Sandi Lynn is the author of the Forever Trilogy, Being Julia, Love In Between and the upcoming releases of Lie Next To Me (A Millionaire’s Love) and Collin (A Forever Series Novel). She’s written and published in the New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.
IndieReader caught up with Sandi and talked romance, book playlists, and the ever scary, “Internet Book Troll.”
Loren Kleinman (LK): You’re the author of the Forever Trilogy, Being Julia, Love In Between and the upcoming releases of When I Lie With You (A Millionaire’s Love, 2) and Collin (A Forever Series Novel). Can you share your writing process? Are you a plotter or a pantzer?
Sandi Lynn (SL): I certainly am not a plotter. My writing concept is simple. I have a storyline in my mind; I open up a word document and start typing what I’m thinking about. Usually after the first few paragraphs, the story takes itself over and goes in a totally different direction that what I was thinking.
LK: You’ve also made it to several bestseller lists, including New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Novels. Do you think it’s realistic for a writer to expect to reach this kind of bestseller status? Why? Why not? What steps did you take to make this a reality?
SL: I do think it’s realistic for a writer to want to reach that kind of bestseller status because it can happen. Never in a million years did I dream that I would have achieved as much as I have. I didn’t do anything special. All I did was write a story that I was passionate about.
LK: I want to talk about this new review term called “trolls.” How do you define “trolls” and have you been exposed to them during the review process?
SL: Oh boy, the troll question. To me a troll is someone who goes around and leaves negative and hateful reviews on an author’s book to lower the author’s rating. Yes, unfortunately I have been exposed to them. It’s all part of the job.
LK: Have you ever considered adapting your books into screenplays? Do you follow a three-act structure when you write your books?
SL: Yes, I have considered adapting my books into screenplays. It’s something I’m very passionate about because I would love to see my books made into a movie. To be honest, I follow nothing when I write. I just type away and let the story take on its own shape.
LK: Talk about your writing background. Have you always been a writer? When did you cross the line to “professional writer”?
SL: I used to write short stories when I was a kid and I also wrote a lot of poetry. Back in college, I had to write a story for an English project and my professor pulled me aside one day and asked me if I ever considered writing a novel. That question had stayed with me for the last six years and one day I just decided to do it. It was random and out of the blue when I opened up a word document and started typing one day. I feel I crossed the line to a “professional writer” when I hit the publish button for Forever Black.
LK: What’s your take on Fifty Shades of Grey? Standard or original?
SL: I think Fifty Shades is original. It gained a massive amount of attention and brought new readers into the world. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have told me they started reading again since Fifty Shades.
LK: Can you talk about this new movement of having a book playlist? What is a book playlist and has this helped your sales?
SL: When I first noticed playlists in books, I couldn’t believe it. It was something I never thought I would do. A playlist is important to readers because I believe the songs help them connect to the story in a way they never would have just reading by reading it. For example: Forever Us has a song by Michael Buble called “Close Your Eyes” and the messages I received from readers after they listened to it were amazing. They would tell me how the song reminded them, not only of Connor and Ellery, but of their overall journey. Some have even said they cried while listening to it. So, I do think playlists help with sales in one way or another.
LK: If you could fly to the moon, what character from your book would you take with you in the shuttle?
SL: I would take all my guys: Connor, Luke, Ian and Sam. Imagine that trip with four sexy and hot men!
LK: Why should we care about romance novels? What does this genre offer readers?
SL: Everyone has a romance side, especially women. Romance novels deliver the fantasies that women want. They offer the escape from reality and into a world where they can become the heroine and be the center of the hero’s affection and attention. I think all women want to be the pure existence in a man’s life and reading romance novels, they get that.
LK: Respond to this quote by Jane Austen from Pride and Prejudice: “We are all fools in love.”
SL: Love wise and not foolishly.