LYNN SLAUGHTER
LYNN SLAUGHTER
Books
LYNN SLAUGHTER
Lynn Slaughter is addicted to the arts, chocolate, and her husband’s cooking.
Following a long career as a professional dancer and dance educator, she earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University.
She’s the author of four young adult novels: LEISHA’S SONG, an Agatha Nominee for Best Mystery Novel in the MG/YA category, a Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards’ bronze medalist, and a recipient of the Silver Falchion Award and the Imadjinn Award for best young adult novel; IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU, a Silver Falchion finalist; WHILE I DANCED an EPIC finalist; and DEADLY SETUP, a Moonbeam silver medalist, M&M Chanticleer International Book Awards finalist, a Silver Falchion finalist, Imadjinn Award finalist, and a Book Excellence finalist.
Her first adult mystery, MISSED CUE, came out on August 8, 2023 from Melange Books.
The mother of two grown sons and besotted grandmother of five, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky where she is at work on her next novel and is an active member and former president of Derby Rotten Scoundrels, her local chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Q. DO YOU VIEW YOUR WRITING AS A KIND OF SPIRITUAL PRACTICE?
A. I do! It is a great blessing to be able to do creative work and to share my work with others.
Q. ARE YOU TRYING TO HAVE EACH BOOK STAND ON ITS OWN OR ARE YOU TRYING TO BUILD A BODY OF WORK WITH CONNECTIONS BETWEEN EACH BOOK?
A. Each of my books is a stand-alone and yet, there are certain themes that connect them. All of my books involve people involved in the performing arts, because that’s the world I know. In addition, they involve figuring out who you are and what you need and want, as well as discovering your intentional community of support.
Q. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF. ARE YOU MARRIED? HAVE CHILDREN/GRANDCHILDREN? IS THERE A SPECIAL DOG/CAT/BIRD IN YOUR LIFE?
A. I have an amazing husband, two adult sons I’m ridiculously proud of, and give grandchildren. Our cat Lucy recently passed away, and we miss her very much. We plan to adopt another from the Humane Society.
Q. DO YOU HAVE A DAY JOB OR ARE YOU A FULL-TIME WRITER?
A. I now write fulltime after a long career as a dancer and dance educator.
Q. ANY HOBBIES? DO THEY HELP YOU IN YOUR WRITING?
A. Well, like every writer I’ve ever known, I’m an avid reader! It’s very helpful to study the works of other writers and figure out what engages and moves you as a reader.
A. DID YOU JUST KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER OR DID YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO START WRITING?
A. I always enjoyed writing but wrote mostly nonfiction. While I was still dancing, I moonlighted as a freelancer writing articles for regional parenting magazines mostly about the challenges of adolescence and parenting teenagers. When age an injury led to my retirement from dance, I got an idea for a story about a young dancer with lots of family and peer problems. That became my first novel, WHILE I DANCED. In retrospect, I think it began as a therapy project because I was so sad about no longer having dance in my life. But I got hooked on writing fiction and went back to school to earn my MFA and have kept writing novels ever since!
Q. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE CHILDHOOD BOOK?
A. I vividly remember loving THE BOXCAR CHILDREN and later, of course, I adored Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.
Q. WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT PART FOR YOU WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING?
A. I always get really nervous just before I start writing or working on a project. Once I get started, I’m okay!
And like many writers, I don’t love the marketing part. I’d rather be writing!
Q. WHAT DOES YOUR FAMILY THINK ABOUT YOUR WRITING?
A. I’ve been extremely lucky to have a very supportive family. My husband is always my first reader. I call him my “encourager-in-chief”!
Q. WHO DO YOU TRUST TO GIVE YOU OBJECTIVE AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM OF YOUR WRITING?
A. I belong to two critique groups, and I receive honest and constructive feedback from both of them. They’ve also offered encouragement and support, which all readers need!
Q. WHEN YOU WRITE YOUR BOOK DO YOU WRITE FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR YOUTH, MIDDLE AGE OR GOLDEN YEARS IN MIND?
A. One of the hallmarks of young adult fiction is that it’s written from the perspective of an adolescent. I put myself in the mind and heart set of my characters who are teenagers.
Q. HAVE YOU PUBLISHED IN A TRADITIONAL WAY, OR SELF-PUBLISHED OR BOTH? WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS METHOD?
A. I traditionally publish with a small press. I like knowing that a publisher thinks my work is good quality and wants to make an investment in it.
Q. DO YOU HAVE OTHER WRITERS THAT HAVE HELPED YOU ALONG YOUR WAY? HOW?
A. Writers are amazingly supportive of one another. In addition, all of my teachers in my MFA program at Seton Hill University were successful published authors, and they were so generous in helping us students grow and develop as writers. As a group, they were wonderful role models.
Q. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BOOK.
A. My most recent book, DEADLY SETUP, features a seventeen-year-old girl named Sam, who’s the daughter of a New England widowed heiress. Just when Sam has begun her first serious romance, her life implodes when she’s arrested and goes on trial for the murder of her mother’s fiancé. She fights to prove her innocence with the help of her boyfriend’s dad, an ex-homicide cop.
Q. AN AUTHOR'S PATH IS NEVER EASY. WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING?
A. I love immersing myself in the lives and worlds of my characters. It is a privilege to get to do creative work, tell stories, and get to share them with readers!
