Lynn Walker interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

When did your love of books begin?

I was always reading as a young girl, but the book that really rocked my world was To Kill a Mockingbird. The way those characters and that story came to life, right off the pages, and the poignancy with which Harper Lee told such a devastating story—it was magical for me.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

When my dad finally told me the truth and shared with me the story of his infamous life as a narcotics agent-turned-drug smuggler. That story started burning inside me and I started taking creative writing courses.

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

Becoming a writer was easy, as I had these true stories, mine and my father’s, burning to see the light of day, and had always found writing and editing very enjoyable (I had been doing lots of technical writing in my career, but hadn't a clue how to write dialogue!). Building a platform as an author has been a blast, connecting with other authors and readers at conferences, writing groups, social media. Trying to get published traditionally was discouraging. And self-publishing has been scary, exciting, challenging and so rewarding.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

Read tons of books in your genre, connect with other authors, join a good writing critique group, connect with readers, and be open to feedback but trust your instincts about your story. Above all, never give up!

Tell us about your book/books:

I watched my dad deteriorate from highly successful Miami undercover narcotics agent to drug smuggler, from protective father to monster—a very charming monster. By the time I was in high school, my dad was in prison for smuggling 12,000 pounds of marijuana. There, he made a connection with a powerful Colombian drug lord. Within months of being paroled, Dad waltzed back into my life, dishing out pure, Colombian cocaine to me and launching my brother's coke-dealing career. After a few years of abusing coke together, I lost everything and was forced to choose between my life and my father. Jaw-dropping, emotionally raw and heart-breaking, Midnight Calling: A Memoir of a Drug Smuggler’s Daughter is, at heart, a story about family bonds, addiction and the high price of clinging to them when it’s time to let go.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

Perhaps because writing is such a solitary activity, I have found sharing with other writers our experiences, successes and failures to be critical for keeping me grounded and reminding me why I wanted to be an author. The reading community, well, they’re who make me an author. I suppose that’s the difference between a writer and an author—writing is solitary and internal, all in my head and my heart and my computer, whereas being an author is external, putting my writing out there in the world to be read.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

Thank you for reading my story, and I hope it strikes a chord with you in some way. Oh, yes, and brace yourself. Addiction takes people, especially women, to some pretty dark places.

Where can people connect with you?

I’m active on most social media: @WalkerMemoir or www.LynnWalkerMemoir.com