Hi there, guys and dolls! Well, can you believe another month has gone by? Here we are, nearing the end of summer, but it’s not so bad. As the days get shorter and nights a little cooler, sunset cocktails and beach fires give way to hot toddies and roaring fireplaces to snuggle by. Now doesn’t that make you feel better already?

Now of course, being that it is the end of the month, it’s time for my favorite type of post – Take 5. Today I have a great, fun-loving glamour gal, Lane Buckman. This delightful and busy lady has a few things on the go, but today we’ll focus on TIARA TROUBLE, the first novel in her Destinee Faith Miller Mystery series. So everyone, sit back and have some fun getting to know my friend, Lane.

1. So tell me a little about your series and main characters.
Destinee Faith Miller is the main character of my series (though the next two books are currently sitting on my computer because I haven’t pulled the trigger on them, yet.) She’s a collective of all the women I’ve loved in my life, a little silly, a lot sassy, and very smart in her way. She doesn’t run from a fight, unless it’s to make sure she’s wearing the right shoes for it.

2. What is your writing process like? Do you thrive on routine or work spontaneously as the whim takes you?
When I’m working on a project, I work until it is done. I do work to an outline, but I work in every free moment I have. My last manuscript saw me up at five, to take advantage of the hour before my son went to school. Then, I have a bluetooth keyboard, and I would use my work lunch hour to compose in Google docs on my phone. After work, feeding the family, and putting the boy to bed, I would write for another couple of hours.

3. What exciting moment or moments have made you realize that you were really an “author”?
Three published books later, and two picture books published through my own imprint (Robyn Lane Books,) and I still have a terrible case of Imposter Syndrome. I don’t know that I’ll ever feel like a “real” author. That said, realizing I have answers to questions, and help to offer writers who are working toward publication reminds me that I’ve accomplished something. I have loved every book signing, and am always delighted when someone enjoys my work.

4. What do you do to spark up your creativity when you feel the well of inspiration is running dry?
I don’t ever feel like the well of inspiration is running dry. I have the opposite problem. I have too many ideas to get them all down on paper. I do hit roadblocks when I’m writing, though. When that happens, I think ahead to a scene that I find exciting, and I write that. If I can keep going forward, I do, if not, I go back to the place where I was stuck, and I write toward that exciting scene to fill in the gaps. I have a hard time writing in a straight line!

5. Who are some of your favorite authors and how do you feel they have influenced your desire to write?
Pamela Dean (you must read her book TAM LIN,) Madeleine L’Engle, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and Judy Blume are the authors who have most consistently fed my love for reading. When I’m writing, I frequently find myself thinking back to one of their books trying to dissect how they did something that stuck with me. I also love Tom Robbins (SKINNY LEGS AND ALL), Rainbow Rowell (ELEANOR AND PARK), and Bill Fitzhugh (PEST CONTROL.)

Every one of those authors has the gift of transporting me to a very specific place, and time. I feel like I’m living their stories along with the characters. I honestly don’t think I am even approaching any of their levels of talent, but I’m an excited puppy at the idea of getting to chase after them.

Thank you so much for inviting me to do your Q&A! If people would like to follow me, I blog at www.lanebuckman.com, facebook at TheOutsideLane, tweet @lanelese, and instagram/pinterest as lanelese. I’m also available at www.robynlanebooks.com and @robynlanebooks.

And thanks to you too, Lane. Dear friends, be sure to pick up TIARA TROUBLE on your Kindle, and while you’re at it, follow Lane’s other links to get to know her and her other works better.

Toodles,

Barbara Jean