About Me
My name is Christina Lyons. I have been writing people’s stories as a journalist, author, and ghostwriter for more than 35 years.
Writing was destined to be my life’s work. As early as second grade in a Los Angeles suburb, I filled journals, notebooks, even stacks of loose paper with stories from my imagination. In high school and college, I discovered an even greater joy in capturing the details of true stories through interviews and research, then weaving words into detailed narratives.
My first newspaper job led me to Maryland, where I became immersed in the culture of the Eastern Shore, surrounded by pastures and farms at the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. I explored the region, met new people with varied backgrounds and experiences, and wrote stories as a reporter for the Queen Anne’s Record Observer and the Easton Star Democrat. Later, I moved to central Maryland to work as a reporter for the Frederick News-Post. Then, in Washington, D.C., I studied and interviewed political figures, policymakers, lobbyists, business leaders, and others as I covered Congress and the administration for several daily news publications focused on environmental and health care policies. At the same time, I earned my master’s degree in political science from American University.
I spent more than fifteen years at Congressional Quarterly, the company journalist Nelson Poynter launched to help people understand the work of lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. I began as an assistant producer for a documentary (with former NBC correspondent Sander Vanocur), then as an editor for several daily and online publications. From 2008 to 2009, I managed and co-edited CQ’s Politics in America, a 1,200-page book profiling every member of Congress. Later, I worked as an editor for Bloomberg BNA and wrote for CQ Researcher, National Journal, Frederick Magazine, and other publications. I continue to write about government policy and social issues for CQ Press, now a division of Sage Publishing. I have explored the history and debate about the Supreme Court, domestic terrorism, Native American rights, policing in America, the loneliness epidemic, and more. I also write about federal policy issues in Sage’s Congress and the Nation series.
I love meeting new people and learning their stories. That’s why I created Memories and Histories, a subsidiary of my writing and editing company, ByLyons LLC, to help people around the country preserve their stories in compelling narratives. In 2015, I earned a certification in Reminiscence and Life Story Work from University of Wisconsin-Superior, focused on the process of retrieving memories and the therapeutic effects of life storytelling. In 2021, I earned a certification in “guided autobiography” instruction from the Birren Center for Autobiographical Studies, founded by Dr. James Birren, the founding dean of the University of Southern California School of Gerontology and former associate director of the UCLA Center on Aging.
I network with other writers, editors, and researchers. I am a member of The Authors Guild, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Washington Biography Group, the International Women’s Writing Guild, and the National Genealogical Society. For seven years, I led teen writing clubs on behalf of the Maryland Writers’ Association and edited and published five volumes of Emerging Voices: Poetry and Prose by Maryland Teens (available on Amazon, including 2019, 2020, 2021). I also am a founding member and organizer of the Montgomery County Genealogical Society. If you’d like to connect, see my profile on LinkedIn.
I live in Maryland with my husband, Louis. When not working, I spend time visiting with my grown children, hiking, traveling, crafting, reading, or writing about my own memories or the stories of my ancestors.
“I have enjoyed the book so much! What a gift you have to put all that information into a narrative. Forever grateful!”
Judy Osburn