Ask the Author: L.J. Greene
Answered Questions (8)
L.J. Greene
It was a dark and stormy night when she arrived. Buffy the bulldog puppy, AKA Thing of Evil, prowled the house like a demon, terrorizing slippers, pant legs, and unsuspecting potted plants...
L.J. Greene
I have to say that the couple that has been most enduring for me is Tristan and Danika from RK Lilley's Bad Things series. I loved the humor and the chemistry between them, and found their story painfully pleasurable to read. I would also have to credit that book for my personal preference of writing more everyday characters - people you might meet in the grocery store or at the gas station. We love our brooding billionaires, but give me a man in a pair of jeans and a mischievous smile and I'm as good as gone... :)
L.J. Greene
I do my very best thinking in bed at night and in the shower. If a character is coming from a real place inside of me, I'll find the answer in one of those two places by stepping out of my head and into his or her reality. If I truly can't find the next line, the better dialogue, the more interesting scene, then I need to go back and reevaluate what my character truly wants. What is motivating him or her in that moment? It's not sure fire, but it's worked so far.
L.J. Greene
I love the romance genre. We, readers and writers, are not who they say we are. I absolutely LOVE that I get to add my voice to the company of some of the smartest, funniest, most talented group of people I know. And I get to find my niche. When I looked around my favorite genre, I found a lot of twenty-something-year-old billionaires (not that I don't love them too!) and I wondered if a great romance could be written about a regular guy - wait, no, make him a science teacher. Wait, how about a middle school science teacher??? And with that, my brain was off in flight. And now my traffic-induced musing is on Amazon. What an amazing journey it has been!
L.J. Greene
Just start. Don't be afraid that your writing won't be good. Don't be intimidated by the prospect of finishing. Who says you can't do this? Why not you? Ernest Hemingway said "It's none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way." I think you are…Go for it!!
L.J. Greene
I am currently working on a connected novel to Ripple Effects called Sound Effects. It's Jamie and Mel's story.
L.J. Greene
What inspires us to do anything? Passion, I guess. I love it more than I find it hard. But it is hard - no question about that. Every single time I sit down to write, I think to myself, "can I actually do this?" And then I find I can. And there is nothing more gratifying than finding that you can express yourself and writing something that you, as a reader, would love.
L.J. Greene
I blame San Francisco Bay area traffic! I was driving to work on the 101 freeway and listening to a song on the radio. It triggered a musing that lasted for most of the rest of my drive (which was long, for those of you who are familiar with Bay area traffic!), and if I’m being honest, for the better part of the next three years.
It is from this musing that I first ‘met’ Danny and Sarah. They seemed to take on a life of their own in such a natural and organic way that, although they are completely fictional, they and their circle have always felt very three-dimensional to me. They are all imperfect people, but their imperfections are what I love. Their imperfections make them real. I might see Danny at a gas station or in the produce section of the grocery store. Sarah might be in the grocery store too, but I’d probably find her in the breakfast isle, as she shares my penchant for cereal as breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are not perfect, but they are perfect together.
For a long time, I resisted writing them down because I loved to create and re-create their story in fine detail, and with impunity for any liberties I took. But, as I often hear authors say, eventually, these characters demanded to be written down – to be let out. Writing them, to me, means letting them go – giving them away to you, the reader. It means letting you fill in their gaps, extend their experiences, imagine new scenarios and conversations. In your mind, you get to decide what they look like and how their voices sound. And you get to change and improve them so that their story is perfect for you.
I think I’m finally ready for you to do that. So go for it! I don’t mind. Really...
It is from this musing that I first ‘met’ Danny and Sarah. They seemed to take on a life of their own in such a natural and organic way that, although they are completely fictional, they and their circle have always felt very three-dimensional to me. They are all imperfect people, but their imperfections are what I love. Their imperfections make them real. I might see Danny at a gas station or in the produce section of the grocery store. Sarah might be in the grocery store too, but I’d probably find her in the breakfast isle, as she shares my penchant for cereal as breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are not perfect, but they are perfect together.
For a long time, I resisted writing them down because I loved to create and re-create their story in fine detail, and with impunity for any liberties I took. But, as I often hear authors say, eventually, these characters demanded to be written down – to be let out. Writing them, to me, means letting them go – giving them away to you, the reader. It means letting you fill in their gaps, extend their experiences, imagine new scenarios and conversations. In your mind, you get to decide what they look like and how their voices sound. And you get to change and improve them so that their story is perfect for you.
I think I’m finally ready for you to do that. So go for it! I don’t mind. Really...
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