Tell us about yourself.
I am the author of more than 20 books including biography, humorous reference, fiction, and children's literature. I'm from the Detroit area. My degree was in theater and I worked briefly as a professional mime, improvisational comic, and radio announcer before becoming a full time writer. I now divides my time between writing and producing (and traveling on) ballet master class tours with my partner the artistic director of the Russian Ballet Foundation.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
We moved a lot when I was a kid. We lived in Bowling Green, Ohio during my junior high years. My father was getting his Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing at BGSU. Junior high is a hard period of life, and I just coped with that by believing it was all temporary. I had a sense that my real life was elsewhere. The character of Clara in Saturn's Favorite Music views her stay in the small town in this way. She's there, but not really.
What was your journey to getting published like?
My father was a professional writer so I was fortunate that my father was able to mentor me in how to find markets and submit when I decided to pursue a professional writing career after I burned out on a radio career. I actually got a job at the AlbanyTimes Union fairly quickly and the first book I submitted sold right away. So getting a foot in the door came easily. Maintaining a career in an ever-changing publishing landscape is harder.
What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever received?
I read "On Writer's Block" by Victoria Nelson years ago and it clicked with me. Nelson argues that you should honor writer's block– that it is a message from your subconscious and that it generally has a good reason for stopping what you're doing. Either you're too focused on the outcome, or you need to rest, or something isn't working that you're trying to force. You need to go away and let your subconscious figure out what is missing and then come back fresh.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
I find solace by reading the archives of magazines aimed at writers. What you discover is that writing has been an almost impossible career for more than a century, so it's not you.
What’s a fun fact about you that your readers might not know?
I was once the voice you heard on the voice mail when you called the Muzak offices in Michigan.
What’s your guilty pleasure book or genre?
I don't feel guilty about anything I read. I figure you should like what you like. In terms of more supposedly "low brow" I occasionally like to read rock music biographies and I have a hard time resisting second hand cookbooks.
What’s your favorite quote about writing?
Ernest Hemingway's writing prompt: “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
When you’re not writing, how do you like to spend your time?
I have a second career producing ballet master class tours. That takes up about half of my year.
Do you remember the first story you ever read, and the impact it had on you?
I liked Richard Scarry's "Best Word Book Ever." I can decode symbols on paper, in part, thanks to it.
What has inspired you and your writing style?
I like stories that are more literary and that weave in philosophy and observations about what it is like to be a human living with other humans on the planet. I also enjoy dry "British" humor. Douglas Adams was a big influence.
How do you deal with negative reviews?
Generally, I assume that different people will have different reactions to things. The more books you write, and the more reviews you get, the less any individual one seems to define you.
How do you connect with your readers?
I hope the books connect with them. I'm not usually there when they're reading. That's the weird thing about writing. You may never know the result.
What’s next for you as a writer?
It depends a lot on how Saturn's Favorite Music is received.
Are there any Easter eggs or hidden messages in your work?
There are little things that some people might or might not notice. The main character in my first novel, Angel, was named Paul Tobit. Only one reader that I'm aware of noticed the reference to the Book of Tobit, which was an early Christian angel story. There are various little things like that and maybe an inside joke here or there for good friends.
How do you approach writing dialogue for your characters?
Dialogue is probably one of my strong suits as a writer. I just imagine characters talking to each other.
If you could share one thing with your fans, what would that be?
I have fans?
Laura Lee’s Author Websites and Profiles
Website
Amazon Profile
Goodreads Profile
Laura Lee’s Social Media Links
BlueSky
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
Author Interview Series
To discover a new author, check out our Featured Authors page. Our authors are just waiting for you to discover them. If you enjoyed this writer’s interview feel free to share it using the buttons below because sharing is caring!
If you are an author and want to be interviewed just fill out our Author Interview page.
If you are looking for a new book to read check out our Featured Books Page.
