      
      
      
An Interview
With
Anita Lynn
ER!-Anita,
what a pleasure it is to get to interview you! You have
two books out right now, and one coming out soon.
Something In Common is from LionHearted, and Blood Fever
is from Hard Shell Word Factory. Can you give us a
brief description of these books?
AL-Something
in Common is about a surrogate pregnancy. The
heroine, Beth, is carrying twins for her sister, but
her sister dies. When she has complications
later in the pregnancy, she is forced to turn to Sam,
the biological father of the babies and her sister's
widower. The only way he can help her is to
have her move across the country and live with
him. Can she replace her sister in his heart,
and if not, who gets the babies?
Blood Fever is about a mysterious virus attacking the
Navajo on the rez. Epidemiologist, Peggy Sanders, and
medical doctor, Michael Begay, team up despite their
initial distrust of each other in order to find the
cause and the cure. Because of the plasma
connection, more is at risk than either
realize. The interesting thing about this book
is that I began it years prior to the Hantavirus
outbreak.
ER!-The
official breast cancer awareness ribbon is on the cover
of your upcoming book, Hart's Treasure from The Fiction
Works. Why? What's this book about? And when
will it be out?
AL-The
book is about a breast cancer survivor.
Jennifer and Eric go on a treasure hunt aboard his
sailboat for reasons having to do with their sons and
fall in love along the way. The problem is that
when Eric finds out Jennifer has a history of cancer,
he feels as if they have no future. The book
should be out any day now. The timing (October)
is perfect because October is breast cancer awareness
month.
ER!-What
are you currently working on?
AL-Truthfully,
nothing. I've been caring for my mother who is
dying of ovarian cancer. The book which I have
plotted out and will begin when I can is the story of
a woman who has turned her home into a small homeless
shelter. She has a daughter named Angel who is
learning disabled but ready to spread her wings and
leave the shelter behind despite her mother's fears
that she isn't capable. I'm entwining the love
story of the daughter with the mother's love story
with a man who is pretending to be homeless but is
actually an investigative reporter. The book is
called "Angel's Haven," the name of the
shelter.
ER!-Is
there a book out there that you're just dying to write
but for some reason haven't?
AL-The
aforementioned book.
ER!-What
would you say has been your biggest writing challenge?
AL-Persistence.
I began writing in 1985 but didn't sell until
1994. Carrying on in the face of all the
obstacles thrown my way became more difficult as the
years went by. I "almost sold"
several times before I actually did. I was
fairly prolific in the beginning, but wrote less and
less in the ensuing years.
ER!-Many
writers have written since they were young. They were
daydreamers. Avid readers. What about you? Has your
passion to write always been there?
AL-No.
I've always been an avid reader but never considered
writing until I was almost 40 years old. You
could say I'm a late bloomer when it comes to
writing. I'm an extrovert and not the usual
personality type for writing.
ER!-Is
there anything out there that you'd like to do, but
haven't yet been given the opportunity?
AL-I'd
like to travel. There's so much of the world I
haven't seen yet, like almost all of it!
Otherwise, I've had so much opportunity in
life. I grew up in a middle class household
with two loving parents. I went to UCLA, the
college of my choice, and majored in nursing, exactly
what I wanted to do.
ER!-Is
there a book that you've written, but we'll never see?
Why?
AL-More
than one, especially my first book. I was so
proud of myself when I finished writing it that I
made copies and gave them to family members as
presents. Now, I wish I could gather them up
and burn them. I had so much to learn. I
did, however, recycle the heroine into my book, Blood
Fever. I have another one about a psychic healer in
Salem, Massachusetts which would need major
replotting to be viable.
ER!-If you
weren't a writer, what would you be doing?
AL-For
me the correct question is: Why are you writing
when your real avocation is as a healer? I've
been a women's health care nurse practitioner since
1978. It's truly what I was meant to be.
Writing calls to a different part of my personality,
something deep inside. To fulfill the need to
be a healer in the future, I'm an Independent
Business Owner in a preventative health company as
well as a writer.
