And we lean on each other by Leanne Dyck

(rock art by Byron Dyck)

Let's begin this post with one of my favourite Beatles songs, shall we Help --or more to the point Lean on Me

Okay, now that we've sent the mood... 

Authors work alone and yet we all need one another from time to time. That's why I joined a writing group and why I enjoy inviting authors to make guest appearances on my blog. And even though it's not always possible with my rigid blogging schedule (Monday and Friday, without fail regardless of...blab, blab, blab. Fingers crossed), I enjoy participating in blog tours. I view it as yet another way to connect with other authors and have fun. So when Debra Purdy Kong (Casey Holland Transit Security Mysteries) invited me to participate I readily agreed.

(rock art by Byron Dyck)

In order to participate I needed to answer questions four (any Monty Python fans our there?)

What are you currently working on?

Um, well... I take too big a bite when I'm eating and I...

I'm currently working on two novellas (literary and a mystery), a play (yes, a play. I never thought I would but it's a local contest--so how could I refuse?) and two short stories. Oh, yes, and I'm up to my earlobes in revisions. It's all tons of fun. There's not enough hours in the day. But if I were granted more I'd fill them with writing projects.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Simple answer:  its my work. By that I mean, my work is heavily influenced by what interests, inspires and concerns me. For example...
I'm dyslexic and am disappointed by the lack of support for adults with learning disabilities. This lack of support leaves learning disabled adults with health and employment problems--some of us wind up on the street or in jail. Potential lost. Lives wasted. But it doesn't have to be this way. Something must be done. All of us deserve to have an opportunity to have our own success story.

Increasing society's knowledge of dyslexia is a good starting point. Hoping to help obtain this goal, I've written a novel about my own experiences with dyslexia.

Why do I write what I do?

My junior high English teacher introduced me to authors like John Steinbeck who gave voice to ordinary people living ordinary lives. And, so, at an early age, I found what I was driven to write about. I've never regretted accepting this invitation.

How does my writing process work?

I write daily and work on a number of projects simultaneously. I'm actively participating in social networking and view this participation as a way not only to sharpen my writing skills but also as a way to exchange ideas with my fellow authors. So I spend each morning (7 days a week) engaged. Then I go for a 45-minute walk and usually end my workday by reading for an hour.

(rock art by Byron Dyck)

Sharing my author journey...

I finished writing my play. And on June 20th I'll share it with some friends, after receiving their valuable feedback, I'll sit back down and

Guest Post Author Lea Wait

I’d written corporate nonfiction, and nonfiction about adopting (I adopted my four daughters as a single parent) for many years, but I was in my mid-40s when I starting writing fiction. At first I wrote literary short stories, a few of which were published. Then I spent a year or two working on a book-length manuscript that never came together.

Finally, I decided to write a mystery. I hoped the structure of a mystery would help with plotting and keep me going when writing was tough. I wrote a full mystery – but it was rejected by 40 agents.

So I decided to write in a genre I’d always loved: historicals for middle grades (children aged 8-13.)

My first book for young people, Stopping to Home, sold immediately to Simon & Schuster. It was published in 2001, and I started working on Seaward Born (published in 2003).

About that same time I pulled out the mystery manuscript that hadn’t sold, edited it once again, and it was picked up by Scribner, became Shadows at the Fair (2002), and was a finalist for a “best first” mystery” Agatha. Of course, I was thrilled!

The Shadows Antique Print Mystery series revolves around New Jersey antique print dealer and community college professor Maggie Summer who is 38 and wants to adopt an older child. Her beau, Will Brewer, does not want to be a father, and, as the series develops, he takes on the care of his aging Aunt Nettie in Maine. The sixth in that series, Shadows on a Cape Cod Wedding, 

Buy this book

published in 2013, revolves around the wedding of Maggie’s best friend, who has post-polio syndrome.  Of course, there are murders … and a late-season hurricane, just to complicate matters! Shadows on a Maine Christmas will be published in September of 2014.

My next book, UncertainGlory, which can be pre-ordered on Amazon on BN.com now, is about a (real) fourteen-year-old boy who ran a publishing business on the coast of Maine in the mid-19^th century. The book takes places during the first two weeks of the Civil War, and is based on events that took place in Wiscasset, Maine, then. Joe must pay off a debt in two weeks or lose his business. At the same time, he tries to convince his best friend not to enlist, becomes involved in the life of a visiting girl spiritualist, and tries to find a young friend who runs away when he discovers his father won’t be allowed to enlist because of his race.

I’m especially excited about Uncertain Glory. It’s my fifth book to be set in the seaport town of Wiscasset during the nineteenth century.

I’m currently working on the first in a new mystery series, Time’s Tangled Threads, set in Haven Harbor, Maine …. just down the coast from Cabot Cove! It will be published by Kensington in late 2014 or early 2015.  

While I was raising my daughters I worked for many years as an AT&T manager. That experience hasn’t become a part of any of my books, but adoption advocacy has. And I’m a fourth generation antique dealer – I’ve dealt in antique prints since 1977 – so there are obvious connections there. I’ve also set many of my books in Maine … a state I’ve known and loved all my life, but a state I didn’t live in year round until 1998. 

I’m lucky now to be writing full-time, and married to the long-time love of my life, Bob Thomas, who’s an artist.  I’m inspired by him, by our house that was built in 1774, by the lives of my children and grandchildren, and by the history of New England.  I’m proud to be identified by many as a Maine author, despite having been born in Boston, and spending many years “away” in New York and New Jersey. Maine has always been the home of my heart.

To find out more about Lea and her books, see www.leawait.com.  She also blogs regularly with other Maine mystery authors at www.mainecrimewriters.com and invites readers to friend her on Facebook.