MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ELIZABETH LYNX

MY INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR ELIZABETH LYNX

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What’s your name and what genre would you consider your books to be?

Hi! My name is Elizabeth Lynx and I write steamy romantic comedies.

Tell me about your book. How did you come up with that (story, angle, idea)?

I have several books published. My latest is called Living Hell which is book 2 in the Lost & Found series. The series takes place in a small, mountain town in Maine. This book is about the town vet, Dr. Tyler Ferguson, and the famous actress, Iona Dell.

Iona Dell was originally from the small town but moved to Hollywood and became a famous actress. But, due to some flops and a recent accident, no one will work with her. She heads back to her hometown to formulate a comeback story. Due to a mix up she’s now has to live with the man who first broke her heart.

only are Tyler and Iona forced to live together, but pretend they are happily in love with a fake engagement.

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I came up with the first book in the series, Cabin Fever, late last year when I was going through a hard time. My parent’s health was going downhill and I wanted to write a book that made me laugh. So, I stuck a spoiled, runaway bride in a cabin in winter with a reclusive mountain man. I wanted to write two extremely opposite characters in an isolated environment and see what would happen. It led to a lot of funny situations that I was excited to write about each day.

From that book, Dr. Tyler Ferguson was created (he makes an appearance in Cabin Fever). I wanted the next book to be his and knew the only character to match his personality was a famous actress. I had fun creating her because she was the only one who could push Tyler’s buttons.

Wedding couple with a dog in winter

How did you get interested in writing this particular genre (historical novels, mysteries, sci-fi, children’s books, etc.)?

I started reading romance in college. While I read various different genres, I liked the relationship building in romance. I am fascinated with psychology and figuring out why people do the things they do. Romance is perfect for that. It’s all about the heart and mind. How two very different people can be put in the same situation but end up with different outcomes. For example, if I had stuck Dr. Tyler Ferguson in that cabin in the mountain with the runaway bride, the story wouldn’t had been as funny. It took the extreme reactions of the mountain man to produce the laughs.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

I researched country vets. I already knew some things about what they did but looked up more detail (like how to tell if a cow is pregnant). Most of my research was google or vet blogs. I did more research with the previous book, Cabin Fever, because the hero was a sheep farmer. I know a sheep farmer and asked her questions and used her barn as inspiration for the barn in the book.

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Was it always meant to become a series?

Yes. I always write standalone series. I plan to write four more standalone books in the series over the coming year.

What’s a typical working day like for you? When and where do you write? Do you set a daily writing goal?

That depends if my kids are in school or like now, out of school due to summer break. I have two young boys and my youngest is disabled, so I can’t just tell them to go outside to play all day or hang out by the local pool. I have to be with him if we go outside. Therefore, my time is very limited in the summer.

When they aren’t in school, I try to write in the evening or the weekends when their father is off work. My word count is weekly because I find it hard to keep a daily word count. Some days I get no writing done and some I get thousands. So, if I make it weekly, I can usually achieve that.

Summer break weekly goal is 10,000 words a week.

School year weekly goal is 15,000 words a week.

When I’m not writing, I’m doing everything else that goes into being an indie author: creating ads, creating teasers, creating book covers, creating social media content and posts, creating my newsletter, planning out my sales and releases, plotting out books, updating back matter in books and links, etc. A never-ending list of tasks. LOL.

Do you have a new book in the making and if so, what’s the name of your upcoming book?

Yes. I am starting to write a three novella standalone romcom series. The series is called Price of Fame. The first novella is called Idol about a rock star and a woman who hides her talent as a singer. The next novella is called Star and will be about a newly famous actress and her hellish neighbor. The third is called Mogul about a woman who owns a lifestyle company and the agent she’s forced to negotiate with.

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What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Sticking to the plots I come up with. Every time I end up straying from the plot I wrote. I wish, just once, I’d stick to it.

What’s the best thing about being an author?

Writing the stories, I want to read.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Still writing books. I don’t see myself ever stopping unless I get to the point in age where mentally or physically, I can’t do it anymore.

Have you always liked to write?

That’s a hard question to answer. The truth is I never thought I could be a writer. I’ve always been interested in creative fields. I was a theater major at university and did photography for a long time. I worked in graphic design and thought about going back to school for fashion design at one time.

I have a learning disability. Reading was a hard subject for me growing up and so, because I often made spelling and grammar mistakes, I believed being an author would never be possible. My mother would often encourage me to write as she thought I was a great storyteller but I believed the grades on my papers and not the encouragement of from the woman who loved me no matter what. If I was so good why did I never get better than a C on anything I wrote?

