Create Explore Read: Lynn H. Blackburn {Writer Wednesday}

A little bit about Lynn...

Lynn H. Blackburnis the author of Hidden Legacy(Love Inspired, June 2017) and Covert Justice, winner of the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel. Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in South Carolina with her true love, Brian, and their three children.

Connect with Lynn...

Website: www.LynnHBlackburn.com
Blog: www.LynnHBlackburn.com/blog
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/lynnhblackburn
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lynnhblackburn
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lynnhblackburn
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lynnhblackburn

Get to know Lynn...

You and Writing

Tell us a little bit about yourself and writing...

I have had stories in my head for as long as I can remember, but it never occurred to me to write them down. I honestly thought there was something seriously wrong with me—that I should focus on things that are real and not spend so much time mentally creating worlds and characters. But I heard an author mention that she had “told herself stories” and something clicked. That’s what I had been doing my entire life! Maybe I could write them down and other people would enjoy them, too. (Or they would have it confirmed that I was completely bonkers—it could have gone either way!) So one Sunday night I sat down at the computer and started writing. As a bibliophile from birth, I figured it couldn’t be THAT hard! LOL! I made it about 500 words before I had to go pull a novel off my bookshelf and study the dialogue to see how it was written!

Your Writing

How long did you write before you got published?
I started writing in March 2009. My first book (with Love Inspired Suspense) was published June 2015. There were seasons where I wrote all the time and seasons where I barely touched my computer. Our third child was born in 2011 and I didn’t sleep through the night until he was thirteen months old, so most of that year is a blur! 😁

Are you a Panster or Plotter?
I am a mostly organic writer. I have to have a good idea of the backstory—the backstory of the main characters and especially the backstory of the villain. But after that, I only have a very general idea of what will happen to get me to the Happily Ever After. It’s both the most stressful and the most fun part of writing. Sometimes I wish I had an outline and knew where I was going, but I love it when a story takes off in a direction I wasn’t prepared for!

What does your writing process look like?
1. Get an idea.
2. Be convinced the idea is awesome.
3. Start trying to write the idea.
4. Spend hours staring at walls, ceilings, and traffic from the window of Panera while writing five words.
5. Eventually get the story moving and fall in love with it.
6. Get stuck.
7. Conclude the idea is stupid and will get me banished from publishing forever.
8. Cry. (You think I’m kidding . . . I’m not).
9. Pray a LOT!
10. Keep writing because . . . deadlines.
11. Remember why I loved the story.
12. Turn it in to my editor and pray she won’t hate it.

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, have a favorite artist or playlist to share?
I love to listen to Film Scores Radio on Pandora and Piano in the Background on Spotify. I generally avoid music with words while I’m writing . . . it’s too distracting.

How do yougrow in your writing craft?
I read books on the craft all the time. I follow blogs and authors inside and outside my genre to see what they are doing. I try to go to at least two writing conferences a year. If I’m on faculty, I get the recordings so I can listen to all the classes I miss while teaching. I love podcasts. Writing Excuses and Firsts in Fiction are on my “listen to as often as I can” list. And I read. I don’t read a ton of fiction while I’m actively working on a first draft – only because I have zero self-control and once I start the book I’m probably going to finish it that day! But it’s so important to be inspired by the creativity of others. When I finish a manuscript I go on a book-binge and read for days. It’s glorious!

You

What are you currently reading?
I typically have 3-4 nonfiction books and one fiction book going at any given time. Right now I’m reading Finding Selah by Kristen Kill, Called to Create by Jordan Raynor, Mother and Son: The Respect Effect by Emerson Eggerichs, Reading People by Anne Bogel and Blind Spot byDani Pettrey.

Favorite writing snack?
Peanut Butter M&Ms but I try not to indulge too often!

If you were a character in a book, what would your “quirk” be?
I would always have a book with me . . . and would spout random facts from that book at any time! LOL!

Beneath the Surface

Dive Team Investigations, Book 1

by Lynn H. Blackburn

Publisher: Revell
Release Date: March 6, 2018

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Purchase: Beneath the Surface on Amazon, Goodreads , ChristianBook , BookDepository , Itunes

Ada, Mich.—Dive into the depths of fear with an exciting new romantic suspense novel, Beneath the Surface. This gripping tale from award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn will capture readers from the first page and won’t let them go until the final, heart-pounding scene.

After a harrowing experience with an obsessed patient, oncology nurse practitioner Leigh Weston moves home to Carrington, North Carolina, to leave behind her troubled past. But when someone tampers with her brakes, she fears the past has chased her into the present.

Homicide investigator Ryan Parker finds fulfillment in his career, but his favorite way to use his skills is as a volunteer underwater investigator with the Carrington County Sheriff’s Office dive team. When the body of a wealthy businessman is discovered in Lake Porter, the investigation uncovers a possible serial killer—one with a terrifying connection to Leigh Weston and deadly implications for them all.