Lynne Howard Author Bio:
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and continue to reside there with my husband, our three children (ages 24, 23 and 15) and our two dogs. I graduated from law school in Toronto in 1995 and practiced law for several years before I decided to change my professional path. With the encouragement of my husband, I went back to school and became a teacher. I have been teaching Grade 11 and Grade 12 Law, as well as other Social Sciences courses at a private high school for over twenty years. I have also taught part-time at a university in Toronto, and I have written non-fiction publications for teachers and students. I enjoy doing volunteer work in my community and participating in extra-curricular activities at my school. I find the time to write my novels on weekends and holidays. I am so grateful to my family for all their support and for giving me the time I need to write.
What inspires you to write?
The person who inspires my writing the most is my 15 year old son, Dylan (no coincidence that the main character in my novels is named Dylan). I started writing this series when my son was 12 years old and he was looking for a new series to read. Like me, Dylan is a voracious reader and he had plowed through everything that the bookstores and libraries had to offer. When I created the character of Dylan Dover, it was based very much on my son except the real Dylan obviously does not have any magical powers! When I am writing, it is my son's voice in my head and with his permission, I use many of the experiences he has had in my novels. For example, when I was writing book 5 in the series, we were right in the middle of the Covid pandemic. My son, like so many other young people, was suffering from mental health issues caused by social isolation. Dylan was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and I used his lived experiences in the novel. Dylan Dover had to face his own mental health issues in that book. I am so proud of my son for courageously talking about his challenges and working to dispel the stigmas that are often associated with mental health issues. Dylan is also the first person to read my drafts, and he is very quick to praise the parts he likes and critique the parts that he thinks needs to be changed. Dylan has given me so many incredible ideas that have really helped me to create the immortal world and the characters in the series.
Tell us about your writing process.
I have a friend who is an accomplished author, and he has described his writing process to me. He is very meticulous and before he starts a novel, he has already outlined in great detail all the characters and highlights of each chapter. My approach to writing is the complete opposite. For the Dylan Dover series, I started with the main premise of the novel which came to me in the shower (an immortal dimension linked to the human world by a vortex, a seemingly ordinary kid who turns out to have extraordinary magical powers, and a secret prophecy) and I decided it was such an intriguing idea that I needed to get it out on paper. I sat down at the computer and wrote the first chapter that day. At the end of the chapter, I jotted down a few ideas for the next chapter and that was the process I followed for the entire six book series. I never really knew where the story was going to go for the most part. There were a few key points that I had in mind for each of the books, but I wasn't always sure where those ideas would fit until I reached a point in the story where it seemed to make sense.
When I'm in the process of writing, I carry around a notebook with me. It comes with me everywhere and if I am struck with an idea, I immediately write it down. I have dozens of these notebooks, filled with my scribbles, some of which I ended up using in the books, some of which were completely discarded.
As I have a full-time job and a family, I don't have time to write during the week. My brain stops functioning at about 8:00 p.m.! So for me, I do my writing on weekends and holidays. I am so lucky that my family is supportive and gives me the time and space I need to write during time that would usually be spent together.
When I'm in the process of writing a novel, I will set a goal for myself for the day, sometimes my goal is to write just one chapter, and then I sit down at my computer, and I won't leave until it's done. There are days when I feel very proud of what I wrote and I know that while it may need a little editing, it's pretty good. Other times, the words just don't come. Writer's block is an author's worst enemy! But I keep going. I keep writing, even though I know that chapter will require a lot of revisions. I plow through it until my goal for the day is reached. I am satisfied if I moved the story forward, even if the wording is going to have to be changed later.
