Day Thirteen: Lindzee Armstrong
1.
Can you tell us a
little bit about yourself?
Well I’m a 20-something wife and mom. J I have a fantastically supportive and amazing
husband, and adorable 3 ½ year old sons. Obviously I like writing, and am an
avid reader. But I also really love history. In fact, I studied history
education in college and taught US and world history while student teaching. I
also am really, really addicted to chocolate, as anyone who knows me can
attest. It can’t be white chocolate though. That stuff is just gross.
2.
What do you do when
you are not writing?
Well, I have 3 ½ year old twins, so a
lot of cleaning up messes, kissing owies, breaking up fights, and saying “don’t
do that!” J But
when I’m not doing the mom thing or the housekeeper thing, I am a total TV
junkie. I love reality television…The Bachelor and Bachelorette, Celebrity
Apprentice, Survivor, Big Brother, all that good stuff. I also love really
dramatic TV shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Vampire Diaries, and mockumentaries
like The Office and Parks and Rec. And that’s pretty much all there’s time for
after I squeeze in writing amongst my daily commitments. Me and my husband also
love traveling so we try to do a lot of that when possible. I’ve been to Europe
twice and am dying to go back.
3.
What is your
favorite smell?
I really love sugar cookie scents. I
have a sugar cookie scented candle that I absolutely adore. I also like
anything vanilla scented.
4.
When did you first
start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I started writing as soon as I learned
how to, like kindergarten. By first or second grade I was pretty serious about
it, and I know for certain that by third grade I’d decided that’s what I was
going to be when I grew up. I finished my first novel when I was about ten. I
no longer have a digital copy of that document (it’s probably on a floppy disc
somewhere) but I think it was probably somewhere around 30,000 or 40,000 words.
I was an only child at the time and really wanted sibling, so it was about a
girl who fell in love, got married, and had 14 kids. There were like two sets
of twins and a set of triplets in that mix, and the main characters were
insanely beautiful and rich. Totally realistic.
5.
If you had 24 hours
to live, excluding spending time with your family, what would you do?
Oh gosh, that’s hard. My instinct is to
say travel, but with 24 hours I couldn’t get very far, and I wouldn’t want to
spend the time in a car or plane. I would go out to a really yummy restaurant
and order dessert. Go see a fantastic movie at a really posh theater, one of
those ones with recliners. Dye my hair something really fun, like pink. Be a
little crazy and spontaneous.
6.
Do you ever
experience writer’s block?
I think every writer does, and I’m no
exception. But I don’t really have time for writer’s block anymore, so I never
allow it to last long. I have fantastic writer friends that I’ll brainstorm
solutions with. Sometimes I’ll throw something wacky and bizarre into the plot
to get things going again, and fix or change it in edits so it makes more
sense. When all else fails, I’ll set a timer and just force myself to write
without stopping. Usually after a half hour or so, the block’s gone and I’m
onto something.
7.
Do you work with an
outline, or just write?
Definitely with an outline. For some
books, it’s pretty loose, just key plot points and a general idea of how I’ll
get from A to B. But with Wishing on Baby Dust, for example, I knew what would
happen in every single scene in the book before I ever started writing. Some of
that changed in editing, but the core part of it is all still there. I have to
make the time I spend away from my family to write count, and that means I
can’t afford to waste time on books I end up having to completely rewrite or
plots that aren’t fleshed out enough to become a story.
8.
What is your
favorite kind of cheese?
Medium cheddar. Because yum.
9.
Is there any
particular author or book that influenced you growing up or as an adult?
Rachel Nunes and Josi Kipack were a big
influence on me as a young author. I love their books, but they were also just
awesome ladies who took time out of their busy lives to take this awkward,
strange kid under their wings and encourage her to keep writing. I felt so
uncomfortable and shy as a very young teenager in a very adult writing
community, but they always made me feel welcome. They took time to offer
advice, and give critiques. I always felt like they treated me like an adult
and an equal, which I really appreciated because so many adults would pat me on
the head and say “oh, isn’t that cute” when they found out I was a writer. They
made me 110% believe I would one day be published. I will forever be grateful
to them for that.
