, to know what they are thinking and what motivates them to make the decisions they do. It’s so much easier to ‘experience’ emotions and feelings instead of being ‘told’ how someone feels. It draws readers into the story on a true emotional level and allows them to learn and grow along with the characters. One recent reader told me that she had just finished ‘walking’ with the character and loved it!

Butterflies symbolize change, evolution, the shedding of the old and bringing out the new. A memoir is a story, a narration told first hand, of someone’s personal experiences.

Like butterflies in the spring that disappear into cocoons and emerge, completely changed, my characters are no longer the same when their story ends.

The Butterfly Memoirs are stories told by the characters themselves. It is Women’s Fiction, Contemporary and Interracial Romance.  Each story addresses  the realistic trials every woman and man face in a relationship. My goal is to inspire hope, comfort, and encourage anyone who may be able to relate to these stories.

MJ:  No, but what I do have are themes that deal with real-life issues faced by men and women, regardless of race or background. I try to represent each characters race and background to the best of my ability.

MJ:  I like to write characters I could imagine becoming friends with, characters that could be you or me, the neighbor next door, or your cousin. I come from a middle-class family, so do my characters. I don’t try to represent a lifestyle that I am not familiar with. I’ve either had some personal experiences that have inspired scenes and conversations, or I have done research on them. I try to keep an open mind with my characters and let them be who they want to be. I don’t try to push any of my personal feelings or beliefs into their lives. Writing this way makes it easy to create real people who come from various walks of life and easier for all readers to be able to relate to at least once character in some way.

MJ:  Honestly, the most interesting person I’ve met along the way has been myself! I know that sounds crazy, but as a mother of four kids who, at the time I started writing the first novel in the series, were between elementary and middle school, I needed something to keep me grounded and allow me to have something that didn’t revolve around children’s’ school activities. I’ve learned that I have a talent for storytelling and the ability to affect readers in ways I never would have expected. Since then, two of my kids have graduated high school, and my youngest are both in middle and high school. Now that I have my writing to focus on, I don’t have to worry about empty nest syndrome!

MJ:  My first goal was to write a story, period. I didn’t exactly have dreams of getting published, but as friends and family read the book, I got encouraged to pursue it. I’d written book two, Jaded, and three, Lonely Heart, as an afterthought to see if I could continue telling the stories of the main character Ebony’s best friends. And what do you know, I did! I feel proud of my accomplishments as an author. I have been blessed to have readers reach out to connect with me both online and in person. I’ve been able to have the paperback copies of my novels available in the Barnes & Nobel store in my area.

And recently, the first three novels of The Butterfly Memoirs have been added to the library collection in the county where I live which means readers in Georgia who are connected to the Pines Library System have access to them. I’ve been able to accomplish the two major goals I’ve had since the day I signed my publishing contract. What’s left? Signing a movie or TV deal and talking with Oprah!

MJ:  My current project is the fifth novel in the series, Alone. When I was signed to 5 Prince Publishing, it was for a six book deal. From there, I have ideas of other stories I want to write. I am also looking forward to having the next three novels turned into audio books. One step at a time…

MJ:  Readers can find me anywhere on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more! Just search MJKaneBooks and you’ll find me. To learn more about my books and writing tips, visit my website, MJKaneMedia.com.