Category Archives: writer

Women Writers over 50

This week Fifty Odd features author Lynne Cantwell.

Lynne Cantwell grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. She worked as a broadcast journalist for many years; she has written for CNN, the late lamented Mutual/NBC Radio News, and a bunch of radio and TV news outlets you have probably never heard of, including a defunct wire service called Zapnews.  In addition to writing fantasy, Lynne is a contributing author at Indies Unlimited and writes a monthly post for The Indie Exchange.  Lynne’s vast overeducation includes a journalism degree from Indiana University, a master’s degree in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University, and a paralegal certificate.  She currently lives near Washington, DC.

What have you written?

I’ve got five novels, plus some short stories, etc.  Let’s just stick with the author pages.

Amazon author page:  https://www.amazon.com/author/lynnecantwell

Smashwords author page:  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/lynnecantwell

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/696603.Lynne_Cantwell

Follow Lynne Cantwell on her blog:  http://hearth-myth.blogspot.com

When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?

I don’t know that I had a choice.  Once I got started at it, I was always writing something.  At one point in grade school, I made bunch of paper dolls (complete with clothing), invented a rock group for them to be in, and then wrote a series of stories about them.  I might have invented cross-promotion, come to think of it!

What or who inspired you to write?

The kid who sat in front of me in second grade brought in a story that he had written and illustrated.  It was about rockets or cowboys or some boy thing – I can’t remember now.  But I do remember thinking, “I could do that.”  So I did.  The result was a book called “Susie and the Talking Doll.”  It had chapter breaks and dialog, because I knew that books had those things.  But no one had yet taught me about paragraphs, so each chapter was one long paragraph.

What do you hope to accomplish with your writing? (i.e….save the world, make people laugh, share knowledge, make a living, etc.)

I’d like to entertain people with my writing, but I try to include some substance, too.  Chick lit drives me crazy; I need to read stuff that engages my brain, and that’s also what I try to write.

But on a purely practical level, I’d love to make a living as an author.  I keep saying that I’m on the seven-year plan.  I’ve just turned 55 and am aiming for retirement at 62.  The sooner I make enough from my writing to live on, the sooner I can quit my day job!

What is your favorite part…(paragraph…page…line) from one of your books?

This short scene from Tapped gave me a shiver when I wrote it.  The narrator is Naomi, who has been drafted by a Native American goddess to improve things on earth by mediating peace in heaven.  She, her father Drew, and her friend Shannon have just visited the Wounded Knee Memorial in South Dakota, where Drew told the women about Wovoka, the Paiute Indian whose prophecy set the stage for the tragedy.

“It’s true that the white men were gunning for the Indians.  They didn’t understand us, they saw us as a threat, and they wanted nothing more than to eradicate us.  And so maybe if it hadn’t been Wounded Knee, it would have been something else.  But it was this.  It was  Wounded Knee.”  We had reached the edge of the parking lot by then.  He turned to me, his eyes riveted to mine. “And in point of fact, none of it would have happened if we hadn’t believed in a prophet who told us Indians that better days were coming.”

The comparison couldn’t have been clearer if he’d hit me over the head with a tomahawk.

What have you learned from writing?

I’ve learned that all the side roads and detours I have taken in my life were leading up to being an indie author.  I worked in broadcast news for years, where I learned to write tight and use action verbs.  I learned video production in college; now I’m making book trailers.  I earned a paralegal certificate, but only worked as a paralegal for a few months; however, I learned enough legal jargon to make Naomi sound real.  I’ve spent the last thirteen years working as a legal secretary, so I know Word like the back of my hand – another useful skill for a writer.  And now that I’m in my fifties, I have seen enough of how the world works and how people relate to one another that I can make my writing believable.  It’s a little scary how it’s all coming together.

What are you working on now…or what is your next writing project?

I’m currently in the process of wrapping up Naomi’s series, the Pipe Woman Chronicles.  The fourth book, Gravid, should be out in mid to late March.  I’m doing research right now for the fifth and final book.

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Fifty Odd supports women writers over 50.

I’m highlighting other authors each week…one per week…women writers over 50. This is a diverse group of writers…I think there will be something here to interest everyone.

Each author has links to her works. Support your Indie Authors! Buy their books! We women writers over 50 need your support!