That’s why it took me until 40 years of age to finally believe my mother. I sat down one day while my boys took a nap and wrote a romantic story. They were only one and two years old at the time. So, when they napped, I wrote. I loved it and eventually published the book. Then realized it was terrible a few months later and unpublished it.

But I was hooked and never looked back.

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What writing advice do you have for aspiring authors?

Three things:

Keep writing publishing. Because the more books you have out there, the better you will get at your craft and the more money you can make, if you wish to be a full-time writer.
Be consistent. Early on you can make the mistake of publishing inconsistently but over time fans will grow tired of never knowing when or if you’ll publish again. Have a plan before you even publish your first book (write 3 or more books before hitting publish for the first and plan out when you wish to release them). The more consistent you are with publishing, branding, style of writing, etc. The more your fans will be able to instantly recognize your work and tell their friends to buy your stuff.
Learn how to make money at it. This is for authors who wish to support themselves on their writing. Just publishing alone won’t get people who love what you write, to buy it. How does that reader who loves steamy romcoms with outrageous characters, find my books? Usually, it’s through a paid ad or promotion of some kind. Sometimes it’s word of mouth, but mostly it’s not. I had to take courses on advertising and seek out what promotions worked from other authors. This took years to learn and I’m still learning. I had to find out what worked and what didn’t. Unfortunately for me, I spent many years and lots of money on things that didn’t work. But I learned what not to do. Now, I am learning what to do and it’s way cheaper that way. LOL.

If you didn’t like writing books, or weren’t any good at it, what would you like to do for a living?

Many things. I’d love to be an archaeologist or something involving psychology. I love anything involving history and how we think and react to the world around us.

Do you read reviews of your book(s)? Do you respond to them, good or bad? How do you deal with the bad?

Yes, I read reviews. I don’t let the bad ones affect me as I believe the reviews are more to help future readers decide if they wish to read my book or not. I know, as a ready myself, that I’ve bought many books based on 3, 2, and even 1 star reviews. What those readers didn’t like about the book, I do like.

Good reviews of my books are flattering, especially if something I was connected to while writing the story, connected to them. But, again, the review is for the future reader who is deciding if my book is for them.

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What is your least favourite part of the writing / publishing process?

Formatting a book. I do everything (except for editing and proofing). Not only do I design my book covers but I format the books as well. I hate it. There’s always technical glitches and it ends up taking me days to make it perfect.

Can you give us a few tasty morsels from your work-in-progress?

I’m writing Idol, which is about a famous rock star and not-so-wannabe singer. Here is a little excerpt:

Marching over to the car I bent over and began drawing on the black asphalt in front of the Maserati. It took longer than I suspected and I was sweating by the time I was done, but it was worth it.

He deserved this for what he did.

“Parking only for those with tiny peens and fart breath.” A deep voice came from behind.

My eyes widened at the sound of the deep, velvety voice coming from behind. Slowly, I stood. Sparkling blue eyes that danced over my face met me as I turned. A wicked curl of thick, kissable lips caused my throat to dry up and mouth to cease from working.

“I like the tiny penises squirting curly cues. Makes the insult more fun.” He spoke again but this time, he pushed thick blond hair that hung below his chin, behind his ear revealing a dimple.

Fuck me sideways, this guy was gorgeous in a scruffy, rugged sort of way. And oddly familiar.

“Is, uh, this your car?” I asked and inwardly prayed he’d say no.

“Yes.”

What could be worse than being fired yesterday? Being murdered by a wet dream.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

A little of both. I try to put a twist on the usual tropes. Like the Billionaire with the virgin. In One Wild Ride I made the billionaire the virgin. Or the office man whore that is actually sweet and loyal to one woman. Or the reclusive mountain man that people think is crazy, actually is right about the crazy things he goes on about. I like to color a little outside the box. Maybe that means less people will read my books, but it’s what I like to write. My characters will never be middle of the road and their adventures will always be ridiculous. It’s what I like to read, so it’s what I want to write.

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What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

I’m lucky enough to be friends with some AMAZING authors. Brenda St John Brown, Julia Wolf, Jami Albright, Cassie-Ann L. Miller, Marika Ray, Sylvie Stewart, Nikky Kaye, Laura Lee, Ceri Grenelle, Susannah Nix, Molly O’Hare, Brighton Walsh, KL Montgomery, Stephanie St. Klaire, HB Jasick, and so many more! I have learned so much from each and every one of them. I’m in awe just to know them.

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