A Perfect 10 with Lynda Filler

Today, I have the distinct pleasure of featuring author Lynda Filler on this edition of A Perfect 10.

Please enjoy this special installment of A Perfect 10

If you want to check out past interviews, you can find them in the following links:

A.C. Flory, Steve Boseley, Kayla Matt, Mae Clair, Jill Sammut, Deanna Kahler, Dawn Reno Langley, John Howell, Elaine Cougler, Jan Sikes, Nancy Bell, Nick Davis, Kathleen Lopez, Susan Thatcher, Charles Yallowitz, Armand Rosamilia, Tracey Pagana, Anna Dobritt, Karen Oberlaender, Deby Fredericks, Teri Polen, Darlene Foster, Robert Rayner, C.C. Naughton, Sherry Rentshler, Linda Bradley, Luna St. Clair, Joan Hall, Staci Troilo, Allan Hudson, Robert Eggleton, Paul Scott Bates, P.C. Zick, Joy Lennick, Patrick Roland, Mary Carlomagno, Kathleen Jowitt, Michele Jones, J. Bliss, Maline Carroll, Alethea Kehas, Angelique Conger, Colin Guest, Rebekkah Ford, Andrew Joyce, Win Charles, Ritu Bhathal, Deborah Jay, Robin Leigh Morgan, Marjorie Mallon, Marina Costa

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

I’ve never really thought of writing in terms of whether it exhausts or energizes me. But I can say that when I’m in flow on a blog or chapter, it can be breathtaking. When my muse shares something insightful or emotional I feel blown away. In those moments, I feel closest to my calling.

Do you ever write under a pseudonym? If not have you considered it? Why or why not?

I never write under a pseudonym. I write poetry, novellas, fast-paced edgy works of fiction, romantic suspense. I’ve recently written an extremely well received, Memoir. To date, I’ve not used a pen name. I’ve spent the last couple of years and the last few months building a following on FB, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon and my blog. Using a different name seems unproductive to me. However, my next release will be a Contemporary novel called “Lie to Me an exposé on sex for money.” It borders on the edge of adult/somewhat erotic possibly. As I was editing, and rewriting, I wondered if this should be released under a pseudonym. But I decided not to do it

Does a big ego help or hurt writers? Why or why not?

I think we have to believe in our work. An author needs a strong conviction that what he/she is writing or working towards, is worthy and will succeed. I find marketing and the organization of all sales oriented events takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. Ego comes into it in the sense that writing requires confidence in your talent. But if your ego is huge to the point that input from fans or editors is ignored, that could be a problem. I love to hear from my fans, both great reviews and critical comments. That’s how we learn and grow and improve the entertainment we provide for the reader.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

The best money I ever spent as a writer was on my devices, especially my MacBook Air. I have two, so if one goes on the blink, I’m covered. The MBA is light enough and sized perfectly to fit into my tote bags. I love to travel for pleasure and can work anywhere, especially at Starbucks; and I rarely leave home without my laptop.

What does writing success look like to you? Have you achieved it?

What does writing success look like to me? I have followers who have read everything I’ve written. That says a lot to me because I write in several genres. I have poetry, novellas— action and suspense/thrillers: JET Kindle World Series and LEI Crime Kindle World series, novels—romantic suspense, and contemporary. And this spring I published my first non-fiction memoir/self-help. If my readers are going from one to another, they must love my style of writing, the way I tell a story, and the way I look at the world. And that’s success for me. My memoir/self-help book is so personal. When I get emails on my FB page or messages on You Tube about LOVE The Beat Goes On, my fight to heal from incurable, it makes my heart sing. To know that thousands have been entertained and/or with my healing book, have felt a sense of “I am not alone,” that’s everything to me. That’s what success looks like in my world.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? What sources do you use?

For my thriller/suspense/action books JET Kindle Worlds—I have 4, and my VANISHED in the Sun book, I did a lot of research. Topics covered were drug cartels (I live in Puerto Vallarta and often write books with a Mexican backdrop) trafficking, both human and drug, cyberwarfare, Triads, WMD, biological warfare, and most recently for JET Displaced, the refugee crisis. I love researching timely issues. I do it all online. Sometimes one news article can inspire an entire book. One Internet search takes me off in another direction. I use Google maps a lot for borders, boundaries, even for street scenes. I have a very vivid imagination so my ideas come from all over the place. A photograph can spark a direction for a book. My challenge is not ideas, it’s time to write them and form them into a cohesive and thrilling story.

As far as how much time do I spend researching before beginning a book, it depends. I do plot out all my books even non-fiction. I use an excel spreadsheet so I can cut and paste and move ideas around to suit the direction of my stories. That’s how I stay organized. I have a mentor, Russell Blake, and I use his system for plotting before I start to write the first chapter. The more I plot, the faster I write. And of course, there’s always a character or subplot that inserts itself in my story and makes me laugh out loud!

How do you select the names of your characters? Have you ever regretted choosing a particular name? Why?

In my current WIP I had to come up with several Hispanic male names. Sometimes I will write and story and keep forgetting the name of a character. That’s when I know the name I’ve chosen doesn’t fit the person in my story. I change it. I think about my stories, immerse myself in the settings I create, so the characters names have to fit. In JET Displaced I have to work with several Arabic names both male and female. That was challenging. Again, the names had to ‘feel’ and ‘fit’ the character. Most names will come from sites online and occasionally, like in JET where I have a Navy SEAL, I use variations of names of people I know.

What is the hardest type of scene to write?

The most difficult scenes to write have sex in them. I downloaded two books in the last few months, on how to write sex scenes. My writing style is definitely formed from the books that I read. Romance is not one of my genres. But when your Muse visits and takes you in a direction that might be awkward or unknown territory, you better start writing because she’s not going to leave until her story is written!

If you could have dinner with four people, living or dead, who would they be and what would you want to ask them?

Four people”

Daniel Silva, I want to know if there is a real live Gabriel Allon (my favorite book series)

Oprah, I want to be inspired and motivated by her wisdom and success. And of course, I want her to select my books for Oprah’s Book Club—I know she will love my memoir/healing book!

My father, who is dead—I want him to fill in the blanks of all my lost years as a child. Were they so painful that I’ve blocked them? What went on? Why do I feel he didn’t love me?

And the fourth person has no name. But she would have been in her forties now, a grown-up woman—my only daughter. I hope she has forgiven me. She is always with me in my heart.

What platform has brought you the most success in marketing your books?

I don’t know what platform has brought me the most success in marketing my books. I can say I write exclusively on Amazon. And they definitely promote my JET series, I can tell from the constant sales flow. Facebook, writing groups, Twitter, especially RRBC on Twitter, receiving awards, being nominated TOP Contemporary Novel 2017 TARGET in the SUN, Book of the Month RRBC October 2017 for LOVE The Beat Goes On. BTRC2017 nominated LOVE the Beat Goes On, for Best Cover 2017. All these things have helped me tremendously. Networking in general. Of course, 5 Star reviews and word of mouth has worked well also.

About Lynda’s Books: