AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: SINDEE LYNN
We have stolen a few minutes of Sindee Lynn’s time during the hectic holiday season…
Prince’s Donor. It’s published through Passionate Writer Publishing (www.passionatewriterpublishing.com)
It can be purchased from one of the following places:
Directly from my publishing company: http://www.passionatewriterpublishing.com/princesdonor.htm or
Amazon.com:
Tell us a little about Prince’s Donor.
I have always loved vampires beginning with Anne Rice’s Vampire Lestat Series. And I have been reading romance novels since I was about 11yrs old. When vampires started showing up in my romance novels I got really excited. I felt like I had the best of both worlds but over the years they started to have the same feel to them. I always knew I wanted to write about vampires but I also knew I wanted to put a new spin on it. So I began to think of what a vampire’s perfect world would look like. Enter the donor database, a place where they can find not only someone to provide them the blood and sex they need for survival, at least my vampires need both blood and sex to survive lol, but also someone who would be a comparable match for them on a personal level.
When you start writing, do you already have the story plotted out or do you let the characters dictate what will happen?
No matter how many times I try to have things already plotted out for where I’m going it never fails that something will change. Before I became serious about my writing I always wondered what authors meant when they said their characters spoke to them. Well I found out. They really do start to speak to you and let you know when something is not going the way it should. So though I start out in control my characters always have the final say.
What inspired you to write in your genre? Is this the genre you started writing in or have you morphed to this one?
Definitely my love of vampires is what moved me towards this genre. It’s what I love to read so for me it was natural to write about what I love. It is not the only genre I write in however. I also write interracial romance and have a book out in that genre as well called “Changing the Rules”. It can be purchased directly from my publishing company and amazon.com as well.
Do you have a favorite character you have written?
You know I can’t say that I do. I fell in love with both Jenna and Syrian while I was telling their story and they became my favorite people but I guess I’m kind of a flake because now that I’ve moved to the next story I’ve fallen in love with those characters and I swear their my favorite. I guess you could relate them to your kids. How exactly to you pick a favorite … lol.
Do you have a character that you look back on now and don’t like?
No … all those characters already met the cutting room floor during revisions. Even for my characters that may have questionable traits they’re necessary because they bring something to the story. And besides its kind of fun to write that one character nobody likes but if they weren’t there it wouldn’t be the same story.
Do you draw inspiration for your characters from real life? Any fun stories you could share?
I actually pull certain traits for my characters from my family, friends and strangers >>> I people watch at the Barnes and Noble at least twice a month… lol. Not only does it provide me with secondary characters it gives me the chance to change my writing scenery.
What do you find the hardest part of writing?
Probably just making all the jumbled up words and images in my head make sense on paper so other people can understand them. I have always had an active imagination and sometimes my mind moves faster than my fingers can keep up.
Name one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you.
Lol … This always causes people to stop and pause. I have 10 brothers and sisters, 37 nieces and nephews and 9 great nieces and nephews. Needless to say family gatherings are never dull.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
I don’t think of them as “guilty” pleasures because I don’t really feel guilty while I’m enjoying them … lol. And they all center around sweets thus my pleasantly plump figure. But I would say the one that’s always in my house is homemade double chocolate brownies, because you can’t buy them chocolatey enough so you have to make them yourself, with some Baskin Robbins Chocolate Almond Fudge ice cream and warm fudge on top. Ok, so maybe now that I’m putting this on paper perhaps I should feel a little guilty about consuming that … lol.
What do you need before you start writing? Anything that is just a must have or the creative juice don’t flow?
You know it may seem odd but I have to have some kind of noise on while I’m writing. Whether it’s my headphones in, the t.v. or the kids in the background. And I think it’s because I always have kids in my house – mine, my daughter’s friends, my god sons and their friends. So I have a really hard time writing in silence.
Does music influence your writing? If so, do any of your stories have a theme song?
I don’t have any stories that were inspired by songs but I do listen to different kinds of music all depending on what part of my story I’m writing. Like for my love scenes I listen to rap. There’s just something about the hard beat and the intensity of the rap music that inspires my scenes.
If your story was optioned for a movie, who would play your characters?
I have actually put some thought into this so it’s funny you should ask me. I would love for Keanu Reeves to play Syrian. I just think he’s sexy as all get out and Brooke Elliott from Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva to play Jenna. I love that show and her.
Where were you when you got your first contract? Who did you tell first?
I actually got the email on my way home on my blackberry but because I never check my phone while driving <wink> I had to wait til I got home. I read it twice on my phone and then I had to log into my email account from my laptop to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. After I stopped my personal celebration by jumping around the house, thank goodness I was home alone; I sent a massive text message. So I don’t know who got the message first.
How old were you when you read your first romance book?
I was 11 years old when I read my first Harlequin romance novel. I have an aunt who used to bring me books by the bag full when she came to visit. I still have them at my childhood home. I had so many of them my uncle had to build a shelf to hold them all.
If you still have one of those pesky day jobs what is it?
Unfortunately, I do and it can definitely be a nuisance when inspiration suddenly strikes and its 3 am and I have to get up at 7 am to go to work… lol. But I work in customer service.
What are you currently working on and what else is in the wings?
I am working on the next in line for my Donor Series. It’s called Donor Experiment and it introduces us to Syrian’s cousin and co-creator of the database, Johnna Sinclair. It also gives us a deeper insight into those who are against the database. Also I have two books that are written but are in the revising/editing stage that I hope to be finished within the next month or two so I can send them out and there are always others waiting for attention.
What is your reaction to people who say one of the following…”Oh you write romance, I thought you were a real writer”, “Romance isn’t a real writing career” or the ever popular “Oh, one of those books”.
Lol … I have had that reaction before and I always laugh and then I kinda just nod my head yes. But my favorite is the loudly whispered “you write dirty books”. It cracks me up every time.
Where can readers find you?
I do have a website it’s: www.wix.com/sindeelynn/sindeelynn
And they can find me on Face Book. I have a page set up for me the author at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Sindee-Lynn/134550359893270
Or they can find me under my real name on Face Book: Cynthia Yates, Richmond Va.
And I can always be contacted through my publishing company’s website at: www.passionatewriterpublishing.com
And for the silly side – What is your favorite type of chocolate?
The brown kind … lol. To choose one specific type of chocolate is a sin and it should be plain illegal. I am not a snob I love all chocolate. My favorite form is in ice cream via death by chocolate – its double chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge & brownies. Pardon me while I wipe the drool … lol.