My Weblog: Meet the new Femme

Today the Femmes are welcoming our newest member, LynDee Walker, with an interview. Readers, meet LynDee.

Dean: Welcome to the Femmes, LynDee. What was the first mystery you ever read?

I’m going to go with the first Encyclopedia Brown book, because I was in love with that series as a kid and have such fond memories of it. I loved going along with Encyclopedia, chasing clues and trying to figure out what happened before he did.

Toni: What was the first book you LOVED?

There were so many, it’s hard for me to point at a first with certainty. I was the kid who actually got grounded from reading because it was the worst punishment my mom could come up with for me. I absolutely adored Mrs. Piggle Wiggle from the first chapter of the first book and have read them all a dozen times and shared them with my children, and I have early memories of reading worn copies of The Haunted House by Peggy Parish and The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright so many times I still knew lines by heart when my littles read them.

Donna: How does a book start for you—a character, a murder method, a plot twist, a random bit of dialogue?

Depends on the book. I’m revising my eighth novel now and I think I’ve had every one of those at some point. With the first one, Nichelle was just there, locked in a car trunk trying to figure her way out. I was loading the dishwasher and said right out loud to the silverware caddy, “I can’t write a book!” But, she wouldn’t go away, so I decided to try, and almost ten years later, here I am still at it.

The first in my new Faith McClellan series actually came from the old “write the book that scares you” adage in a way: I love my littles with the fire of ten thousand suns. I have a pretty good handle on what’s happening in their lives because they know they can talk to me about anything. But the thing that keeps me up at night these days is the unknown, uncontrollable “thing” I don’t see coming, the twist of fate that could upend my whole world. I’ll have more on that when the book launches because the way it went from that idea to the book that’s coming out is a twisty tale in and of itself. I find ideas in random places, for sure.

Catriona: Is it too intrusive to ask . . . what’s your writing dream?

It’s not too intrusive as long as it’s not too hokey to say…I’m living it. Being here for my littles and getting to do this thing I love while working with a publisher that champions the books and helps them reach readers—that’s all I’ve ever wanted from it. I’m a lucky girl, indeed.

Joanna: What does your working space look like?

Since my birthday in August, it’s looked like a super cool desk that adjusts so I can sit or stand, nestled in my favorite corner of our sunroom, which happens to be my favorite room in the house. Before that, it was wherever I could find a place to sit with my laptop, but with a two-books-a-year schedule starting, my family made over the sunroom into an office for me as a gift this year, and I love it. I have a mug my oldest made last year holding pens, a speaker for the music I must have when I’m drafting, and a little basket with seasonal flowers in it.

Marcia: What writers influenced you? Who are your role models?

Oh goodness. So many! I grew up reading the various voices of Carolyn Keene in different iterations of Nancy Drew, which drew me to smart heroines, I think, and I love Stephen King for his unflinching prose and Laura Lippman’s Tess Monaghan for her perfect imperfection.

Kris: What's your writing process like?

I never know where the story is going. I get an idea that I start with, and then I just sit and write to see what’s going to happen next. That’s the fun of it for me, discovering the story along with the characters. And days like today, when I’m cleaning up rabbit trails as I revise, I have to remind myself that this is what makes it fun. I think writing a book is the same amount of work no matter how you go about it: I might get a draft finished quicker than friends who plot and outline, but I also have a lot more cleanup after the fact than they do.

Hank: What was your biggest break?

The Agatha nomination Front Page Fatality garnered for Best First Novel. I was so shocked when I got the call, I told poor Marian Lesko she must have the wrong person a dozen times, and some days I still don’t quite believe it. But I’m so thankful for the wonderful readers who thought enough of the book to nominate it, and for the wonderful writer friends I made in that group. Plus, I got to meet Margaret Maron, who has long been a favorite author of mine, because she moderated our panel at Malice.

Elaine: Tell us about your book already!

My Nichelle Clarke series is about a determined young reporter who has the job I used to do, friendships like ones I’ve been fortunate to find, and a sense of justice and nose for the truth that sometimes came in handy and sometimes caused trouble for me in my former life as a journalist. Nichelle gets herself in quite a bit of trouble chasing answers for her readers, but she has a kind heart and a quick wit that make her a lot of fun to write, and I’m overjoyed with our new publishing home and looking forward to many more of her stories.