LWL #Interview – Ann Raina – Lyndell Williams

Hey, beautiful ones. I am excited to introduce the author, Ann Raina. Ann lives and works in Germany with cats and a horse. Riding and writing are her favorite hobbies. Her latest series, starting with Twisted Mind, turns around an FBI-agent, his demanding lover, and a bad case getting worse.

In all of her books, she combines romance, suspense, and humorous elements, for no thrilling story can stand without comic relief.

Her latest novel is Famous Murders, the second in the series featuring main Nicolas & Jacklyn. check it out!

Famous Murders
By Ann Raina
$4.99, 230pp, Kindle

Blurb

After three murders in the Washington, DC, vicinity, the FBI Agents Hayes and Beckham are assigned to solve the case. Although the murders seem incoherent at first, it becomes clear that there are connections between them. It turns out that the murderer is far from having reached the end of his deadly list.

Aside from the investigation, Agent Hayes has to find a way to get on with his demanding girlfriend and her challenging love games. Can he do both and not lose himself?

Interview with Ann

Ann shared her venture into writing and process with us. Thank you for joining us, Ann.

What made you decide to become a writer?

I wrote a lot in my youth—virtually everything I could put my hand on. My father supported my interest and introduced me to his favorite authors, including Tolstoi and Dostojewski. At age thirteen, I wrote my first short stories—fantasy stories. I was a wishful thinking child who had no such luck in having a great childhood. I escaped my bleak reality by writing stories.

As I grew older, I started writing fanfiction stories based on Star Wars, the X Files and The Lord of the Rings. The writing was fun and receiving positive reviews even better. I realized that readers loved my original characters, sometimes more than the ones borrowed from movies or series. I dared to write a story with my own characters and got it published. It was a wonderful success to see a finished work turned into a published book.

After that, I wrote science fiction and contemporary romance. These days, I’m writing a series dealing with an FBI agent and his mistress. Currently, I’m creating #8. Let’s see how far my muse will take me.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

I have about ten unpublished books, most of them written long ago. I stored them to review later and decide if the stories are worth working over and sending to a publisher. Some stories are just for me because I couldn’t get them out of my head. Three stories didn’t make it to the finish line because I lost interest halfway. Maybe the muse will kiss me one day, and I’ll find the time and the inspiration for the last pages.

How do you select the names for your characters?

Names have to jump at me. They have to have a sound that fits the character I want to show to readers. When writing science fiction plots, I try to stick to certain names with certain letters for one ethnicity and choose different names for other races. Sometimes it’s like playing with the letters of the alphabet to find the fitting names. That’s the fun part. If I have to create lots of names, (for example, those for the characters in Living for the Act I) I make a list and try to avoid repeating or mixing any of them up.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Should I really reveal this? Hmm, let me think about it. It might not be a real secret, it’s more like a hint at what kind of movies I love.

In every book, no matter the genre, I hide a quote from a Star Wars movie. Some of them are well known, some less. But it’s fun to find the right scene, the right moment to insert the quote. Maybe readers find them, maybe not, but I’ll stick to that habit.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

It’s great to have an idea. It’s even better to watch the scene evolve before your mental eyes. It’s much more difficult to transfer the scene into words for the readers so that they can “see” what I saw in my mind. Sometimes, I have to write a scene three times (or more) until I’m happy with it.

Still, there’s the difference between my description and the readers’ imagination. Every reader feels differently about a scene. Reading reviews, I found out that my intentions don’t necessarily meet with the readers’ perception. It’s very interesting to learn about other people’s points of view. It’s nothing you can foresee.