10. Would I find anything
growing in your refrigerator right now?
I honestly don’t know…I haven’t looked closely enough in the last few
weeks to tell you. J Probably not, because my husband keeps a pretty
good eye on things. Me and food have a complicated relationship. I have a disease
called polycystic ovarian syndrome, and one of the ways it affects me is that I
rarely have an appetite and get nauseated really easily. Because of this, my
husband deals with most of the food in our house and just brings me something
and forces me to eat. During the day, I open the refrigerator just long enough
to grab whatever the kids want to eat, and I don’t bother looking for anything
else.
11. How would you
describe yourself in three words?
Blunt. Loyal. Ambitious.
12. Is anything in your book based on real life
experiences or purely all imagination?
Oh my book is almost entirely based on
real-life experiences! Almost everything that happens in Wishing on Baby Dust I
have personal experience with. The characters and situations are fictitious,
but a lot of the events are based on real things that happened to me.
13. Who is your favorite author? Since most of you will
probably say me ;) please tell me then, who is your second favorite author?
That is such a loaded question, Sherry!
I adore Janette Rallison if I’m looking for a funny, light-hearted romance. JK
Rowling amazes me because her plots are brilliant, and her voice is so solid. I
love Margaret Mitchell because Gone With the Wind has such a heartbreakingly
perfect ending. I could go on for hours. I don’t really have a single favorite,
because it depends on what I’m looking for in a book at that moment.
14. What was your favorite part of writing and why?
I really enjoy editing. First drafts are
really hard for me, but editing is where I get to find the gems and make them
shine. I love taking the raw book and molding and perfecting it into something
I’m proud of.
15. Chocolate or Brussels sprouts?
Chocolate wins over pretty much
ANYTHING. Especially a vegetable (although really, Brussel sprouts aren’t bad
as far as vegetables go. I don’t know why they get such a bad rap).
16. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as
an author?
Someone told me once that my story was
irredeemable and I should stop working on it. I love constructive criticism,
because I love perfecting my work and applying feedback. But that really hurt and
I don’t think it was constructive. I put that book away and two years later I’m
just barely returning to it. That remains the one and only time in my life I’ve
had my feelings hurt by a critique.
17. What has been the best compliment given to you as an
author?
I just got a review where someone said
“if you like Nicholas Sparks you’ll like this book.” I’ll take it!
18. What is your least favorite smell?
Puke. Yuck! My twins have always been
(and still are) pretty big pukers. They still throw up at least once a month.
It is the most vile smell. I especially hate it when they throw up in the car
and we’re stuck with the smell for an entire vacation.
19. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
I think the best advice I can give to
any writer is learn how to take constructive criticism graciously, weed through
it, and apply what needs to be applied. But there are other things too. Go to
conferences. Read books on writing. Listen to what those with more knowledge
and experience have to say. Read like crazy in the genre you write, and figure
out why those books are popular and selling. But, above all, write. Because
you’ll never improve if you don’t keep putting words to paper regularly.
20. Is there anything that you would like to say to your
readers?
Thank you so much for your support! It still
amazes me that people take time out of their lives to spend time with a story
I’ve created. You guys make my dream come true every time you pick up one of my
books and start reading, and I can’t say thank you enough for that.
Author Bio:
Lindzee decided in first grade that she’d grow up to be
three things—a mom, a teacher, and a writer. She’s lucky enough to have
accomplished all three tasks. Lindzee received her bachelor’s in history
education from Utah Valley University. Soon after leaving her teaching career
behind, she became a mother to adorable twin boys, who guarantee her life is
never dull.
Lindzee is married to the most supportive man in the world.
He regularly takes care of the twins and cooks dinner so she can escape with
her laptop to chase her dream of being a writer. When she has time for hobbies,
Lindzee is a reality TV junkie, loves to cross-stitch, and sometimes even
finds time to play the piano. She eats way too much chocolate and wishes she
liked things like running or yoga.
Lindzee writes national fiction under her own name, and fiction
with an LDS theme under the pen name Lydia Winters.
Lindzee's links
Sherry Gammon
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