LynDee Walker is the author of the Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels mysteries, beginning with Front Page Fatality. She’s a Texan, and an award-winning journalist who traded in headlines and deadlines for a happy new life as a wife and mom.
More than a Review got a chance to ask LynDee a few questions and to learn more about her.
MTAR: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
LW: Absolutely, though there’s not much to tell. I’m a writer, a mom of three (I call them my little monkeys), a wife, and a wannabe gardener. In my pre-mom life, I was an award-winning journalist, and I still miss the newsroom sometimes. I love playing in Nichelle’s fictional newsroom, though, and I wouldn’t trade the opportunity I have to stay home with my babies for anything.
MTAR: What do you do when you are not writing?
LW: I cook, read, and exercise. I play with my kids. My little boy is going through a Candyland phase, so I spend a lot of time with King Candy and Queen Frostine. Every once in a while I get to go on a date with my prince charming, who’s been my other half for more than half my life as of last April. Sometimes I watch TV, though there are so many shows I’d love to see that I just can’t find time to watch. When I absolutely have to, I clean and do laundry. But usually only under duress.
MTAR: What books/authors have influenced your writing?
LW: Laura Levine, Harley Jane Kozak, Joanne Fluke, Patricia Smiley … I love funny mysteries, and have read these ladies for years. Laura and Harley Jane actually agreed to read FRONT PAGE FATALITY for review purposes, and I was over the moon that they both enjoyed the book and said lovely things about it. It still makes me smile to see Laura’s quote on my cover.
MTAR: Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?
LW: Oh, goodness! Fiction publishing is not for the thin of skin, I can assure you. Everyone gets rejection letters, and they’re not always nice ones, either. I actually took a break from trying to find a home for Nichelle for an entire year after my mother passed away. I just couldn’t handle anything else that would make me feel down at the time. But she was adamant that it would be successful if I kept trying, so about a year after her death, I dusted off my query and tried again. It was in that batch of efforts that I found Henery Press, and I couldn’t be happier with my publisher. My editor is brilliant, their artists are top-notch, and they’re constantly coming up with new, innovative marketing strategies. Now through Feb. 17th, they’re hosting a scavenger hunt on Pinterest centered on FRONT PAGE FATALITY. There are some fabulous prizes, including a $50 Visa gift card. You can find all the details on Henery Press’ Pin It to Win It board.
MTAR: Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
LW: I just signed a contract for two more Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels mysteries last week, and I’m thrilled to say the second one will be out in October of this year! Nichelle goes poking around in a murder that looks less open-and-shut to her than it does to the authorities, and ends up nosing around the murky world of national politics.
MTAR: How did you come up with the title?
LW: Through a lot of back and forth with my editor. I had a working title that was too long and too similar to another book (or five). I had a hard time, at first, thinking of anything else, because I had lived with that title for so long. But eventually, I sent my editor a list, and she emailed me back with “I like these four,” and FRONT PAGE FATALITY it was.
MTAR: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
LW: Hmmm. I don’t tend to look at criticism as negative. Maybe I’ve been fortunate, but no one has been hateful, at least not in my opinion. All of the feedback I’ve gotten helped me make FRONT PAGE FATALITY a better book, I think.
MTAR: What has been the best compliment?
LW: Two of my very favorite authors read FRONT PAGE FATALITY before it launched, and said nice things about it:
“Author LynDee Walker sure knows her way around a plot twist. She kept me turning pages late into the night, following the rollercoaster adventures of her fashionably feisty heroine—crime reporter and designer shoe fanatic Nichelle Clarke. Front Page Fatality is smart, funny, and loaded with surprises. A terrific debut mystery.” —Laura Levine, author of the Jaine Austen mystery series
“Front Page Fatality is delightful, with engaging characters, a crackling good mystery, and of course, high, high heels. LynDee Walker writes with wit and intelligence and the confidence of a newsroom insider. What fun!” —Harley Jane Kozak, Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity award-winning author of Dating Dead Men and Keeper of the Moon (March 2013)
And just last week I got a bona-fide fan message! It made my entire day that someone I don’t know loved my novel so much they took the time to sit down and send me a note saying so.
MTAR: Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
LW: If you are a writer, then you must write to be happy. But what do you want beyond that happiness? Publishing can be a tough business, and it’s not for everyone. Figure out if you want or need to have your work published, or if just writing is good enough to make you happy. If you want to have a contract, and hold the finished product in your hands one day, then don’t give up. Get feedback, revise, tweak your manuscript, and keep going.
MTAR: Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
LW: Thank you. I have had the best launch (half) month any debut author could ever hope for, and am truly grateful from the bottom of my heart to every single person who has loved Nichelle’s story and told a friend, written a review, or shared it online. Making people laugh and entertaining them with good stories has been my dream for years, and y’all have helped it become my reality. Thank you. And know that I’m working away on Nichelle’s next adventure!
MTAR: Dogs or Cats?
LW: I like both, but we’re a dog household. We have a toy pomeranian and we think she’s the coolest dog in the history of the world.
MTAR: Do you see writing as a career?
LW: Absolutely. I’ve wanted to be a writer, whether reporting or writing fiction, ever since I can remember. It’s more than my career—it’s part of who I am. And writing novels gives me the ability to be a stay-at-home mom for my kids, and still do what I love.
MTAR: Through your research do you typically learn something new from each book you write?
LW: Absolutely! From FRONT PAGE FATALITY, I learned that I can fit in the trunk of a car and have room to wriggle around a little. From my current project, I’ve learned all kids of fascinating stuff about forensic science, including how DNA testing works. And why TV shows are often wrong about it.
MTAR: Do you work with an outline, or just write?
LW: I find that when I try to outline, my characters go off and do what they please anyhow, so I don’t bother with it, usually. Normally I plot out the mystery, because it’s difficult not to know where the story is going with respect to whodunit and how, and then I just see what happens with the rest of it. I like it when my imaginary friends surprise me. Most of the time, anyway.