Lorelei Logsdon worked as a communication specialist and technical writer for 20 years before turning her hand to fiction. She has published ten books in various genres under several pseudonyms, and is working on her next psychological thriller called THE OCEAN BETWEEN.
WELCOME LORELEI!!!
Name some inspirations that led you to become a writer.
I’ve been writing stories since I was very little, and my grandmother was always encouraging me. I’d like to think she would be very proud to know I’ve published a few books.
That’s great your grandmother encouraged you to keep going. Inspiration goes a long way.
Describe your experience from technical writing to fiction writing.
I’ve been a communications specialist for over 20 years, and I’ve been a freelance editor for the past four years. I’ve worked with hundreds of authors and have edited over 400 books in that time. The trick to all types of writing is to know your audience and write to their needs.
Cool! That’s a lot of writing experience. Would love to pick your brain sometime. Not literally, of course.
What do you enjoy about writing psychological thrillers?
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed an unhealthy interest in horror and dark fiction. I love the mystery, adding a twist here and there, and trying to fool the reader. I like taking readers for a ride.
I like psychological thrillers too. I would imagine these are a bit harder to write though.
What’s your goal now as a writer?
For now, my goal is simply to enjoy the process. The act of writing is enjoyable, and I want to keep it that way. Writing is a pastime, a hobby, a way to unwind. I never want it to become a chore.
YES. I love this.
“For now, my goal is simply to enjoy the process. The act of writing is enjoyable, and I want to keep it that way.”–Lorelei Logsdon
In Comorbid, who is Jame’s Davis?
James Davis is a child trapped in a grownup’s body, his development truncated at a moment in his childhood when overwhelming trauma took complete control over him. He has found a way to function, or at least he thinks he has, but in reality he’s at the mercy of his troubled, damaged mind.
Wow. This definitely sounds intriguing.
What can you tell us about those whom he cares about?
Consciously, James cares about his mother and her memory. She was the most important person in his life. Subconsciously, James cares about children who are suffering, having a deep desire to help them like he wishes someone would have helped him. By helping others, he’s helping his own inner child. At its heart, though, COMORBID is about James’s mother, even though her POV is given only sparingly in the book.
I love seeing the inner motivation of characters and what drives them to do things. It makes the story stick in my mind for some reason.
What was your response to all the positive reviews on COMORBID?
I love reviews, regardless if they’re positive or negative. Of course it’s great to see a positive review, but just knowing someone read the book and was affected strongly enough to review it makes me happy.
Great attitude. I hope it rubs off on me.
Name three things that have hindered you in completing your work.
There’s never enough time in the day. Most of COMORBID was written over the course of six months between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. It was an extremely tiring process, though worth it! The only other challenge in writing it was letting other opinions affect your work. If you ask opinions of 100 people, you’ll likely get 100 different opinions. While it’s nice to get feedback, don’t let other people’s ideas interfere too much with your vision.
Ouch. That sounds like a grueling schedule to write anything. It’s incredible you were even able to pull it off!
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”
What keeps you motivated?
At the time, the story wouldn’t leave me alone. It wasn’t a choice to write it. I had to write it in order to get it out of my head and finally be able to find some peace again. Story ideas would wake me up at night and if I didn’t get up and go write them down, I couldn’t get back to sleep. Once a story gets stuck in your head, it’s impossible to focus on much else.
Many of us can relate to this. Mine has been bouncing around the head for a while now.
What’s your antagonist? Or what prevents you to achieving your dream?
Time is the #1 enemy.
Very true. Isn’t there a pause button somewhere?
Why do writers quit?
I think writers quit for lots of varied reasons. Some may have an unrealistic definition of success, and when they inevitably don’t reach it, they throw in the towel. Some writers are perfectionists, always needing the perfect office setup, the perfect title, the perfect cover, and the perfect sentence. That’s a lot of pressure! If you put too much pressure on yourself to do everything perfectly, you can lose the joy in the process. For the most part, I think we often make things much more difficult than they really are. First and foremost, write for yourself.
This is a good viewpoint to have. Much appreciated.
~First and foremost, write for yourself~
What would you say to a writer who has given up?
There’s nothing wrong with giving up. No one should feel pressured into something they no longer love or no longer are interested in. If you’ve given it everything you have and you’re ready to move on, then do that. Just know that you can always come back. It may be 10 years, 25 years, or 50 years, but you can always come back.
There’s a sense of hope here in your statement. Love it.
Can you give us a sneak peek of The Ocean Between?
The Ocean Between is currently just an idea floating in my brain. It’s a story I published several years ago in another genre, forced to fit a mold it is uncomfortable in. The true story will be The Ocean Between, and it will be unrecognizable to the first published for those characters. You’ve heard it said that sometimes characters refuse to do the things writers want them to do, but in this case they did them but weren’t happy about it. I owe it to them to tell their true story.
Well, I hope the idea goes from floating to bouncing and a full blown story!
Do you have a tentative release date?
As I write for the joy of it rather than to someone’s arbitrary deadlines, I have no date in mind for release. When the story is ready to come out, I will let it. Until then, I won’t bother to try to force it.
We’ll be waiting…
The Writing Train: Join the locomotion 