ER!-Of all
the character's you've written about, who would you say
is most like you? And why?
AL-Peggy
Sanders in Blood Fever. I based her personality
on my own. I used to be a Public Health Nurse,
so making her an epidemiologist wasn't much of a
stretch. They say to "write what you
know," so I did.
ER!-What's
the non-writing world like for you? Is there a husband, a
boyfriend, a couple of each? Children?
AL-I'm
happily married and the mother of two wonderful
sons. The older son is married and has given me
a beautiful granddaughter. The younger son has
recently become engaged.
ER!-Many
readers wonder what's going on in an author's head, and
here's the part where we find out<g>.
Describe yourself in one line:
AL-I'm
intelligent, loving, practical, and centered, the
epitome of the Taurus woman.
ER!-(Finish
this sentence) On a Saturday night you'll find me...
AL-...At
home with my husband.
ER!-If I
were a cartoon character I'd be...
AL-Marge
Simpson.
ER!-If I
could have one wish, I would wish...
...For
world peace.
ER!-What
kind of car do you drive?
AL-A
1990 Subaru Legacy station wagon.
ER!-What
kind of car do you *want* to drive?
AL-A
Lexus sedan.
ER!-Answer
the following questions as quickly as possible, but feel
free to expand on any of your answers (Hey, it's not a
test).:
What's your favorite movie?
AL-Dirty
Dancing. I can totally identify with the young
girl who has the crush on the dancer. I was the
same type of wallflower.
ER!-Favorite
song?
AL-Wind
Beneath my Wings by Bette Midler. It brings
tears to my eyes.
ER!-Favorite
snack?
AL-A
mixture of raisins, almonds, crisp Chinese noodles
and chocolate chips.
ER!-Favorite
book?
AL-That's
a toughie. I've read a lot of books I've
loved. I'm going to say Heaven, Texas by Susan
Elizabeth Phillips because I could identify so well
with the heroine.
ER!-Typewriter
or computer?
AL-That's
easy -- a computer.
ER!-Soup or
salad?
AL-Soup
in winter and salad in summer.
ER!-Pre-planner
or blind leap?
AL-A
mixture of both, leaning toward pre-planner.
ER!-Turkey
burger or steak?
AL-Turkey
burger. I eat almost no red meat these days.
ER!-Slacks
or jeans?
AL-Jeans.
I'm definitely a casual type of person.
ER!-Boxers
or briefs?
AL-Briefs
are more sexy.
ER!-Are
blondes really more fun?
AL-Heck,
no! My ex-husband was a blond and the love of
my life, Craig, has brown hair.
ER!-Have
you ever held anyone hostage?
AL-No!!!
ER!-If no,
would you?
AL-Absolutely
not. I was held hostage for what was probably a
half an hour as a teen, but the incident changed my
whole life. I wrote about it in Blood Fever.
ER!-Do you
believe in love at first sight?
AL-Yes!!
It happened to me. But I also believe one can
fall in love with someone that you were not in love
with at first sight given time.
ER!-Are
aliens real?
AL-The
question for me is how can anyone believe that they
aren't? There's this huge universe out
there. It's impossible for me to believe that
it was all put there for us to observe. To me,
the evidence is overwhelming.
ER!-If you
could vote members off of Gilligan's Island, who would
get the boot first?
AL-The
movie star.
ER!-If
Godzilla and Superman got into a street fight (no weapons
allowed), who would win?
AL-Superman,
of course. He has brains along with his brawn.
ER!-What is
one thing about you that very few know?
AL-That
I eloped to Las Vegas with my first husband four
months prior to the wedding.
ER!-And
finally (and you can take your time on this one:-)),
what's next for you? Your next book? Writing venture?
Goal?
AL-I'm
the executor of my mother's estate. I'll be
dealing with that for a few months. Afterwards,
I want to write that book I mentioned earlier.
I also have a goal to build my preventative health
business to the point where I am financially
independent so that we can move anywhere in the
country and travel.
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