LYNETTE WILLOWS UNPACKS THE JOYS AND WOES OF WRITING

                                  Carol Bauer               Lynette Willows

                                             (Author)                                 (Author)

Brief Profile of the Author:  Lynette Willows is a mother, wife and the property of two Maltese. Verbally awkward, she has always put her thoughts to paper and eventually realized this was what writers do. Hence the profession chose her instead of the other way around. She served ten years of apprenticeship as a freelance writer in between raising boys and serving hot suppers to a hard working husband. She has a love of odd facts and her favourite hobby is historical research. She is an avid camper, fisherman and chases storms for the adrenaline rush. Lynette is an empty nester living with her husband in rural Alberta, Canada. Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynette.willows, Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynetteWillows, Blog: http://romancethethrillquill.blogspot.com/

Note: Lynette Willows and Carley Bauer have launched their first book “ No Gentleman Is He” and they are involved in writing the second book in the Sons of Liberty series, with two more books planned thereafter.

Q  Which is your first book published?

             “No Gentleman Is He” is the first book in the Sons of Liberty series.

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Q What is your general field of writing and why have you chosen it?

               I started as a freelance writer and journalist as well as a humourist, and still dabble in it if I get an interesting assignment. But my first obligation is to my publisher and Carol Bauer, so I only take assignments which are short lived. It is my first love and I doubt if I will ever really give it up completely.

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Q  What has been the general average assessment of the reviewers & readers for your first book?

              So far, all have been 5-star reviews. Frankly I’m amazed and very gratified.

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Q  In your opinion, besides the quality of writing, what are the other factors for the success of a book?

              In my opinion, the factors are: the interest in the subject matter, the intensive research and a touch of curiosity. There are some glorious readers out there, who, in their eagerness to find new books and new voices, give new authors a chance. I really love those people!

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Q  What is your own general assessment of this book? 

              My lips are sealed. Just kidding…In my opinion, with the care taken by us and our editors and publisher, for a first book, it’s a superior product. I still see room for improvement, but that’s a common ailment for most writers. We are never satisfied with our own work.

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Q  Which other author’s books do you feel, come close to your style of writing?

              Janice McDonald, who writes the Randy Craig mystery series and Amy MacKay, out in Nova Scotia, who has roots in NY, both are wonderful and gifted writers. Sara Gruen is also a favorite of mine and I study all the three, because their style is close to mine, though not exact. We all need our own voice, don’t we?

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Q  Who is your role model?

              Believe it or not, my role-models are the old time writers; Austen, Dickens, Twain for his fun, even Shakespeare. Yes, I’ve read Shakespeare many times over. I was one of those geeky kids that didn’t groan when assigned Shakespeare in the school and later in English Literature class in the University. That was when writing was really writing. I also read good modern writers, to get the conversational and active voice, so popular in modern literature. Most importantly, my role-model is my Mom. She hates sloppy grammar and always insists that we use the proper word in the proper way. I passed that onto my boys, though they are rednecks and therefore have their own lingo around their friends. But they snap to it when they enter my house or send me emails.

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Q  When do you get the idea(s) & do you immediately note them down in a note book?

              I come up with absolutely brilliant ideas, when I am farthest from any computer, pen, pencil or piece of coal. I am either in the tub or in the car. Stupid fairy muse…sometimes I just want to swat the little wench. I wish I could write down. If I do manage to remember, I will immediately get it on a note or insert as a reference document to access later, as soon as I can.

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Q  On an average, how many months do you need to complete one book in all respects?

             My lone projects…a long time. I am a professional procrastinator, so I need a deadline and the adrenaline rush, which is why I still love journalism. I don’t know when to cut off the research aspect when I am left to my own devices. The deeper I get on my own, in a project, the longer it takes, because I get distracted by the facts. When I have a deadline, like I have with this series of books with Carley Bauer and my publisher, I don’t have that problem. It is amazing how I focus when I have others depending on me to get my work done. So, I would say with the research, writing, editing and proofs, six months is comfortable.

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Q  Which aspects motivate you to write books viz. earning money, publicity, help to the readers, self-satisfaction, any other?

             Self-satisfaction, ego and compulsion are the aspects, in my opinion. Any one of those would work. And frankly I hate attention. I am a happy introvert. I would love to mentor young writers, but most don’t want to be mentored. They just want magic answers or fairy dust, and I don’t have either. Read, write and learn, that’s it. There is no magic. If you want to make money and get rich, don’t be a writer. Only a really tiny percentage of writers make enough money to be considered rich. About the same number might make a comfortable, middle class wage from their work. As much as marketing is hammered into your head by all the new internet gurus, luck plays the greatest role in the scheme of things when it comes to being hugely successful, especially for first time authors. Marketing and hard work will get results, for sure, but with almost 6,00,000 other books released each year, it is pure luck for a new author to even be noticed to any great degree. Writing is the playground of the fate, and it is where they have their little joke, until you get well known which takes time, a lot of time. There are terrible books that became instant best sellers and brilliant books that are languishing on Amazon and book shelves, not selling at all. Sometimes I fear for the modern reader and what they consider good literature.

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Q  In this respect, has Face book helped you in any way? If yes, please elucidate.

             Elucidate; what a great word, eh? OK, I will elucidate. ”No.” Granted, I got a couple of fans from Facebook, but it was mostly from when I played Farmville and a couple of players, I think, wandered over to read my blog. “Romancing the Thrill Quill” is my freelance blog, to showcase my writing flexibility and garner interest from mags to get a few assignments. And these wonderful, curious people have donned the pompoms and cheered me on, since they learned I had the audacity to try to write a whole novel. They have even grasped some guts and tried new things themselves and report that they are succeeding. Now that is happiness for me. I love to hear that others decided to muzzle their inner doubters and go with it. But other than that, Face book is a time suck, perfect for us procrastinators.

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Q  What are your future plans for writing books?

              Both Carley Bauer and I have put a lot of blood and sweat in the first book. But there’s more to come *waving at the readers* Both of us are working on Book 2 of the Sons of Liberty series, with outlines for two more. We are contracted with the publisher for two books, with a possibility of two more in the series if these do well. Personally, I have several projects on the go, both in the thriller and in drama literature genres, as well as more romance. I am also working on a compilation of my previously published humour articles, when I had my own column. I would like to find a publisher who would be willing to send the royalties to help fund research for a rare condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, or FOP. My youngest son suffers from this condition, and they are so close to an effective treatment that I want to be sure it continues.

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NOTE:“No Gentleman Is He” can be purchased from the following:

Tirgearr Publishing: ttp://tirgearrpublishing.com/authors/Bauer_Carley/no-gentleman-is-he.html

Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/No-Gentleman-Sons-Liberty-ebook/dp/B00BPY7UJO/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1_EJP1

Smashwords:https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=No+Gentleman+Is+He+Carley+Bauer

Eros EBooks: http://www.ebook-eros.com/item/SW00000292998/Bauer-Carley-No-Gentleman-Is-He/1.html?fb_action_ids=10151368097972005&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

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                                                                       …………vijaiksharma