Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance, and the authors visiting my blog answered them! This week, I am so happy to have Lindsay Randall as my guest. I can feel Lindsay’s passion for writing and weaving words throughout this entire interview. Her latest series sounds SO GOOD! If you like regency romance, you must check it out. And, she’s giving away the first three books in that series! Yes! All three! Read on to see how you can enter to win!
Tell us a little bit about yourself. I was born, raised, and am proud to remain(!) in the beautiful Pennsylvania Wilds.
I married my high school sweetheart and we’re the proud parents of a young man who never ceases to amaze us.
Writing became important to me in the third grade. That was the year my mom bought me my first diary. We were just beginning a two-week family vacation. By the end of it, I’d nearly filled the diary’s pages. I became hooked on writing.
As a teen, the urge to write grew stronger. I would wake up through the night to scribble down a scene or a line of poetry. I just *had* to create something.
As I grew older, I spent more and more time reading and writing. I would drive hours to meet with other writers or to hear an author speak, and I would spend just as many hours writing and rewriting something.
During my second year in college (the first time around!), I was supposed to write a paper about eminent Victorians, but what I actually wrote was the beginning chapter of a romance novel. It became my very first manuscript, which I sold to Kensington Publishing at the age of 24.
Since then, more than a dozen other romance novels have followed, as well as numerous magazine articles—and finally(!) a bachelor’s degree in English that took me seven long years to earn.
Today, I’m still pursuing my passion for words, sentence rhythm, and stories. I’ve tried *not* to write. My life would probably be far simpler, lol! But I always come back to it. Writing brings me great joy.
Tell us about your current release. I am putting the finishing touches on The Heiress and the Highwayman, which is a sweet Regency romance. It is Book 5 in the To Woo an Heiress series.
The main character is Miss Lydia Lacey, who is on a mission to help a friend, but her carriage is waylaid by boys playing at highwaymen. When the true thief arrives—bold, commanding, and sinfully handsome—he takes a wounded Lydia to his hideout where he tends to her injury and stirs her curiosity.
Ignatius “Nash” Westcott, Viscount Vailton, knows the lovely and adventurous Lydia believes him to be nothing more than a lowly thief. He’d like the chance to prove her wrong. When Lydia daringly asks Nash to help rescue her friend from an unscrupulous band of men, he agrees. But aiding Lydia will mean resurrecting his lawless past—and putting his future at risk.
Sparks ignite between them and danger escalates as they head into the rough neighborhoods near the London Dock. Lydia soon realizes Nash is stealing her heart. But she wonders if a future is possible with the dashing thief who claims to be heir to an earldom.
How do you push past the fear of your writing being average and be bold enough to sell it to a publisher (or agent or audience if you self-publish)? Doubts about what I can and can’t do are never far from my thoughts. But writing is something that has always called to me. I decided early on to just face my fears of not measuring up. I won’t please everyone, that’s for sure. (And somedays, I might not please anyone, lol!)
Below is a writing invocation I refer to every time I begin writing a new story. I think it best illustrates how uncertain I am when approaching any new work — and how hopeful! 😉
Call of the Storyteller
by Lindsay Randall
Bring to me a tale only I can tell, one steeped in the writing wisdom
I have earned.
Make me not so much wrestle with words as worry over meaning.
Teach me to listen for the sounds of my story awakening …
of its characters unfolding … of their lives intersecting.
Share with me the grace to give voice to those who have none.
Let me know where to begin and how to end.
Help me to approach this work with ease and excitement.
No struggling over sentences, no fear of the unknown.
Just me, writing the story I must write — bold and determined;
an adventurer striking out through the landscape of my imagination.
[Tweet “Enter to win the first 3 #regencyromance TO WOO AND HEIRESS books by @LindsayRandall! @halleeb #giveaway #sweetromance”]
What made you take the plunge and finally do it? I took “me” out of the equation. I believe God grants each of us a gift to share with others. I like to think that my gift is the ability to weave words together. I see it as a responsibility to celebrate my gift and (hopefully!) touch the lives of others in a positive way.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Don’t let your writing keep you from reading. Make time to step outside of your comfort zone/zip code/present century and immerse yourself in diverse voices.
Other than that, keep writing! The more you write, the better you’ll write. And the more you read, the better you’ll know what to write and what not to write. Good luck to you!
What is your preferred method of writing? (computer, pen & paper, etc.) Honestly? It’s all of the above—computer, pen & paper, even crayon & paper.
I’m always jotting down notes and thoughts, using whatever is at hand. Give me a notebook with empty pages and I am one happy human being. 😊
Sometimes I’ll ask questions of my characters. Other times, I’ll write about their hopes and dreams.
Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when you started this story? Absolutely. It was December 2015 and I’d been invited to a solo performance of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” which was to take place within a small, intimate theater. The performance was intended to be something akin to what the audiences in the 1800s had experienced when they went to see Dickens perform.
Dickens wrote the “Carol” as a response to social injustices of his time.
The hero of my story, Nash, was born into privilege but raised in poverty. The heroine, Lydia, was raised to view all people as equal, but as she begins to navigate life on her own, she learns not everyone holds that belief.
I loved writing this story of two people from totally different backgrounds. It was the inspiration of “A Christmas Carol” that helped bring this story to life for me.
Here is where you can find Lindsay online:
Website https://www.lindsayrandall.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/_LindsayRandall
Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lindsay-randall
Lindsay is giving away the first three books in her To Woo an Heiress series to a reader! See below how to enter to win:
10 comments
Skip to comment form
nice interview and cover
Thank you, thank you for reading this and responding–all is much appreciated! 🙂
I do so enjoy a good historical! Thank you, Hallee, for the introduction!
So happy to see that you like historical fiction (it’s been a top favorite of mine since I was young)! Thanks for stopping by!
You can tell that writing really is her passion!
I love an enemies to lovers story!
I do, too! (Am hoping I’ve done a good job with this one.) Thanks for making time to read and respond to the post. I appreciate it!
I enjoyed reading your words of encouragement. I have a novel that I need to finish editing. I earn money ghost writing for other people, but I want to publish my own novel. Thank you for challenging people to pursue their writing dreams.
Thanks for your note and huge congratulations to you on reaching the point of editing your own novel–that’s fabulous! Wishing you many more milestones as you build your writing career.
Thanks so much for visiting and reading through the responses! 🙂