I am so very proud to introduce Lynn Emery she writes for the big houses

Interview

Kim: Give us a little background on your writing career.

Lynn: I’ve been writing all my life it seems, since I was eleven years old for sure. As a kid I started out writing a murder mystery because I wanted to show a girl solving the case for once, instead of being rescued by a guy and screaming her head off when things got scary! I never finished that book, but I kept writing. In 1993 I attended my very first writers conference. There I pitched my first book to Monica Harris of Kensington Publishing. To make a long story short I was offered a contract and went on to write seven novels in the Arabesque line of romances. I have also written six novels for HarperCollins, and one novella published by Penguin/Putnam. Harlequin released a collectors edition containing three of my early Arabesque titles in June 2006. My last single title novel Soulful Strut came out in December 2006. Currently I have retuned to my early roots of writing church essays. In March 2007 I published Be Encouraged: Words of Sunlight For The Soul, a small non-fiction collection of inspirational essays and poetry.

Kim: What would you say was one of the most exciting things to happen since you started writing?

Lynn: BET selected my second novel AFTER ALL as one of the books that was made into a movie. Holly Robinson Peete played the heroine Michelle Toussaint. Chills went through me to see this woman on screen playing a character I created! Another awesome moment was winning three Emma awards in 2004. What an honor.

Kim: What advice would you give to new writers?

Lynn: I would say that writers should do their homework when it comes to the craft of writing. Study how dialogue is written and formatted. Hone your skills at creating characters that make readers think could actually step right off the pages. Work on plotting such that the readers can’t help but turn the pages. Work on all aspects of creating great novels. Then learn all you can about the business of writing.

Kim: What is the best way to get published?

Lynn: Write the best book you can, then make it even better. Attend conferences where editors and agents will be speaking. That way you can hear what they want and have a chance to maybe even ask questions. If you can, schedule an appointment to pitch your book. Practice that short pitch before you go to the conference!

Kim: Any projects on the way?

Lynn: I’m currently working on a murder mystery. This is a new direction for me and I’m planning on doing something I haven’t done before – finish a book before I try to sell it! I sold my first book on proposal and it wasn’t finished. Since 1994 I’ve always sold that way. It will be a nice change to have a finished manuscript first.

Kim: Any last words?

Everyone is welcome to stop by my home on the web Lynn Emery If you like my monthly newsletter BookMark then subscribe to be notified when BookMark is updated. Visit what I call my “Inspiration Destination” at Be Encouraged

Thank you, Kim, for asking me to be a guest on your blog. Continued abundant blessings!