Interview with Lynn Steward, author of 'What Might Have Been'

Lynn Steward, a veteran of the New York fashion industry and a buyer on the team that started the women’s department at Brooks Brothers, created the Dana McGarry series, set at a transformational time in the 1970s world of fashion and in the lives of multigenerational women. What Might Have Been is the second volume in the series. A Very Good Life, Steward’s debut novel, was published in March 2014.

Q: Please tell us about your book, and what inspired you to write it.

A: What Might Have Been is the second novel in a five book series featuring Dana McGarry.  A Very Good Life, my debut novel and book one, was published in March 2014.

As a fashion buyer at one of New York’s most glamorous department stores, Dana McGarry is a tastemaker, her keen instinct for fashion trends and innovative ideas coupled with a razor sharp business sense. But like the elegant and conservative store that employs her, Dana is caught between two eras—between being liked and standing her ground, between playing by the rules and being a maverick. Dana is sensitive and beautiful, but what you see is not what you get. Behind the cool and attractive facade, Dana is both driven by her need to control yet impeded by her expectation of perfectionism. As she competes to replace women at the top of their game, she is challenged by jealous colleagues. And when a love interest wants to open doors and support her ambition, she embraces Coco Chanel’s mantra of “never wanting to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.” As the women’s movement paves the way, Dana finds a path to the career she wants at the expense of happiness that was not meant to be.

My inspiration: I always enjoyed business-related writing and thought a non-fiction self-help book, with life-lessons I learned along the way, would be a fun project.  But, as often happens when you put yourself out there, I discovered another path and took it: I developed a TV pilot about New York and the fashion industry in the 1970s  because, as they say “Write what you know” and I know New York. I’m a native of Long Island, and between attending school and working in the fashion world, I spent twenty-two years in Manhattan. I was so overwhelmed with ideas, the TV series expanded to five seasons! The plots intermingle fashion legends, business icons, real events, and untold stories, providing a behind-the-scenes look at inspirational women in the worlds of art, fashion, and business.

At some point along the way, I  realized that the main character, Dana McGarry, needed more drama and the plots had to be developed. I felt the best way to do  further develop the story was to write a novel.

Q: What themes do you explore in What Might Have Been?

A: Quest for identity and self-reliance.

Q: Why do you write?

A: After two careers in competitive, fast-paced industries, I have found writing to be the most relaxing and pleasant work I have known. Ideas for stories develop as I research real life female characters in the worlds of fashion, art, and business and events in the archives of newspapers and magazines. Once a flicker of a story is sparked, I can spend endless enjoyable hours developing plots and characters on the page.

Q: How picky are you with language?

A: I don’t allow myself to stress over grammar or language, although I frequently reference The Chicago Manual of Style and try to get it right. I have an excellent editor and proofreader.

Q: When you write, do you sometimes feel as though you were being manipulated from afar?

A: Pleasantly so!

Q: What is your worst time as a writer?

A: When I see “rewrite” in the subject of my editor’s email.

Q: Your best?

A: When the reviewer wants to see the next book.

Q: Is there anything that would stop you from writing?

A: At the moment, no. I have the synopses and outlines completed for the remaining three books in the Dana McGarry series and I look forward to finishing the manuscripts.

Q: What’s the happiest moment you’ve lived as an author?

A: I spent eighteen months researching every detail  of  the period for A Very Good Life, and was I humbled by this review: “Lynn Steward highlights the nuances of 70s life in New York City that are rarely featured in books or in films set in that decade. It is a New York story told in New York style.” –Ask a New Yorker

Q: Is writing an obsession to you?

A: Every day, and for many hours, I am either writing, marketing, researching, or promoting the Dana McGarry series, so, yes, I’d say I’m obsessed!

Q: Are the stories you create connected with you in some way?

A: I am certainly influenced by my life and work in Manhattan. I would say the story is autobiographical in feeling but not in fact.

Q: Ray Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Do you agree?

A: I often read author interviews in The Paris Review, and I believe that is true and the reason why writers like solitude.  They don’t want distractions to invade their story’s world.

Q: Where is your book available?

A: Amazon.com.

Q: Do you have a website or blog where readers can find out more about you and your work?

A: LynnSteward.com

Guest Post by Lynn Steward, author of 'April Snow'

I self-published April Snow, as I did A Very Good Life. I spent three years researching, developing and writing volume one, so when it was finished,  I was ready to publish. I knew it could take years to find an agent, and more time to be picked-up by a traditional publisher. In preparation, I did extensive research on the self-publishing process, and found bloggers tremendously helpful. I also hired a good team: a graphic designer, a formatting company, two editors, a proofreader, and a lawyer to vet the manuscript. The Amazon community was great and responsive, and the whole process went smoothly. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to self-publish, and I appreciate the opportunity to be discovered by a traditional publisher if I am successful on-line. I also happen to have a strong marketing background and am not only knowledgeable about design, I enjoy the creative process. Even so, I have a graphic designer to help me as there is just never enough time to do it all. Social media and promotion are crucial and must be done regularly before and after publishing if you want your book to be discovered.

