Interview with contemporary romance author Lynn Reynolds

Today at Reviews and Interviews, we get to chat with contemporary romance author Lynn Reynolds. This is just one of many blog tour stops she's doing with Goddess Fish Promotions for her fun summer read, Love, Capri Style, published by The Wild Rose Press.

Please see below for details on how to enter for a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card along with a copy of Colbie Caillat's CD Coco (featuring the song "Capri").

Welcome, Lynn. Please tell us a bit about yourself.
As I say often, I’m a city girl trapped in Green Acres. I grew up in an urban apartment and now my next-door neighbors are cows. I still haven’t adjusted after ten years.

I’ve been writing for a very long time, in all sorts of genres – literary fiction, poetry, and journalism among others. My short stories and poetry have been published in a few obscure literary magazines no one has ever heard of, but in my other life as a journalist, my feature articles have appeared in major daily and weekly newspapers.

I secretly dream of being a wench at the Renaissance Faire, but so far I always seem to be too busy to go audition for the part.

Love Capri Style is my second published novel. RT Book Reviews called the first, my romantic suspense novel Thirty-Nine Again, “… a first-class mystery . . . and a first-class read.”

Please tell us about your current release.
Love Capri Style is a sexy contemporary romance.

Amanda Jackson takes a job with Fame magazine to get closer to her estranged father, billionaire publisher Peter Tate. Instead of welcoming her, Dad sends her out of the country, to cover a music festival on the magnificent isle of Capri. There, Amanda finds herself up close and personal with her dad’s leading competitor – a dashing British playboy named Eric Greyford. Can inept reporter Amanda get an exclusive story on Eric’s hectic love life, or will she find she’s just another item on the gossip pages of Eric’s newspaper?

What inspired you to write this book?
I mostly write romantic suspense and mysteries, but I wanted to try the challenge of writing something that was pure, fun-filled romance. I’ve traveled a lot but never been to Capri. I decided it would be entertaining to send one of my characters there in my place.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I have a scary “haunted elevator” short story that I’m hoping will be out in time for Halloween this year. After that, I have a couple of historical mysteries I’ve started working on. It’ll be a change in direction for me, but I think it will be great fun.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
As long as I can remember. I made up stories from the time I was a little child. My mom saved a few, including the immortal "Ollie the Elephant," about an elephant from the circus who gets lost in the big city and stuck in an office building. In high school, I wrote a series of spoofs of movies that were popular at the time – like The Guam Syndrome instead of The China Syndrome – and I included characters who were parodies of the teachers at my school. That was popular with quite a few classmates.

Do you write full-time?
No. I have a teenager who is too young to drive, so my full-time job is chauffeur. And homework nag.

What's your work day like?
I try to find time to write a little every morning once my son’s off at school. I used to also do a lot of freelancing for local newspapers, but in the last couple of years, I’ve mostly concentrated on writing fiction. I’m trying to get back to doing more news and feature writing, too, though, because I really do enjoy getting out there and interviewing subjects for news stories.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My obsession with Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils. I can’t write without them. Even when I’m writing on the computer, the first thing I do is sharpen a bunch of Dixon-Ticonderogas.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A playwright. But then I realized if I wrote novels, I could do my own casting and set design, too.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I hope all those new Kindle and Nook owners will check out Love Capri Style. It’s full of sun and sex and glamour, and I think it’s the perfect “beach read” for summer vacations. I hope they’ll check it out and let me know what they thought of it – they can contact me through my website or Facebook page.

Thanks so much for having me at your blog today, Lisa!

You're very welcome. Best of luck with your tour. And you'll have to let us know if you ever find time to be the Renaissance Faire wench. :)

Lynn will be giving away a $15 Amazon gift card along with a copy of Colbie Caillat's CD Coco (featuring the song "Capri") to one lucky commenter. So say something below, and visit other stops on Lynn's tour to enter for more chances to win. Dates and tour stops can be found here.