Author Highlight: Interview with L.M. Stull

Hello All!

Today's blog features an interview with L.M. Stull, author of A Thirty-Something Girl. I recently read and reviewed the novel a couple weeks ago and was excited when she agreed to the interview. I want to thank L.M. for so kindly agreeing to the interview and for taking the time out of her schedule to tell us a little about her novel and herself.

What inspired you to write A Thirty-Something Girl?

One night after my ex-husband and I had split, I lay wide awake thinking about my life and all the good and bad things in it, all the good and bad things I did. And I knew this story needed to be written. I wrote it more as a therapy for myself. And also for other women (and men) out there. I felt (and still do feel today) that so many of us feel lonely (and very lost) at one point or another in our lives. And I guess I wanted people to know that they aren't really alone. Ever. And that being happy really is as simple as deciding what outfit to wear – it's a choice. You don't have to work at happiness for it to come to you. You simply need to choose it. 

How much research did you feel was necessary, or any at all, in terms of the depression that Hope is dealing with? Or was it more natural and organic as something you were able to use from experience, whether personal or through a friend, that you were able to capture the emotions as well as you have in the novel?

Sadly, I wrote from personal experience. The depression was extremely easy to write, because that is exactly how I felt for many years. All Hope's anxieties, fears, everything, were mine. The novel, although unbelievably satisfying to write, was also hard, because I submerged myself, once again, into the dark and lonely pits of despair, and from there I wrote from my heart.

Is there someone in real life that you would say you molded the character Hope after, or is she a combination of people you have met in your life?

Hope is most certainly modeled after me and my own life. While the events contained in the novel are mostly fiction, the emotion, especially the pain, that she experienced was written from a very personal place. A very dark place that was once my daily life.

About how long would you say it took you to write the novel?

It took me about two months to write A Thirty-Something Girl.

I read that you didn't know you wanted to be a writer. What inspired you to start writing and publishing your work?

Well, I've always been a writer of sorts – poetry and some short fiction when I was younger. But, sadly, for many years, I lost who I really was. I was at a book signing a few years ago and the author asked me, “Do you write?” and I can't explain it, but it hurled me into reality. I stood there stammering when trying to articulate my answer. I went home that night and realized I needed to do more than write – I needed to change a lot in my life, get back to who I really was. I sat down and began writing the first short story I had in years. After that, I began plotting my first novel and, well, the rest is history. Funny how just one  little thing can set you on a different course.

Are you currently working on any other upcoming projects, and if so is there anything you can tell us about it without spoiling the process?

I am very excited about my next novel, Together We Are One, which I am in the process of completing the first draft. Together We Are One will be told from two POVs – Elizabeth and Thomas. Both have lost something very dear to them – Elizabeth, her sight; and, Thomas, his hearing. Along with it, the life they once knew abandoned them. Both have hit bottom and find themselves wondering if they will make it. And a chance meeting brings them together.

My hope with this novel is to, again, show the importance of others in our lives. And the importance of never giving up.

I recently did a cover reveal and shared a sneak peek on my site.

In your bio on goodreads and your personal blog you state that you work for a lawyers office and that sounds like it could get pretty demanding. How easy or difficult is it for you to find a good balance between the office and your writing that allows you to write as often as you would like to?

It's actually easier to balance than it would seem. I mean, sure, there are times (most days), where I wish I could just write all day long, but c'est la vie. That being said, I have two distinct personalities, my legal self and who I actually am. My legal self pays the bills and affords me the opportunity to spend my free time doing as I please. When I exit my office building each day, I leave that part of me behind, head home, and write. Learning how to separate these two very distinct parts of my life has enabled me to make the most of my free time (whether it be a few hours a day, or only a few minutes).

BIO:

A Washington, DC native, L.M. Stull spends her days chained to a desk at a law firm in southern Virginia. When she’s not feverishly taking orders from attorneys, she writes. Her stories tell of the human spirit – sometimes sad, sometimes not – most can relate to them on some level or another.

Author of A Thirty-Something Girl, and Contemplations. Her next novel, Together We Are One, available Fall 2012.

There are several ways you can go about stalking her on the web if your little heart so desires: Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. She also runs the Fellow Writer’s Group on Facebook.

L.M. also blogs about her own personal journey in life on her blog, Lisa’s Liberation.

A Thirty-Something Girl

Life has been anything but kind, and everything that can go wrong has. At an age when life should be coming together, and questions should start to be answered, Hope finds herself feeling very alone and terribly confused. As her life spirals out of control, she realizes she needs help. And she needs it quickly.

With the love and support of some dear friends, Hope slowly begins to find her true self, and along the way, she meets someone. Someone who makes her feel like living to see another day might just be worth it.

But with happiness, comes pain. Pain from a past that simply won’t be forgotten. Walking a dangerously fine line between joy and utter despair, Hope wonders if happy endings really do exist. And if they do, is there one waiting for her?

A Thirty-Something Girl is a Grub Street Reads Endorsed book.

Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and iTunes.

If you have not checked out this author yet I highly recommend you do so. I really enjoyed the novel A Thirty-Something Girl and look forward to her next novel Together We Are One. I read a snippet and viewed the cover reveal and am excited to get my hands on it when it is released!