Yes, I am the organiser of this event! But I am also an author first and foremost. So read about my inspirations…my work…and then try to figure out why I’ve decided to organise such a massive, badass event!
What is the first thing people should know about you?
I write…a lot. Like, a lot. All the time. And most of my books aren’t short!
Tell me which genre or trope you are most well-known for writing.
I’m not known for any one genre or trope because I write everything. However, I have tried to separate some of my books so that I write thrillers and sci-fi as S. M. Lynch and romantic suspense and sub-genres as Sarah Michelle Lynch.
What is one thing people don’t know about you?
My siblings call me Sally.
Name a book you’ve written that you wish more people had read, and why.
I wish more people would read the entire Sub Rosa series and not just the first three. The others are also so important (although I am told that once you’ve read all 7, the hangover might be a bitch).
What is your favourite book (not your own), and why?
Who asks these stupid questions? Oh yeah… me. Haha! Erm, could not possibly say! Because I am an eclectic writer, I am an eclectic reader of wide-ranging tastes. Fave of recent years would probably be All Souls by Deborah Harkness (I’ve re-read these which is rare for me). It is well documented that I have a thing about the Brontes, but also in school, I used to get really high marks for essays on feminist fiction. The late great Fay Weldon springs to mind.
Was there a book you wrote that broke you and made you feel like you’d never write again?
Never.
Are you one of those authors for whom music is EVERYTHING and without it you’d never write?
Not at all. When I started writing over 10 years ago, I wrote along to a lot of music. Now, nope. I need absolute silence. Which is odd, I know. Especially when I hear a certain song on the radio from the early days and it takes me right back to writing a particular book. I especially associate John Legend with Jules and Warrick in Angel Avenue. “Cos all of me, loves all of you…”
Is your desk/writing space tidy or messy?
Organised chaos. I have to be able to access anything at any time. Even if it’s messy I know where everything is and brave is the person who moves a single thing out of place. But nor am I one of those writers who has stacks of crap everywhere lol.
Who or what inspires you as a writer?
Everything. Everyone. Life. Love. All that in between.
Are you an introvert or extrovert? Or something else…?
I’m that rare extrovert, but I am also a HSP. Which means if I’m quiet, it’s because something has caught my attention and it’s being processed at speeds most others cannot comprehend. I discuss my HSP-ness in The Thistlewick Duology.
The literary world moves fast, but what’s the one thing that never changes?
There will always be something for everyone.
What is your advice to authors just starting out?
Bloody soak up every second. As hard as it might be, sometimes I’d love to be that again. Being fresh is a blessing. Those first few books you write may not be as good as the next ones, but they will mean more to you than the rest put together.
Where is your favourite place to go on holiday?
Somewhere quiet, remote, warm and green.
If you could live inside any fictional world, where would that be?
Definitely Mordor. I’d be able to do as I please without getting in trouble.
Your favourite place to read and/or write?
Read on the beach or in the conservatory; write at my desk. (Fellow authors, if you still write on the sofa or in bed, tut tut. Listen to someone who’s written 50 books.) You not only concentrate better at your desk, you save yourself a back operation.
When you’re as old as Gandalf the Grey, how many books do you think you might have written?
If he’s like thousands of years old, and I’m me and I get to live that long, the list of books I might write in that time is actually quite a terrifying prospect…. let’s hope they don’t invent the cure to everlasting life!
Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met?
I couldn’t possibly say; they weren’t very nice! That saying never meet your heroes is sometimes very true! (Ask my MIL who met Shatner)
What did you always want to be when you were growing up?
Always a writer. Never anything else. I knew I’d do this from about the age of 8.
If writing is your full-time job, have you ever been told to get a “proper job”?
Do you really think anyone would dare? (They have.) But my trajectory is unstoppable.
Who is your biggest cheerleader?
Husband.
BONUS Q. Tell me a secret about one of your books that nobody else knows yet!
I plotted Loath to Love (coming soon) one afternoon while I was on holiday. It’s turned out pretty much as planned!
Our event is about inspiration for all! Keep in touch:
Buy Tickets for AATA – use code JAN20 to get 20% off (works until Feb 3rd)
Authors at the Armouries 