Interview with Lynette Endicott, author of More than a Job

I'm thrilled to introduce debut author Lynnette Endicott to my blog today to tell us about her new book, More than a Job, and to tell us about her unexpected journey to becoming a published author.

 When she loses the job that was her full existence, Paige Hamilton learns that there are other more important things in life - including love. Can Joshua draw her away from her anger at his company and into his arms?

 Tell us about yourself.

I have been writing all my life, was first published at 14.  I have lived in Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska and now Fresno, California. My husband of 37 years and I have a married daughter and son-in-law who live nearby, and although we'd never had pets before, today have one therapy dog, one adopted cockatiel that landed on our back patio last summer, and two rescue cats. The grandpuppy visits often and we also enjoy a grandkitty.

Tell us about your new book?

More Than A Job is the story of Paige Hamilton, a woman who loses the job she'd poured herself into, which was working with people with developmental disabilities at home. As a result she has to find a way to start over. When she does she meets Joshua Robinson, because she finally has room in her life for more than work. It is one of a series of three starting over stories. The next one, Return of Joy, releases in October.

What inspired this story?

So many people are finding themselves out of work, and if work is all that defines them it is devastating. I think Paige's story gives us another way to survive that kind of crisis.

 Is there an underlying theme?

Sometimes we have to lose something in our lives so that there is room for what God has intended for us.

 What's your favorite scene/character?

I enjoy Paige. She is feisty, and bounds back from her job loss to live a life that is much better suited for her.

What do you hope readers take away from reading your book?

If you trust in God's working in your life you will find that you can survive and thrive after an unexpected loss.

How did you get started as a writer?

I was chosen in a Freshman class to write the story of our visit to a federal prison. I got excerpts from the other students, wrote the summary, and it was published in a national youth magazine. (The teacher from the workshop was the publisher and editor in chief, so that helped. As time went on they published 10 more stories or articles I'd written.)

Do you have any particular method to your writing, any quirks that help you along in the creative process?

It really helps me get work done to schedule writing time. Sometimes I discard pieces that don't fit well because I was writing by appointment - but even those sometimes find their way to another story. The writing challenges of 70,000 words in a month or 50,000 in a week, work well for me.

What are some of your favorite books?

I read all kinds of things - always have - so it is hard to name a favorite. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Dragonriders of Pern series, the Chronicles of Narnia are some that pop into my mind.

What genre(s) do you write and what draws you to this genre?

They say you should write what you read, and since More Than a Job and the other two books in the Starting Over series are contemporary romance and I just listed favorites that are speculative fiction, that may seem odd. I am also working on a series of speculative fiction through time with Tami Dee. The first book in that series is scheduled for release August 21.

What was your journey to publication like?

In the beginning I wasn't really driven to publish. I  fell into it as a teenager because other people encouraged me. As an adult I didn't stop writing - I joined critique groups and a local writing group and continued to write and edit. I wasn't thinking about that next step, though. I hadn't ever pitched a book, but when one of my critique partners of yore, Tami Dee, said she'd like me to get the books she'd read to her editor, I polished More Than a Job and Return of Joy in a week and had them on the editor's desk. When she gave me contracts for both I decided, hey, maybe I did want to be published! It has been great fun to hear from old friends who have read my book and are sending their reviews my way.

What's up next for you?

The first of the Time After Time series, Animal Instinct, will be released August 21 and the second book in the Starting Over series, Return of Joy, will be released October 15.

What might surprise readers about you?

In my spare time (hmm) I am a management consultant and I assist non-profits in the disability services world in identifying areas for improving and planning and implementing the changes needed. Sometimes this is a half a day project, and other times it takes as long as a year at another site. And everything in between.

 What do you think of the ebook explosion, pros and cons, and what do you think will happen with print books?

If you are a Star Trek fan you know that one thing Captain Kirk and Captain Picard had (or will have, since they are in the future?) in common is their love of the old-fashioned printed page. They are nostalgic about reading printed books. We are so early in the eBook explosion that I'm not sure yet how we will feel in 50 years or so about our paper books. I know that pragmatically I can carry more books when I travel, my eReader doesn't hurt to hold (arthritis in my thumbs) and that next book is just a quick download away. As a result I read more, always have reading with me. I think we may keep print books for nostalgia but not for real reading in the future.

Three favorite things: movie, place and food?

Movie: While You Were Sleeping, or the Notebook, or the Harry Potter series or the Lord of the Rings series or the Chronicles of Narnia. I can't decide.

Favorite place - day to day, my garden. For a trip to a city, either San Francisco or Vancouver, BC.

Food: Crisp Jonathon apples (which we can't get in California), a nice piece of wild salmon from the grill, or maybe Thai food depending on my mood.

When a high school writing assignment was published, when I was 14, I was hooked and have been writing for fun and in the context of work ever since. I have lived in Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and most recently in California. I have a husband, a daughter and son-in-law, a dog and two cats. My hobbies include collecting castles, reading, and volunteering with my certified therapy dog as a reading tutor at a local library.

http://www.lynetteendicott.blogspot.com/
http://www.lynetteendicott.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/lynetteendicott
Purchase Lynnette's book at:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Desert Breeze