Author Interview: LM Wilson

Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Friday Night Writes! As always, our goal is to shine a spotlight on members of the book community and introduce readers to awesome authors, narrators, event hosts, influencers, and more. This week, we'll be speaking with author LM Wilson. Sam will be leading the interview.

Thanks for joining us! Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m an Australian author who is obsessed with books. I read more than 500 books each year and write between five and twenty books every year under several pen names, both indie and traditionally published. Under LM Wilson, I have over 25 published books.

Wow, that's pretty impressive! I can tell you're dedicated to your work. Did you always know you were going to be an author?

I wrote my first story at five years old and have wanted nothing else since.

I have to say I truly admire that. You had a dream and went after it. Look where it's taken you! So cool. Of course, we want to hear all about your author journey, but we also like to get to know our guest on a personal level, too. Would you mind sharing a few of your favorite things with us?

I love dragons. All things dragons. If I had a spirit animal, it would be a dragon.

Dragons are great. In my experience, they speak to power, wisdom, and grace all at once. How about hobbies? Do you have any at the moment?

I have a very chaotic mind, so I dabble more than anything. I cook, sew, knit, paint, draw, write, and play Warhammer 40k and Xbox games. All my book cover art was made by me, either drawn and then digitized or painted using oil paints.

Chaos is my jam, too. Kudos to you for creating your own book cover art! That's a serious skill. Obviously, you have a love for art, both writing and illustrating. Are there any other things you're truly passionate about?

I’m most passionate about spending time with my kids and family. They are the light and loves of my life.

I'm with you there. Family is everything. Let's shift gears back to your author journey for now, though. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing since I was five, but [I've only been] serious about it since I was fourteen. [I was] first published at sixteen, so I’ve been writing for over 25 years.

Your story reminds me a bit of S.E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders. It's truly impressive when young adults achieve their dreams so early. Which genres do you write in?

I write paranormal fantasy reverse harem romance. Sometimes I dabble in horror (during Halloween time) and sometimes [I] write traditional romances for fun.

You truly span the gamut, then. Staying to one genre is difficult for me. I tend to follow the dopamine, myself. I'm guessing having multiple pen names is beneficial for exploring new avenues, though! Now, you said you were both independently and traditionally published, correct?

I started out as a traditionally published author, but switched to indie when the publisher started dictating what and when I had to write.

That would drive me nuts! Indie definitely gives the author more control over their work. Is that your experience, too?

I love being an indie author because I get to write whatever I want and have the freedom to make my own schedule. [I'm] not a big fan of having to do my own publicity and marketing, though.

Ugh, marketing. I feel you. It's probably the toughest part of the author experience. What do you love most about being an author?

The readers and other authors. Getting to meet the readers and getting to meet other authors is the highlight of my career. I love interacting with everyone and learning about their loves and hates. Hearing their feedback on my books always makes my day.

It really is amazing hearing from readers and building community amongst peers. As for yourself, do you find that you're more of a plotter or a pantser?

I don’t fit into any one category. Some books just flow naturally without any outside help; others require a strict structure to get them flowing.

Same here. Every story is different. Have you found any routines that help you write?

I love having music on while I write, just not any songs I can sing along to or I’ll end up singing instead of writing. I tend to write a little every day but really get going after the sun goes down and the house is quiet.

A calm, quiet house definitely helps. I'm curious about something, though. You have quite a few books published at this point. How do you deal with writer's block?

I’ve had writer's block a lot over the years. I find the easiest way to deal with it is to take a step back, relax and read for fun, then come back to it when I am ready.

Taking a step back can help a lot. Sometimes I even switch stories entirely. Do you work on more than one book at a time? If so, how many WIPs do you have going at the moment?

I have two that I’m currently writing. The first is Selene Killbrooke; she is a reincarnated goddess who finds herself in the strangest academy filled with other reincarnated gods and goddesses. I won’t say more about her and her exciting life right now, as the book is due to release in the coming months. The second is a more traditional fantasy romance. At the request of my youngest daughter, I have written a story that is filled predominantly with Fae. The main characters enter a competition to win a boon from the King of the Fae. The antics they get up to during the competition have made writing the book difficult because I keep laughing so hard it makes me cry.

Excellent! Writing is supposed to make us feel things. Tears from laugher are much better than tears of frustration! You mentioned that your daughter inspired one of your WIPs. Where do you usually get your inspiration?

I’m not sure where the inspiration comes from. It’s just always been there. My head is filled with ideas and stories that percolate until one day they demand to be written down.

And they really can be demanding. It's like the characters are real people who want their stories told. Before you said that you read all the time. Are there any authors who have inspired you on your own journey?