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Title: April Snow

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Author: Lynn Steward

Website: www.LynnSteward.com

Publisher: Lynn Steward Publishing

Website/Amazon

At the cutting edge of women’s fashion in the 1970s, a visionary young woman subdues her desire for love to remake retail at New York’s most glamorous department store.

Newly single, Dana McGarry learns she must divorce herself from more than a bad marriage to succeed. Not only must she prove to family and friends that she can make it on her own, but she also must challenge an antagonistic boss who keeps standing in her way. Moving out of her comfort zone and into the arms of a dynamic businessman, Dana bets it all on a daring new move that will advance her buying career, But at what price?

Her dreams within reach, Dana’s world is shattered in a New York minute when a life is threatened, a secret is revealed, and her heart is broken.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynn Steward is a successful business woman who spent many years in New York City’s fashion industry in marketing and merchandising, including the development of the first women’s department at a famous men’s clothing store. Through extensive research, and an intimate knowledge of the period, Steward created the characters and stories for a series of five authentic and heartwarming novels about New York in the seventies. April Snow is volume two in the Dana McGarry Series. A Very Good Life was published in March 2014.

A Chat with Chris Karlsen, Author of ‘Silk’

It’s my pleasure to have former-detective-turned-author Chris Karlsen here today, as I have been a fan of her books for some time now. Chris is better know for her historical time-travel romance and romantic suspense series, but this her latest novel,Silk, set in Victorian London, introduces her to the world of mystery and suspense.Silk is also the first book in her new Detective Inspector Bloodstone series.

Welcome, Chris! Why don’t you begin by telling us a little about yourself?

My father taught history and my mother was and is an avid reader.  I grew up with a love of history and books.  I was very young when my father went to college on the GI Bill. One of my earliest memories is of going to the Field Museum in Chicago with him where he had to do research.

Both my parents love to travel and passed that passion onto me. I first went out of the country immediately after graduating high school. I began a summer school program in Paris at the Sorbonne University. From that summer on, I’ve visited as many of the places that fascinated me as possible.

After college, I became a police officer. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies and retired as a detective.

I waited until I retired to try my secret desire, which was to write. That was 13 years ago.

I currently live with my husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs in the Pacific Northwest.

When did you decide you wanted to become an author? 

I wanted to write since I was in my early teens. I just never had the courage. When I retired from police work, I decided it was time to learn the craft and try to write the story I had in my head for many years.

Were you an avid reader as a child? What type of books did you enjoy reading?

Yes. My mother was a big reader and she’d pass many of the books onto me that she enjoyed. I liked grand books with sweeping settings. One of the earliest I recall loving was Anya Seton’s Katherine and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables.

Tell us a bit about your latest book, and what inspired you to write such a story.

I love to include different time periods or historical events in my books. I also enjoy a good cop story. My favorite authors are Wambaugh and Connelly and Sandford. Much as I enjoy their stories I never desired to write a contemporary cop story. I didn’t want to relive my career in my books but the idea of a classic mystery/suspense intrigued me. I felt Victorian London was the perfect setting. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone occurred to me while I was writing my previous book. He was such a complete character in my mind, I was compelled to give him a story. The next step once I had him settled was to give him a worthy advisory.  William Everhard took a bit longer but once I fleshed him out mentally,  the story flowed.

Did your book require a lot of research? 

Yes. All my books require a lot of research because I do include some time of history in them. Either the characters are in the medieval world for some portion of the books that are my historical romances. In the thrillers, my hero and heroine are archaeologists. My current book, Silk, is set in London 1888. I had to do quite a bit of reading on the culture, the economics, the class structure, the geography of the city at the time. I also am careful with the language the characters use so they don’t include modern slang or terms.

What was your goal when writing this book?

My primary goal with this story is the same with all my books: to entertain, to draw the reader into world the characters live and work in. I strive to bring the setting alive, especially the non contemporary locales.

My secondary goal was for this story to be accepted by the readers who are familiar with my other books. This was a departure from my romances. There’s very little romance in Silk. I wanted to write my Victorian detective and keep the story in the suspense realm. I also hope to make this a series. I enjoyed writing Det. Insp. Bloodstone and want to give him more stories.

What type of writer are you—the one who experiences before writing, like Hemingway, or the one who mostly daydreams and fantasizes? 

