Lynette Eason’s interview

» Posted on Feb 14, 2008 in Blog | Comments Off on Lynette Eason’s interview

Don’t forget to email me at margaretdaley@gmail.com if you want to be entered in the drawing for Lynette’s Lethal Deception, LIS February 2008. The drawing closes Sunday night. Margaret

1. What made you start writing? I’ve always loved words and puzzles. Even as a kid, I would do crossword puzzles and solve all the puzzles in the newspaper fun section. Also, in high school, then later in college, I would get A’s on all my English essays, research papers, etc. I just loved to write. I even love the research part of writing. The whole process just kind of came naturally so when I decided I’d like to try my hand at writing a book, it seemed like I’d finally found my niche, my career, my purpose, and one of the ways I can glorify my Savior.

2. How long have you been writing? I’ve been writing for about 9 years now. When did you sell your first book? I FINALLY sold to Steeple Hill in February 2007.

3. How do you handle rejections? Okay, this is going to sound so weird. When I first started writing, I had no clue about rejections. (Honestly!) I wrote this GREAT (in my mind) story and I just knew it would be snatched up by the first publishing house I sent it to. Okay, okay, so I was a bit naïve. When that first rejection letter came, I think it actually stunned me. I couldn’t believe the story wasn’t good enough. At that point, I started researching, joining writing organizations, etc. Then, after I’d learned A LOT, I submitted an entirely different manuscript and IT got rejected. Then I got mad! And even more determined than ever that I was going to write something someone wanted to buy! Once I calmed down, I prayed and asked God for patience and promised I would wait (not necessarily patiently) on His timing. Then I got busy. I attended a writer’s conference every year for three years. I honed my craft, read books, asked questions, got turned down by three agents I queried, decided to quit worrying about finding an agent, and submitted once again to Steeple Hill. That book sold in February 2007.

4. Why do you write? I love it. Even when I can’t get the words to flow like I want, I love it. As I said before in one of the previous questions, I love puzzles. To me, writing is almost like the ultimate puzzle. You have to have all the pieces and they have to fit into the story just right. It’s just sheer fun for me. And I get to write about a God I love. It doesn’t get much better than that!

5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing? Probably scrapbooking. I have tons of pictures and love to scrapbook. But I honestly can’t even imagine NOT writing. My brain doesn’t compute the idea…ha.

6. What are you working on right now? Right now, I am finishing up revisions for my third Steeple Hill book called HOLIDAY ILLUSION. It will be out in November of 2008. Then I have another series coming out in 2009 that I will start working on as soon as I finish up the revisions on this third book.

7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters? I want to say no, not really, but since I’m writing them, I suppose a little of myself may unconsciously bleed through into them. The next series I have coming out is about a girl who is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids. I, too, wear hearing aids and am hard of hearing, but the character in my book is NOTHING like me.

8. Tell us about the book you have out right now. LETHAL DECEPTION is a romantic suspense. The back blurb reads: Who wanted her dead?

Having rescued Cassidy McKnight from kidnappers in South America, Gabriel Sinclair thought his job was done. Not that the former NAVY SEAL could ever forget the brave, beautiful single mother. But when the danger followed her home, Gabe promised to protect her. Why anyone would want to kill Cassidy was a mystery. Was the motive related to the orphaned toddler Cassidy was raising, a sweet little girl who brought out the father figure in maverick Gabe? Or did a newly revealed family secret have killer consequences?

9. Do you have any advice for other writers? Just don’t give up. Look at rejection as a way of improving your writing. And if you feel this is what God has called you do, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. But continue to work toward improving your writing. Be proactive. Go to conferences, study books by authors that you want to “write like”, get a mentor, a critique partner, and submit. If you don’t submit, you won’t sell. Period. And be willing to learn. Be teachable.

10. How important is faith in your books? VERY important. It’s the main thing in my life, so I find that writing a story with a faith element comes naturally. In fact, I don’t think I could write one WITHOUT the faith element. It’s so exciting to write a story and watch the characters grow in their faith, see them go places I hadn’t thought of until I actually sat down to write that particular scene. My prayer is to be God’s pen. I want Him to use me to write His story.

11. What themes do you like to write about? Forgiveness, unconditional love, facing fears, blind trust in God. I’ve got one coming up that will be about the negative consequences of greed. I also want to write a book about contentment. True can-only-come-from-God contentment in the face of tragedy.

12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why? I think the one I’m writing now will end up being my favorite. It’s just flowing, flying onto the screen without much angst or trouble. I’m loving it! And I REALLY like the characters. Originally, I started it as a three book series, but it may end up to be an ongoing saga…ha.

13. What is your writing schedule like? Grab any spare moment. I homeschool, so that’s got to come first. But after lunch is time for me to get on the computer for a couple of hours. Some days I even get in five or six hours of writing time. Some days I get five or six words written. I don’t have a specific schedule, but I’ve learned to maximize the time that I do have.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Margaret! I consider it an honor as you’re one of my favorite writers!