My writing isn’t really inspired by any authors; however, I grew up reading Robert Jordon, David Eddings, Steven King, and George RR Martin.

They're definitely the gold-standard authors for the genres that you write in. That makes complete sense! They're also known for writing rather lengthy series. Do you prefer to write series or standalones?

I prefer trilogies. Anything longer than that loses my interest.

When the author loses interest in the books, the reader will, too. As far as your own characters go, do you have a favorite or least favorite?

My all-time favorite character would have to be Tessandra from my Tessandra Young series. She grew on both me and the readers more and more with each book. My least favorite would have to be Ace from the same series. He was just so Alpha, he overshadowed all the other characters in the story and left me feeling like it should have been his book instead of Tessa’s.

Sounds like Ace needs to learn to share the spotlight! So far, what's the most popular book you've written?

Strangely enough, the most popular book [I've written] is one of my least favorites. Dazed by the Gods was a hit with everyone who read it. I still don’t know why it became so popular when there were so many other books I had written that were better.

You know, readers like what they like. I've been there, too. They love Dazed by the Gods, but is there a book you wish would get more love than it does?

I really wish the Godling series, Lost among the Lies, had been given more love.

Alright, readers! Go check that series out. I'm sure we can make that happen. As an author, I've found the journey can be rather all-consuming. How do you handle the author/life balance?

With a lot of difficulty and last-minute changes. Balancing both is almost impossible, so some things slide at times due to my family always coming first.

Yes, family has to come first. They're what keep us going. Still, struggling to balance things can take a toll on mental health. What do you do to recharge?

I listen to music and binge-watch Supernatural, Dark Angel, and anything with Ryan Reynolds. What can I say? Jensen Ackles and Ryan Reynolds just hit the spot.

Absolutely! Supernatural is one of my favorite shows. It's almost always in the queue. Do you by any chance have advice for any aspiring authors out there?

Always be you. Don’t listen to anything negative. So long as you are true to yourself, your passion for writing will shine through.

I totally agree. Thank you for sharing so much about your author journey with us! How about some fun questions now? Hmm, let's start with Evie's favorite: what's your favorite dinosaur?

I love stegosauruses. No idea why, I just like the look of them.

They're surprisingly cute for ancient, enormous creatures. I get it. What is the best gift you have ever been given?

The best gift ever is actually a book my daughter wrote about me when she was five. It was hand-drawn, stuck together with sticky tape, and it got almost everything wrong, but I absolutely LOVE it.

That's so stinking cute! How many pairs of shoes do you own?

I own two pairs of shoes: a pair of fuzzy slippers and a pair of no-name joggers that seriously need replacing because the holes let in the cold and rain, but they are bright blue and I love them.

It's hard to replace our favorite shoes. I've got a pair of heels I've held onto for ten years! Okay, what's the most daring thing you've ever done?

I cannot answer this question in polite society. A roof was involved, my husband was involved, and the fireworks happened in both my mind and the sky.

;) Sounds like an excellent time. Are you a clean or a messy person?

Neither. My desk is spotless and my house is lived in, but I can never seem to have an empty washing basket or sink.

Oh, me either. As soon as you take care of one load, another pops up. I swear, laundry and dishes spontaneously generate! Do you collect anything besides books?

I collect Warhammer 40k models, trolls, dragons, and LEGO.

I love it. How about ghosts and aliens? Are you a believer?

It’d be pretty boring if there weren’t any in the universe. Someone somewhere has to be watching the humans and laughing their behinds off over all the weird and funny stuff we do and think.

I agree. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

Mint chocolate chip.

Nice. I think I know the answer to this one, but if you could be a shifter, what would your alternate form be?

A dragon because then I could fly and breathe fire.

Makes sense, especially since you mentioned how much you love them earlier. Okay, here's one of my favorite questions: which inanimate object would be most annoying if it played loud, upbeat music every time it was used?

A keyboard. Imagine typing with a keyboard that sang back to you every time you hit it.

Ugh! No, thank you! I'm happy with my regular keyboard. Last fun question for now: what would you use to survive a zombie apocalypse?

A sword. It’s quiet, no need for a reload, and I already own one.

Sounds like solid logic to me. Well, LM Wilson, thanks for answering our silly questions. That was definitely fun. We're just about finished for now, so would you mind letting our readers know where they can find you?

LM Wilson's LinkTree

LM Wilson's Website

Amazon

Facebook

TikTok

Excellent! Again, thanks for joining us today. We've loved chatting with you.

To our readers, we hope you've enjoyed this interview with LM Wilson. Check back next week as we talk with reader and influencer, Felica Hunt! Until next time, see you soon!

The Friday Night Writes Crew

Samantha Moran & Evie Black

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