The Placeholder was the winner in the BEST FIRST BOOK/Fiction category of the 2023 IndieReader Discovery Awards, where undiscovered talent meets people with the power to make a difference.
Following find an interview with author Lynda Wolters.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
The Placeholder, November 1, 2022.
What’s the book’s first line?
The last thing I expected to be as a seasoned attorney in her forties was a defendant in a lawsuit, but here I am.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Serenade Kincaid has lost everything: her stepchildren, her house, half her earnings, her sports car, and her husband, all to a much younger–and more fertile–woman.
Sera now drinks boxed wine from a plastic cup, lives in a seedy motel, and spends her time scrolling dating apps, searching for a semi-decent-not-a-mass-murderer-please-just-spend-time-with-me port in the storm.
As Sera leapfrogs through men, her snarky, meddling boss and sometimes-best friend, Carolyn, encourages Sera to invest in a friend with benefits. Just until Prince Charming comes along, of course.
Enter Zac, a self-proclaimed unsuitable boyfriend who looks to have jumped straight from the pages of a romance novel. He insists he’s only looking for some fun, which is perfect for Sera. Cue the booty calls. While avoiding her issues, Sera finds it challenging to stick to her boundaries regarding her too-consistent hookup. But when life takes a sharp left, all fun and games come to a screeching halt. Before it’s too late, Sera, Zac, and Carolyn must race against time to disentangle their web of lies and deceit.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I was single for quite some time, including throughout my 40s, and had to learn to date online, using apps, and technology. Way outside my experience from last dating 20 years prior. I kissed A LOT of frogs and had some unbelievable experiences. And, like Sera in The Placeholder, it was brought to my attention that perhaps a “placeholder” would be helpful. Also, the character of Carolyn was inspired by a dear friend of mine. I pulled from that time and created the characters and events used in The Placeholder.
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Serenade Kincaid is a combination of me and my friends who have experienced crazy dating experiences in our 40s. When the character of Sera falls ill, I drew from personal experience. I have a fierce friend who I drew off for the character of Carolyn (everyone needs a Carolyn in their life).
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Female friendship. It is what we women need more than anything and what we generally struggle to really have. For whatever reason, we women find it difficult to trust each other, to elevate each other, to let each other be our wild, crazy, sexual selves without passing judgment. A man can have multiple partners and he is praised, a women – she is burned at the stake. A real female friend has your back, when you are in the ditch, on the podium, or puking at the doctor’s.
If they made your book into a movie, who would you like to see play the main character(s)?
Okay, my girlfriends have already worked this question out! So, for Sera, it would be Kristen Bell (because, well, she’s Kristen Bell!), and for Carolyn, the brassy, tigress, Kate Hudson. As for Zac, there have been a few names kicked around, but one that sticks in my mind is Joe Manganiello
When did you first decide to become an author?
I always wanted to write, but didn’t have the courage to expose my work until my late 40s.
Is this the first you’ve written?
No. I have two non-fiction works, Voices of Cancer and Voices of LGBTQ+ which are both conversation starters.