An Interview with Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of over 30 novels!
I’m not going to be reviewing your newest novel, but from your other published novels, is there one that is your own personal favourite?
Thirty+ books into my career, it’s tough to pick one, but today I’ll say it’s The Twin’s Daughter, about a girl in Victorian England who discovers that her gorgeous society mother has an identical twin who was raised in the workhouse. It’s historical suspense and has romance and murder in it, so it’s the closest to being a same-shelf read with Zombie Abbey, the chief differences being that ZA takes place about 40 years later (in 1920), there are zombies rather than murder, and there’s a campy feel about the whole.
Everyone has a ‘first novel’, even if many of them are a rough draft relegated to the bottom and back of your desk drawer (or your external harddrive!). Have you been able to reshape yours, or have you abandoned it for good?
My very first book, Waiting for Dead Men’s Shoes, was reshaped and is available on Kindle.
Some authors are able to pump out a novel a year and still be filled with inspiration. Is this the case for you, or do you like to let an idea percolate for a couple of years in order to get a beautiful novel?
The 30+ novels I mentioned above have all come out since 2003, so I percolate differently and I’m never short of inspiration.
I have heard of writers that could only write in one place – then that cafe closed down and they could no longer write! Where do you find yourself writing most often, and on what medium (pen/paper or digital)?
I write in what I call my basement cave. There are no windows in the room but there is a TV.
Before going on to hire an editor, most authors use beta-readers. How do you recruit your beta-readers, and choose an editor? Are you lucky enough to have loving family members who can read and comment on your novel?
I’ve never hired an editor – I actually do some freelance editing for others myself! – but I do have a group of writers who’ve met in my home for about two decades and we read/critique each other. Also, depending on the needs of a particular book, I might reach out to certain people for a read.
I walk past bookshops and am drawn in by the smell of the books – ebooks simply don’t have the same attraction for me. Does this happen to you, and do you have a favourite bookshop? Or perhaps you are an e-reader fan… where do you source most of your material from?
I’m with you: I’m a physical book person all the way. I get my books from libraries and bookstores. My favorite bookstore – the one I worked in for 11 years – no longer exists, I’m afraid. That said, I’m not against ebooks, which my husband reads exclusively now. Really, whatever gets and keeps people excited about reading, I’m all for it.
I used to find myself buying books in only one genre (fantasy) before I started writing this blog. What is your favourite genre, and do you have a favourite author who sticks in your mind from:
I really don’t have a favorite genre. I’ve written in nearly every genre imaginable for nearly every age group imaginable and I’m pretty much an equal-opportunity reader. In terms of age groups:
- childhood?
The Prydain Chronicles, Lloyd Alexander
- adolescence?
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
- young adult?
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
- adult?
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Social media is a big thing, much to my disgust! I never have enough time myself to do what I feel is a good job.
I’m on Twitter and Facebook, and that’s plenty for me. On Facebook, I talk about writing and reading a lot, but I mostly consider that – for me – to be a place for family and friends. I celebrate and commiserate with others there all the time. On Twitter, however, I’m very different. I consider that to be my more public/general space so while I talk reading and writing there too, I also provide a lot more content on things I’m watching and I engage about politics…a lot. 😊 Thanks for having me!
