Hi Lynsay, thank you for taking the time to have a chat to us here at Midnight Echo. Can you tell us a little about who Lynsay Sands is when is she isn’t writing?
Lynsay: You’re more than welcome. As to your question...hmmm, lol. I’m not sure. The last several years have been a confusion of writing and moving. I’ve moved 7 times in the last seven years, including a move to England and then back) and between that and some really hairy deadlines (six stories in five months at one point) I haven’t had much of a life at all other than packing, unpacking and writing. I’m hoping the moves are done for now and that I can find a life beyond writing and moving, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Scott: You’ve written novels in several different genres now, do you enjoy writing one more than the others?
Lynsay: Not really. To me the genre is like the suit a date is wearing, I’m more interested in the date than fashion and when it comes to writing books I’m more interested in the characters and interactions than the setting. The genre itself is just window dressing, and maybe it sets boundaries as to what I can and can’t do, but all stories are about people and relationships to me, whether they’re set in medieval Scotland or a contemporary world with vamps.
Scott: How much research do you usually do for your historical based novels?
Lynsay: I have tons of history books and have done loads of research in the past, but I do less now-a-days. After writing so long I know a lot about different eras, their dress, homes, social habits, etc. and I tend to try to avoid true historical characters or events to avoid complications, so there is less research needed now.
Scott: Did you begin writing short stories, and if so, what was the first story you had published and where, or did you get straight into novels?
Lynsay: Nope, no short stories. Short stories are actually very hard for me. I’m too wordy, I think. Even anthologies and half books are difficult for me to write. I started with novels.
Scott: Your Argeneau vampire family is quite interesting and complex, how hard was it to create the Argeneaus?
Lynsay: This is almost embarrassing to admit, but it was kind of an accident. At least it wasn’t planned. I never read vampires, still don’t for the most part, and certainly never planned to write them. I was writing what some call my “Hysterical Historicals” and happy doing it, but then myself and two friends were chatting online and one of them suggested we do a Halloween anthology together, that we could all write our own version. I chuckled and said if I wrote vamps, mine would have to faint at the sight of blood or something ridiculous like that. We all laughed, I threw out a couple more ideas, and then we changed the subject. We never wrote the anthology, but those ideas I tossed out that night stuck with me and just kept running around inside my head until I decided to write them down. That was the start of the Argeneaus.
The basis for their origins, however, was a case of necessity being the mother of invention. The reason I’ve never really been into vamps is because my terribly logical mind has trouble swallowing the whole mythological, cursed walking dead business. I just couldn’t write a story with dead guys as heroes and heroines. I needed to find a basis for vampirism that my mind would accept. Some research led me to bio-engineering and nanos, but the next problem was that I also wanted my vamps to be older. Twenty-something vamps just didn’t sound as much fun as old ones who have been around for centuries and seen and done it all. That meant another round of research to find a way that this technology could be available long ago without resorting to aliens or something. Atlantis was my answer. So, there you have it. Some cute ideas for vamps including one with a blood phobia and the necessity to create vamps that would be believable to me led to the Argeneaus.
Scott: Do you have a favourite character you have created and why?
Lynsay: Lucian would have to be my favourite and just because of who he is and what he does. This is a man who puts his people first, and his family before his people. He does what needs doing no matter how unpleasant. He has honour, and strength of character and he seems hard as a rock, but does have a heart. What’s not to like.
Scott: What is a typical day of writing for you? Do you have a goal for achieving a certain amount of words or hours per day?
Lynsay: Hmmm, a typical writing day . . . I am not a nine to five writer. When I’m writing, I’m writing. I get up, sit at the computer, write for 16 to 20 hours, drop into bed, sleep four to eight hours (although I’ve been known to skip sleep altogether when in the last days of a deadline) and then get up and do it again. I write in one long stream, like cramming for exams. I find it easier to hold onto the thread of the story that way and try to avoid any and all interruptions while doing it.
Scott: What are you reading at the moment and who are your 5 favourite authors?
Lynsay: I’m not reading anything at the moment because I’m in writing mode right now. This is the last thing I’ll do before I get into the stories to the point where I won’t allow interruptions. However, my five favourite authors are Dean Koontz, J.F. Lewis, Terri Garey…Hmmm, guess you’ll have to make do with three, I don’t have any other favourites. Most of the rest I can take or leave, but I watch for these three.
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