Once the first draft is completed, the editing process begins. I would say that I spend at least twice as many hours editing than I do writing the initial draft. Once that's done, I give the novel to my son, Dylan for his comments. Then more editing. The first book in my series is now published, but as I wait for my agent to find a publisher for books 2 – 6, I keep re-reading and editing the novels. It is a constant, never-ending process of revisions but every change I make, I know makes the book and ultimately the series that much better!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I love this question! I have conversations with my characters all the time (usually in my head, but there have been times when I have been caught doing this out loud!). Of course, my best conversations are with my son, Dylan who is the main character in the series minus the magical powers, so these discussions are actually very constructive and productive for me. I will often ask him a question and see how he responds, then incorporate his answer into the dialogue happening in the story. For other characters who only exist in my imagination, I try to figure out not just what they would say, but their tone of voice, their body language, and their facial expressions. When I am in the middle of writing a novel, I find that I frequently dream about the characters and I often wake up with great ideas that I jot down in my notebook (which at night I leave in the bathroom with a pen next to it, in case I have some inspirations in the middle of the night and don't want to wake up my husband by turning on the bedroom light!).
Who are your favorite authors?
I enjoy so many genres of books but fantasy is definitely my favorite. I love getting lost in new worlds and anything to do with magic always fascinates me. I think historical fiction is probably a close second! But I also read contemporary fiction, biographies, mysteries…For me, reading is like choosing a flavor of ice cream – I love them all, it's just a question of what I feel like on a particular day! My favorite authors include Rick Riordan (the Percy Jackson series is one of my all time favorites! The Dylan Dover series has been strongly influenced by Greek mythology which is so important in the Percy Jackson books); J. K. Rowling (while I do not agree with her personal views, in my opinion, Harry Potter is an absolute masterpiece of fantasy fiction and I can only hope that people will connect with my characters in the way that they have embraced Harry, Ron and Hermione); I have recently been binging on books by JoJo Moyes and I couldn't stop crying for several hours after I finished Me Before You; and finally, the book The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is one that I have read a hundred times and never get tired of re-reading!
What genres do you write?
Fantasy – middle grade and YA
How did you choose the genre(s) you write?
My husband and children will all tell you that I always like to be right. They don't even try to argue with me about anything anymore – they know it's futile. Fantasy lets me always be right. Nobody can tell me that my versions of supernatural beings are wrong! For example, in my books vampires only drink blood because without blood in their veins, they cannot feel any physical sensations. When they consume blood, they regain tactile feelings for a little while. In the Dylan Dover novels, warlocks just need their minds to do magic. Witches need verbal spells. Wizards need wands. Shapeshifters have inherent knowledge about every type of animal on earth and the ability to change into any form. They can even modify elements of the creature they are turning into, if they wish. A parallel universe exists which is populated by all types of immortal beings and this dimension is linked to the human world by a vortex to allow immortals to cross between realms. These ideas may not correlate with other author's versions of vampires, warlocks, witches and wizards, but they don't have to! For me, that is the beauty of fantasy – we can all be correct because our imaginations can never be wrong! That being said, when my characters are travelling in the human world, I must be certain that I am accurately portraying the places they go and the creatures they interact with on their journeys. I spend a lot of time researching to ensure that these "real elements" are addressed correctly. But the components which are completely based on fantasy, those are entirely up to me! Writing fantasy lets me escape from the real world for a while. It provides an outlet for my creative energy and lets me get lost in imaginary worlds full of magic. After all, who doesn't want to believe that magic really does exist?
What three things are on your writing desk at any given moment?
My computer (for obvious reasons!); my notebooks with all my scribbled down ideas; and post-it notes because if I think of an idea that I want to use in the chapter I'm currently writing, but I'm not ready to use it quite yet, I will write it down on the post-it note and stick it on the wall behind my desk. When I incorporate that idea into my writing for that day, I crumple it up and throw it away! If the idea doesn't get used in that chapter, either I write it into my notebook for future reference or it gets tossed.
What hobbies do you have when you need a break from writing?
I love spending time with my family and our dogs. Watching movies, going for walks and playing board games are always fun! I love to read and when I'm on vacation, I will typically read a book every day. My husband jokes that we need an entire suitcase just for the books I want to bring (I like holding books in my hands rather than use an e-reader, although an e-reader would be so much easier to travel with!). I enjoy doing volunteer work in my community. I love to cook and bake but I hate doing the cleaning afterwards. Fortunately, my husband is great at that! One day, I hope to travel the world. There are so many places that I would love to see and different cultures to experience.
What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print
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All information is provided by the author and is presented as it was submitted so you the reader get to hear the author’s own “voice” in their interview.
