SEELIE KAY: Postcards from The Ledge: This week in The Loft: Author Lyndell Williams!

Joining me today in The Loft is award-winning author Lyndell Williams. Lyndell writes steamy, contemporary romance with multi-cultural themes, including interracial, urban, suburban, paranormal, and Muslim romance. She is a cultural critic with a background in literary criticism (romance), and is also an editor, writing coach, and cultural contributor for Bridging the Gap. Lyndell has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and writes for multiple online publications. The mother of six children, she and her family live in New York City.

Author Lyndell Williams

S: What attracted you to your current partner?

L:  My husband is a brilliant man. It was the first thing I noticed about him. Well, we didn’t see each other at first. I started typing small books for him as a favor to a friend. I got his phone number to ask questions about his writing. I had lots of questions, which led to some stimulating intellectual conversations. By the time I finished all the typing, I had developed a hard crush on the voice over the phone. When I finally saw him weeks later, his hazel eyes and gorgeous smile sealed the deal for me. I hunted him with a vengeance. I caught him, trussed him up, and I have tied him to me for 29 wonderful years.

S: (Smiles.) That's quite a love story! I have heard some of the sexiest voices over the phone only to be horribly disappointed in person. I'm so glad you had a different experience!

Do you write full or part-time? Do you have another job/other responsibilities?

L:  I am a full-time writer with many levels of responsibilities. Besides my steamy romance books, I contribute articles to multiple online platforms and am the managing editor for one. I also add content to my author’s blog. I write a ton. Add homeschooling and content editing for authors, and I spend much of my day at the keyboard. However, I try my best to make sure I eke out time for storytelling. I have a growing base of readers waiting for the next story, and I can’t wait to get it to them.

S: Did you undergo any sort of educational or other training to become a writer?

L:  Beyond some courses in writing and poetry in college, I developed most of my writing acumen by, well, writing. I first wrote for my college paper and extended it to writing online for publications, while teaching workshops and coaching college students in writing. Everyone needs to grow as a writer, which does not have to be through college. Connecting with an experienced writer to serve as a mentor or getting a good coach can bring a writer to the next level. I still coach new fiction writers. I think it is important to not only feed my creativity but also to be a mode to help others express themselves.

S:  Did you have a mentor when you became a writer?

L:  I am a vigorous proponent for mentorship, especially in writing fiction. Like any art, building narratives requires honing skills necessary to connect with readers, tapping into their emotions and sharing their message. I was fortunate to have a great mentor, Sandra Barkevich at WriteTypeEditorial Services, an accomplished writer and editor. She guided me through a lot, and I cringe at the thought of how sloppy my first book would have been without her direction. Her expertise in romance writing continues to be of significant help to me. I am also grateful to author Love Journey for taking me under her experienced wing. She taught me valuable lessons about independent publishing. I felt strongly that I wanted to publish my first book myself, and she guided me through the process.

S: (Nods.) You were fortunate to have two mentors. I think it makes a big difference in a fiction writer's journey.

Complete this sentence: “When I started writing books, I wish I had known...”

L:  How hard it would be to read negative reviews. My writing contains a lot of social nuances that tap into people’s emotions. Although I knew that some issues I addressed in my romance may ruffle feathers, I was unprepared for the harsher reactions. I don’t have a lot of negative reviews, but the few I have sting. I had to learn to thicken my skin and accept the reality that everyone will not like what an author writes. I caution authors to not read negative reviews during their writing process. They can kill creativity.

S: You're right. Negative reviews are difficult, but I try to learn from them. What bothers me more are low ratings with no explanation.

What attracted you to the romance genre?

L:  I have been reading romance since I was a teen. It is my favorite genre. I wanted to write romantic stories featuring female characters who look and love like me. Romance can be culturally specific. People of different backgrounds navigate love and coming together as a couple in varied ways. Unfortunately, authors from the broader White culture dominate the genre, making it starved for diverse stories and character depictions. I want to be a part of injecting diversity into the genre.

S: I know my lack of experience with certain types of relationships makes me uncomfortable writing about them. I always fear that I will miss cultural or other nuances, so I stick to what I know.

Is there anything about this book that makes it special to you? To readers?

L:  Writing "Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit" took a lot out of me. Outlining the main character Toni’s struggle with infertility aligned with my own during my twenties. I avoided emotional scenes, but once I did, I purged a lot of traumas and expressed what I and a lot of women probably go through. I included some things many women with infertility issues encounter, including self-hate, tension with a partner, and nonsense messaging from their environment. It’s not an effortless thing to go through. A lot of readers told me that Toni’s journey was so similar to theirs, and those who never had to deal with infertility mentioned that they emphasized with Toni’s pain. Everyone appreciated the passion between Toni and her husband, Marcus, despite all of life’s challenges. Knowing that I could use romance to show how life can affect love and passion means a lot to me.

S: I once had to interview women going through in vitro fertilization when it was still fairly new. I found their stories daunting, yet courageous. The determination to have a child with a partner is a love story in itself.

Tell me more about "Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit."

L: Here's the blurb--

Steamy is the best word to describe the Kents. After work, lawyer Marcus wants nothing more than to hold wife, Toni--his "Sweetness"--into his arms. He knows exactly how to make every inch of her hot body shiver under his touch. He is willing to do everything in his power to make her happy, except one

Leaving her downtown practice, psychologist Toni heads uptown to curl up with Marcus, her sexy, younger husband. Their fiery passion is usually fully ablaze until she makes a demand that threatens to snuff it out.

Toni's risks wrecking her loving marriage to Marcus to get her way. Marcus will do anything to keep her from destroying everything and keep the passion between them burning.