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Our next author interview is ready to go & I can't wait til you get a chance to meet the lovely Ms Mariah Lynde, who is a fantastic author & also one of my closest friends! She took a bit of time to answer our questions recently & now I'm sharing them with you!
Mariah's links are at the bottom of the page, after the article.
Enjoy!
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1) Why did you decide to start writing?
I
don’t think that it was much of a decision. Writing was always something I did.
If I got bored, I would write a poem, or a short story. In the end, when I
found myself facing a second deployment with a military spouse overseas and a
child at home, I needed something to pass the time. So, I started to write.
~~
2) Do you think authors can succeed in
multiple genres or should they stick with a single genre?
I
think that depends on the writer. Every writer needs a break, something outside
what they do daily to give them a kind of respite and let their mind wander.
This allows for them to come back to a troubling story or piece and find an
answer later. Writing across genres can help with that. For myself, I love the
challenge of trying to write outside of my comfort zone and making a cohesive,
interesting story for my readers. So, I keep challenging myself with new ideas.
~~
3) What do you feel is the biggest reward
to you with writing?
The
biggest reward? That’s a hard question. Writing is a lot of blood, sweat, and
tears. However, for me, the payoff is in simple things. Like, people coming to
ask me about certain characters. Others who want to know why I ended a story the
way I did. After the release of Dark Fury, it was my readers who dictated the
next book. Many of them came to me to ask about one character specifically, and
in the end, I began writing his story.
~~
4) Who are some of your favorite authors
& why?
Well,
I have a list, so here we go:
Stephen
King – How can he not be on any authors list? I mean, this is the man who has
virtually taken description to a whole new level. We felt his fears, we related
to his characters. Those things that we all believed went bump in the night –
he brought to life. As if that weren’t enough – he expanded past horror and
gave us poignant books and mysteries like The Green Mile, The Running Man, and
Shawshank Redemption.
Christine
Feehan – Here’s where things get a bit dicey. Yes, she writes Paranormal
erotica. I admit this, BUT, she was the first author to do so with a long term
story in mind. Yes, there’s lots of sex, but there’s some story and honest to
god, it opened my eyes to the idea of paranormal/fantasy worlds with MORE story
and some romance. Maybe a little sex, but not to the degree she used. Her
character descriptions were so well done, that you couldn’t help but love or
hate the characters.
Sherrilyn
Kenyon – Okay. Her books fall in the erotica category as well, but the truth
is, there’s less sex than people think and a lot of story. There’s a rich
universe in her Dark Hunter series that is layered with things that are both
interesting and in some ways historical. Yet, it’s still fantasy. Her
descriptions, the world she had built, the characters we are given (Acheron is
my forever book boyfriend) made her books come to life, at least for me.
Edgar
Allen Poe – The Raven. That is all I should have to say. The man was a genius.
Issac
Assimov – The futuristic worlds he envisioned were breathtaking. While I could
have done without some of his long winded purple prose, the possibilities he
wrote about were endless and intriguing.
Jules
Verne – The beginning of modern day storytelling in my opinion. He gave us so
many wonderful adventures and stories. Most of those stories were dealing with
what might be in front of our very eyes, but gets overlooked in the day to day
doldrums of our lives. He captured the imagination and had us travelling into
our own world for adventures untold.
J.K.
Rowling – Look at this vast universe she gave us. A hero, a villain, and a word
that exists behind our very walls. Where magic is real and the impossible is
possible. Yet, even with all this, every character from the lowly house elf
slaves, to the giant, warm-hearted keeper of keys that support this story, are
people we love and cherish.
~~
5) What are the biggest hurdles to overcome
as an author?
For me, feeling like I’m on the right path. Yes,
I love to write, and I continue to do so, but it’s hard for me. I put out
books, but I hear nothing on what people really think about them. Are they bad?
Are they okay? Do they need more work? What would you like to see instead? I
love writing, doing this is me sharing my world with others, but, I don’t know
how they like it. What few sells come, are ones that are generated from what
little promo work I can afford, but there aren’t reviews left behind. People
don’t send me messages or emails to point things out or ask questions. In some
ways, it feels like what I have written, is not good and people just won’t say
anything. So I struggle while I write the next book. There’s always a huge
amount of self-doubt. Especially when I cannot afford the coverage many other
authors can. I can’t hire a PA, I can’t hire a publicist or create Beta groups
because I just don’t have the income or money to organize it. So in the end,
you’re left with your books, and no idea what people actually think or where to
go. That kind of self-doubt and hurt claw at your brain and cloud you
writing anything else.
~~
6) Is there any advice that you can offer
for new writers?
Get
it done!
Seriously,
that is my advice. So many new writers give up half way through. They look at
something or get frustrated and just chuck their work aside and say, ‘No, I
can’t do this.’
You
can!
I
promise.
I did
it, so can you. In the end, you just write your story, the
rest will work itself out one way or another.
Don’t
listen to people saying you can’t do it. Listen to yourself and say, “I want to
write, and I’m going to write this!”
~~
7) Tell us a few random personal things
about yourself, personal & professional!
I
used to be a Paramedic.
I
once got out of a speeding ticket for doing 115 in a 55 because I was on my way
to a car accident, as a fire fighter.
At
eighteen, I had written two full length novels, and
after someone read the first two chapters to tell me ‘no one would
read my work’, I burned them.
I
spent 12 years not writing a single,
solitary word.
Mariah
Lynde is a pen name. Mariah is actually my middle name and Lynde is something I
made up.
I
have one child.
My
husband is former military, and both of
us are now trying to get civilian jobs. I still write
daily, and have started a stream on
twitch to try floating the boat.
Contingency’s
characters are based on real life people I’ve known.
I am
an avid Star Wars fanatic.
I
share a love of Dr. Who with Author Jaz Primo.
I currently have four books available on Amazon & Barnes and Noble.
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