Virtual Book Tour Guest: Interview with Lauren Linwood, author of Leave Yesterday Behind
As a child, Lauren Linwood gathered her neighborhood friends together and
made up stories for them to act out, her first venture into creating memorable
characters. Following her passion for history and love of learning, she became
a teacher who began writing on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of
teenage hormones.
Lauren’s historical novels focus on two of her favorite eras—medieval times
and the American Old West. History is the backdrop that places her characters
in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire and yearning for one
another grows into the treasured gift of love. She also writes romantic
suspense, where modern heroes and heroines unite to defeat a strong antagonist
and discover a deep, abiding love during their journey.
Lauren, a native Texan, lives in a
Dallas suburb with her family. An avid reader, moviegoer, and sports fan, she
manages stress by alternating yoga with five mile walks. She is thinking about
starting a support group for House Hunters addicts—as soon as she finishes her
next piece of dark chocolate.
Her recent book is the romantic
suspense, Leave
Yesterday Behind.
For
More Information
- Visit Lauren Linwood’s website.
- Connect with Lauren on Facebook and Twitter.
- Find out more about Lauren at Goodreads.
- Visit Lauren’s blog.
- More books by Lauren Linwood.
- Contact Lauren.
About the Book:
Callie Chennault vaulted to fame on the
nighttime soap Sumner Falls, but after a decade of playing
Former professional baseball pitcher Nick
La Chappelle has also come to Aurora to lick his own wounds after a messy
divorce. A Cy Young winner and one-time ESPN broadcaster, Nick longs for the
quiet of a small town in order to write murder mysteries under a pen name.
Sparks fly when Callie believes Nick is
taking advantage of her great-aunt’s hospitality, but they resolve their
differences—and surprise themselves by falling in love. Their bond is tested
when both Nick and Callie become the focus of a serial killer nicknamed
Lipstick Larry. Can they outwit a murderer bent on seeing them dead and survive
to build a lasting relationship?
Please paste a short book excerpt
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For More Information
- Leave Yesterday Behind is available at Amazon.
- Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d
love to find out more about the process.
Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? Where did you come up with the idea to write
your book?
A: I’d already published six
historical romances and was looking for a new challenge. I gobble up romantic
suspense from authors such as Julie Garwood, Karen Robards, and Jayne Ann
Krentz each time they have a new book out—so I decided to try my hand at
writing one. Leave Yesterday Behind
is the result.
In brainstorming ideas, I decided
I wanted a serial killer on the loose that would be after both my hero and
heroine. I love watching Nashville (Yes, my husband knows that I
would run away with Deacon Claybourne), so I decided heroine Callie Chennault
would be the star of a similar nighttime soap. She’s at a crossroads (much as
her creator was in her writing career), having played the same character for a
decade and ready to stretch her acting muscles in a new direction. She’s
attacked on the streets of New York
and takes a leave-of-absence from Sumner Falls,
her TV show, retreating to her small town of Aurora,
Louisiana, to heal physically and
mentally.
I decided that Callie would meet
hero Nick La Chappelle, a former baseball pitcher who’s come home to lick his
wounds after a messy divorce. I borrowed a little from the world of sports
(Nick is a Cy Young winner, and my former student Corey Kluber won this same
award just last year, plus my husband works in sports television). Putting all
of that together, I stirred the pot and then let the action and characters take
me where they wanted, which turned out to be a wild ride!
Q: How hard was it to write a
book like this and do you have any tips that you could pass on which would make
the journey easier for other writers?
A: I don’t have a magic formula
for writing a book, which is hard work even on the days my creative juices are
flowing. I do have two tips that help me keep things straight, and I’d
recommend using them to other novelists.
The first is to keep a cast list
and brief description of every character that appears. It gives you easy access
to everyone populating your book. You don’t accidentally change a minor
character’s last name or occupation. This list allows you to keep track of
every name you’ve used, not only for that book, but for future books you may
write.
Another reference document I use is
keeping a bullet-pointed chapter summary. I list what events occur in each
chapter, and I also make a note of what is revealed in that chapter. I use this
when I think of something that needs to be back sprinkled into a certain scene,
so it makes locating that scene easy. It also helps me see my pacing. In my
next romantic suspense due next year, I had several scenes of the serial
killer, either observing future victims or showing him in action. I tried to
balance those scenes and have the same number of chapters pass before the
reader gained a new glimpse into his evil soul. Having my chapter summary list
at hand made that easy to see at a glance.
Q: Who is your publisher and how
did you find them or did you self-publish?
A: I’m currently with Soul Mate
Publishing. I met my editor, Debby Gilbert, at a conference. I got a random
email from the Northwest Houston RWA chapter that advertised their upcoming
conference. I live outside Dallas, had never attended even one of this
chapter’s meetings, and have no idea how that email found its way into my
inbox—other than it being fate.
The conference topics appealed to
me, and I would have a chance to pitch in person to an editor. Although I’m
pretty darn shy, I threw caution to the wind and signed up for the conference,
though I wouldn’t know a soul. I pitched Debby a medieval historical romance
about the only woman troubadour in all of England,
and she bought Music For My Soul two
weeks later.
Q: Is there anything that
surprised you about getting your first book published?
A: It did surprise me that I had
quite a bit of input into my cover. I’d read at most houses an author received
the cover and that was that. At Soul Mate, I filled out a thorough information
sheet that let me describe everything from hair color, length, and texture to
height and body frames for my hero and heroine. It included significant objects
in my storyline and allowed me to suggest ideas for backgrounds. Once I
received numerous mock-ups, I worked with Covers by Ramona directly on font
type and size, backgrounds, poses, and even the color of the clothing my couple
wore. Seeing my people brought to life is an indescribable experience, and the
cover art is still one of my favorite parts of the entire publishing process.
Q: What other books (if any) are
you working on and when will they be published?
A: My next medieval historical
romance, A Knight for Kallen, comes
out in November. It’s the tale of a Kallen de Mangeron, a woman who sees auras of
color around people, which helps her discern their true nature and personality.
King Edward II’s bastard brother wants to use her as a political pawn to get
insight on others as he tries to capture the throne in a treasonous rebellion.
Griffith Sommersby is the knight who has fallen in love with Kallen and will
protect her at all costs.
Illusions of Death, my second romantic suspense novel, releases in
March 2016. Set in a small Southern town, it has best-selling suspense writer
Karlyn Campbell teaming with Police Chief Logan Warner to track down the
escalating Rainbow Killer and end his murder spree.
I’ve also finished up the
manuscript of a third romantic suspense, as well as a western historical, and
I’m hard at work wrapping up a new medieval historical. My goal is to alternate
releasing historicals with romantic suspense novels.
Q: What’s your favorite place to
hang out online?
A: I’m a Facebook fan! I’m not
always clever enough to say what I want in 140 characters on Twitter (Okay, so
sue me—I’m a writer—I love words and don’t appreciate Twitter wanting to cut me
off). I find it easier to engage one-on-one on FB and have a back and forth
conversation with a friend or a fan.
Q: Finally, what message (if any)
are you trying to get across with your book?
A: The beauty about writing
romance is that readers get that happily ever after ending every time. No
matter what conflicts my characters experience, I try to show that they are
better people for knowing and loving one another, both individually and as a
team.
Q: Thank you again for this
interview! Do you have any final words?
I appreciate spending time with the readers of The Writer’s
Life! As an author, I’m writing for you and hope you enjoy the hours you spend
with my people.
Hats off to The Writer's Life for hosting me today!
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