Ask the Author: Christopher Lentz
Answered Questions (8)
Christopher Lentz
Thanks for letting me know about your services....and thanks for your question!
For me, becoming an author was a later-in-life decision. My corporate career was all about writing. But not fiction...well, some of those CEO speeches I ghost-wrote were pretty much fiction!
I always knew I had stories banging around my brain that needed to get out, but I had a family to raise and a mortgage to pay.
When I turned 50, I knew I had to get started. I wrote my debut novel, BLOSSOM (a forbidden love story set against the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed San Francisco), outside by a fountain during my lunch hours at the office.
Based on the joy I got through writing and the positive feedback from readers (other than friends and family), I knew I was on the right track.
My stories are about outsiders who are at odds with their worlds...who decide to escape or change. My books are easy to read and hard to forget.
My current project (a WWII love story set in Japan) began on a Bullet Train while pulling out of the Hiroshima station. I'd outlined the book by the time I got to Kyoto. I tell you that because inspiration can come slowly or ALL AT ONCE.
Because you edit, proofread and review books, I sure hope you get to experience the profound satisfaction of becoming a storyteller yourself!
For me, becoming an author was a later-in-life decision. My corporate career was all about writing. But not fiction...well, some of those CEO speeches I ghost-wrote were pretty much fiction!
I always knew I had stories banging around my brain that needed to get out, but I had a family to raise and a mortgage to pay.
When I turned 50, I knew I had to get started. I wrote my debut novel, BLOSSOM (a forbidden love story set against the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed San Francisco), outside by a fountain during my lunch hours at the office.
Based on the joy I got through writing and the positive feedback from readers (other than friends and family), I knew I was on the right track.
My stories are about outsiders who are at odds with their worlds...who decide to escape or change. My books are easy to read and hard to forget.
My current project (a WWII love story set in Japan) began on a Bullet Train while pulling out of the Hiroshima station. I'd outlined the book by the time I got to Kyoto. I tell you that because inspiration can come slowly or ALL AT ONCE.
Because you edit, proofread and review books, I sure hope you get to experience the profound satisfaction of becoming a storyteller yourself!
Christopher Lentz
There are only 26 letters (in English) to work with. How writers are able to stir them around their boiling cauldrons (that would be their brains)--with and without any recipes--and come up with compelling stories is amazing.
When I'm reading, I LOVE it when the real world slips away and I can live vicariously through the protagonist. Learning new things. Experiencing new things. Surviving new things.
When I'm writing, I think about whether or not my stories will take my readers to those kinds of places and experiences. So, that's the best thing about being a writer: going on a journey with friends, old and new.
And since you're reading this, I consider you my friend. Let's escape and go on a journey!!! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDBZZ8C/
When I'm reading, I LOVE it when the real world slips away and I can live vicariously through the protagonist. Learning new things. Experiencing new things. Surviving new things.
When I'm writing, I think about whether or not my stories will take my readers to those kinds of places and experiences. So, that's the best thing about being a writer: going on a journey with friends, old and new.
And since you're reading this, I consider you my friend. Let's escape and go on a journey!!! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDBZZ8C/
Christopher Lentz
I live in a world of antiques and I'm convinced the spirits/energy of previous owners came along for the ride. Nothing scary. Yet. Here's the mystery: who owned these items and why haven't they completed their journey to the other side? Some of the antiques are family heirlooms. Others were acquired during trips. A black-beaded, scarlet-velvet Civil War-era bonnet; a Victorian mourning brooch (with a human hair braid in it); a Mickey Mouse Club lunch box owned by one of the original Mickey Mouse Club members...the list could go on and on. The tales of their origins would make juicy plots for sure. And, perhaps, they will one day!
Christopher Lentz
That’s such an unfair question! Come on. To be honest, I don’t have just one. Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth, of course. Then there’s Jack and Rose, Pa and Ma Ingalls, Morticia and Gomez Addams, The Phantom and Christine Daae, Carl and Ellie Fredrickson, Mickey and Minnie, and THE NOTEBOOK’S Noah and Allie.
If I had to pick one…and that’s your question...it would have to be Jesse Tuck and Winnie Foster from TUCK EVERLASTING. Young love that transcends time and space. How can you beat you that?
If I had to pick one…and that’s your question...it would have to be Jesse Tuck and Winnie Foster from TUCK EVERLASTING. Young love that transcends time and space. How can you beat you that?
Christopher Lentz
Just write! There will never be enough time or energy. So if you don't start and actually write something, there's nothing to edit/refine. Also, writing can be a solo sport. Depending on the genre you're writing in, join a group. I cannot speak highly enough of Romance Writers of America. So generous. So caring. So supportive.
Christopher Lentz
When I wrote my debut novel (BLOSSOM), it was going to be just that ... a novel. One novel. But my beta readers kept asking what happened next. Not because the story was incomplete, but they liked the characters and didn't want to walk away from them. So, I plotted a trilogy which required me to make some adjustments to the first book. Now I've added at least two companion novellas. My romantic suspense trilogy is coming along nicely.
I've also set into motion several other projects that required some legal and marketing approvals. I secured them, and those stories will be outstanding! Secrets for now, but not for long!
I've also set into motion several other projects that required some legal and marketing approvals. I secured them, and those stories will be outstanding! Secrets for now, but not for long!
Christopher Lentz
I've always been a storyteller. As a kid, I'm sure I fabricated some whoppers. As an adult, I spun some amazing stories in Corporate America. And now, I'm telling stories as an author and entrepreneur. So, I've been a word warrior for many sunrises and sunsets.
I'm not sure I get inspired as much as I get sparked. An idea can be jolting and energizing. It can happen while eavesdropping at Denny's. Watching an episode of WALKING DEAD. Strolling through the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Or walking down Main Street USA at Disneyland.
In fact, I was just on the treadmill and jumped off to jot down the most amazing twist to my current work in progress. Readers will NEVER see it coming. I didn't, until just a moment ago!
I'm not sure I get inspired as much as I get sparked. An idea can be jolting and energizing. It can happen while eavesdropping at Denny's. Watching an episode of WALKING DEAD. Strolling through the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Or walking down Main Street USA at Disneyland.
In fact, I was just on the treadmill and jumped off to jot down the most amazing twist to my current work in progress. Readers will NEVER see it coming. I didn't, until just a moment ago!
Christopher Lentz
My wife kidnapped me (literally) to San Francisco for a "significant" birthday. One night we took an escorted walking tour of Chinatown and, in one of the back alleys, we peered through a doorway and witnessed women making fortune cookies one at a time. They were so graceful. I thought about how they had the power to put someone's future in a cookie. I tucked that thought away until got up the courage to DECIDE to write my first novel.
I've always been a fan of the film TITANIC. The love triangle, culture clashes and the impending disaster make an intoxicating recipe. So, I dusted off the memory of the fortune-cookie makers and dreamed up my own TITANIC-like epic ... this time the disaster is the 1906 earthquake and firestorm that destroyed most of the city. And that was the birth of BLOSSOM.
I've always been a fan of the film TITANIC. The love triangle, culture clashes and the impending disaster make an intoxicating recipe. So, I dusted off the memory of the fortune-cookie makers and dreamed up my own TITANIC-like epic ... this time the disaster is the 1906 earthquake and firestorm that destroyed most of the city. And that was the birth of BLOSSOM.
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Mar 12, 2022 05:56PM · flag