-The reviews on your most recent novel, Summertime, are fantastic including author Kim Smith’s , “Summertime, is a wonderfully uplifting story of love found, love lost, and how faith can see us through all things.” Can you tell us your inspiration for this story?
The inspiration was the song SUMMERTIME, by the New Kids on the Block. In the song, the guys sing about looking back at a long ago summer fling, thinking about the girl and wondering if she ever thinks about them. I thought about it, and thought, “What if she is hearing the song and wondering if he really thinks about her?” The story grew from there.
-Some writers work best when they are in a quiet room, others thrive while watching people in a crowded shopping mall. Where are you when your best writing seems to flow?
Oh, I wish I knew!! Honestly, I have been dealing with a terrible case of writer’s block. I’ve not been able to write much of ANYTHING since Mother’s Day. Most of my writing is done at home, locked in our home office, or at the local library. I love to go and write there! The building is 100 years old and was built with funds donated to Jackson by Andrew Carnegie. Sitting in there, it sometimes seems like I have slipped into a time warp. Love it!
- Living in Jackson, MI with your husband and your three sons, do you find local outlets where you can promote your writing? Do you recommend authors start locally or focus on international Internet communication to promote their work?I am finding the local community to be very welcoming, very encouraging of my work. I’ve held book signings at local businesses—an independent bookstore and a coffee house—where I have been able to meet others in the community. Our local public access station even had me on their daily talk show. This past week, I was invited to share my work at a local church. The support has been really amazing!
I would recommend that authors use EVERY avenue they have to promote themselves and their work. It seems silly to ignore any possible venue where you can tell others about your work. I carry business cards with my website and book titles on them everywhere I go. Whenever I eat out I leave a card with the tip, and I drop them in the drive thru slot at the bank. Sometimes I even leave a card tucked inside a library book before I return the book!
Last weekend, I went to a yard sale where the woman had a lot of Christian CDs, DVDs, and novels for sale. When I chose what I wanted, I said, “I see that you like Christian novels. Can I give you one of my cards? You might be interested in seeing some of my work.” I don’t know that she will actually look me up, but it was worth a shot. My website is my email signature line, I’ve joined every social networking site I can, and post blog updates on Twitter regularly. There are so many options out there, and I try to take advantage of as much as I can.
-Where can we purchase your books?
www.lynnmcmo.webs.com That is my website, and any books purchased there will be autographed before I send them out! You can also purchase from www.createspace.com and www.amazon.com
-What is one recordkeeping tip you can share with other writers? Something that has made the business side of your writing career easier to manage.
This is a very hard one for me. Recordkeeping is not my strong suit! I do have separate file folders for each of my books. I keep track of what I have spent and what I have earned for each title there. That helps me know where I am spending too much time and what areas of the promotion need more attention.