Well, I’m Hemingway-esque. I have three time travel books and haven’t experienced that but I write settings I am experienced with visiting and had the opportunity to see and walk around what survives from a particular time period. I like to write about places and events that interest me.  I got the idea for Golden Chariot, my first thriller, from walking the walls of ancient Troy. I spent a great deal of time in England and France and used them for three of my books.

What types of scenes give you the most trouble to write?

I have two other series I write, a historical romance series and  romantic thrillers. Feel free to laugh but those books have romantic scenes and I have a devil of a time trying to create a sensual atmosphere. I don’t write or read erotica and don’t care to use nitty-gritty language when writing those scenes so I fuss over language and the choreography. There are a couple of romance authors who are favorites of mine and who write beautiful love scenes. I dissect what it is about the scenes that I especially like and then see if I can recreate that feeling.

Do you write non-stop until you have a first draft, or do you edit as you move along?

I edit as I go along. I am terribly anal and can’t resist writing a couple of chapters and then going back over them again and again. When I finish the first draft, I put the manuscript away for a few weeks and then start all over with edits.

They say authors have immensely fragile egos… How would you handle negative criticism or a negative review?

One of the most difficult things is moving beyond a bad review.  You can get a dozen good reviews and one bad. It’s what eats at you the entire rest of the day. It is so hard to move on from them but you have or give up. I know several writers who refuse to read their reviews. I can’t help myself.

As for negative criticism, I am in a critique group with four other ladies. It’s tough some days to hear something you thought fine is a fail. But having other eyes see your work is necessary. They’ll catch the places you didn’t elicit the emotions you’ve strived for and need to redo or delete.

What is your opinion about critique groups? What words of advice would you offer a novice writer who is joining one? Do you think the wrong critique group can ‘crush’ a fledgling writer? 

I think they are absolutely necessary as I mentioned above. You need to know what’s working and what isn’t. Nobody writes a perfect first or second draft. It is equally important to have the right people in the group you go with. The wrong group can crush someone new. The group should be open to the genre you write. They don’t have to write in it themselves but appreciate the work. I’ve run into people who disparage certain genres and they can be mean spirited in their criticism rather than constructive.

Do you have a website/blog where readers may learn more about you and your work?

I have a website and a Face Book page and a Pinterest one. Trailers and excerpts and tour announcements are posted on them.

http://chriskarlsen.com/

https://www.facebook.com/chriskarlsenwriter

https://www.pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/

Do you have another book on the works? Would you like to tell readers about your current or future projects?

I’m currently writing the first draft of book 4 in my Knights in Time series, which has a time travel element. I hope to have it ready for release in late fall. After that I plan to start book 2 of the Bloodstone series to follow up on Silk.

As an author, what is your greatest reward?

When a reader contacts me and tells me how much they loved a story and which book is their favorite. I Love to hear what they liked the most. I also enjoy hearing their thoughts on what and/or who they’d like to see again. It makes my day to read a review or email where the person says the setting came alive for them. That they felt they were walking with the characters.

Anything else you’d like to say about yourself or your work?

Only that I appreciate the opportunity to discuss my books and writing. I hope that no matter what book you read of mine, you are drawn into the character’s world.

Thanks for stopping by! It was a pleasure to have you here!

‘April Snow’ (Dana McGarry Novel Book 2) Now Available for Pre-order!

April Snow, book 2 in the smashingly successful Dana McGarry series by talented author Lynn Steward, is now available for pre-order!

Pre-order the Kindle or print edition from Amazon.

While you’re there, be sure to check book 1 in the series, A Very Good Life.

The print edition of April Snow will be available for pre-order next week. Stay tuned!

Dana McGarry, newly separated from her cheating husband is laser-focused on her new job as a buyer at B. Altman, a leading New York City department store of the 1970s.  But to achieve success, she must free herself from more than a bad marriage. She must prove to overly-protective family and friends that she can make it on her own and shake up the old guard at the store when her bold new ideas hit a brick wall. No stranger to innovation and risk, Dana is determined to stand her ground. She moves out of her comfort zone and into the arms of a dynamic businessman who suggests a daring fashion move that will advance her career. Her dreams within reach, Dana’s world is shattered in a New York minute when a life is threatened, a secret is revealed, and her heart is broken.

Steward captures the nuances of 70s life in New York City and provides the perfect backdrop for an independent woman determined to make her mark.  April Snow, the second volume in the Dana McGarry series, is a story that transcends any period.

Official release: May 22nd 

About Lynn Steward

Lynn Steward is a successful business woman who spent many years in New York City’s fashion industry in marketing and merchandising, including the development of the first women’s department at a famous men’s clothing store. Through extensive research, and an intimate knowledge of the period, Steward created the characters and stories for a series of five authentic and heartwarming novels about New York in the seventies. April Snow is volume two in the Dana McGarry Series. A Very Good Life was published in March 2014.

Connect with Lynn Steward on the Web:

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest