Lynn Slaughter, author of Missing Mom, a romantic mystery, is visiting Ascroft, eh? today.
Welcome, Lynn.
Tell us about your novel. Is it part of a series?
MISSING MOM is a stand-alone, a coming-of-age romantic mystery. Here’s a description:
Never mind the circumstantial evidence. Seventeen-year-old Noelle, an aspiring ballet dancer, doesn’t believe her missing mother would ever have committed suicide and undertakes her own investigation. Meantime, Noelle is dealing with growing romantic feelings toward Ravi, her best friend and fellow dancer. And she’s worried about her little sister’s reluctance to visit their dad.
Threaded throughout the novel is also the story of Savannah, a young woman nearly twenty years earlier, whose escape from an abusive marriage turns out to be related to Noelle’s investigation.
Where did the idea for the mystery that is central to the story come from?
I’ve always been fascinated by missing persons cases, especially the impact on loved ones left behind.
In addition, Savannah’s story was partially inspired by a high school friend’s experience. She fell hard for a boy she’d met at a community dance we attended. In our naivety, we actually thought his extreme possessiveness and desire to know her whereabouts at all times were romantic, instead of being the warning signals of a potential abuser. Sadly, my friend got pregnant and married him. She endured many years of a violent marriage before she left the relationship.
Is there a theme or subject that underlies the story? If so, what prompted you to write about it?
MISSING MOM is ultimately about hope, resilience, the importance of friendship, and the possibility of moving forward in life, despite devastating challenges. In a year when her mother disappears and she makes a horrific discovery about her dad, Noelle perseveres and takes major steps toward becoming her own person.
Why write about this? I think we all need hope that we don’t have to be defined by the hard things we experience as we’re growing up and beyond. It is possible to find strengths we didn’t even realize we had and communities of support to help us on our journey.
How do you create your characters? Do you have favorite ones? If so, why are you partial to them?
I do a lot of thinking and writing about my characters before I start plotting or drafting a novel. I pay particular attention to characters’ backstories. What experiences have shaped their personalities and challenges? What are their strengths, their flaws, and their fears?
I become deeply attached to my characters, and they become very real to me as I’m writing. I can’t say I have any one favorite, but when their struggles touch on painful or joyful experiences from my own life, I’m especially drawn to them. For example, Leisha in LEISHA’S SONG has fallen in love with classical singing. Her grandfather, the only parent she’s ever had, strongly opposes her pursuing a career in music and has a whole life script planned for her in which she becomes a physician. Their conflict is reminiscent of my own struggles with my father, who was so concerned that I might pursue a career in dance that I wasn’t allowed to take dance classes my senior year in high school. I also got wrapped up in Leisha’s story because of her romance with Cody, a sensitive cellist. Despite their differing backgrounds, they share a passion for music, and Cody’s wonderful personality and delightful pursuit of her reminds me of my husband whom I met in a dance company.
How do you bring to life the place you are writing about?
I think the key is choosing details that your POV character would notice and be attuned to, as well as those which mirror the mood of a particular scene. For example, in my novel, DEADLY SETUP, my protagonist is the daughter of a New England heiress. When her impulsive mother announces she plans to marry a much younger man whose previous socialite wife died under suspicious circumstances, my heroine imagines the enormous crystal chandelier hanging overhead crashing down on the fiancé’s head.
For realistic fiction, it’s obviously ideal to visit or spend time in a locale. MISSING MOM is set in Northampton, Massachusetts, where I went to college and have returned to for reunions.
I’ve also discovered that the internet is a great place to get a feel for a community. I comb real estate listings, websites for area schools, colleges, shopping centers, and restaurants. I especially love writing about food, which I think helps bring a place to life.
What research do you do to provide background information to help you write the novel?
It really depends on my level of experience with the subject matter. For MISSING MOM, for example, I spent most of my career as a professional dancer and dance educator, so I didn’t have to do a lot of research on what Noelle’s life would be like as an aspiring ballet dancer.
On the other hand, I had to do a huge amount of research for DEADLY SETUP in which my protagonist is arrested and goes on trial for the shooting death of her mother’s fiancé. I studied things like what happens when a young person gets arrested, the rules of evidence, courtroom procedure, opening and closing statements of prosecutors and defense attorneys, interrogation techniques of witnesses, etc. I also had two attorneys review my manuscript for accuracy.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers about the book?
I think your great questions have covered it! Thanks so much for giving me this opportunity to talk about my work, especially my latest novel, MISSING MOM.
You’re welcome, Lynn, and good luck with Missing Mom.
Readers can learn more about Lynn Slaughter by visiting the author’s website and her Facebook page.
The novel is available at the following online retailers:
About Lynn Slaughter: Lynn grew up in New York and Connecticut and graduated from Smith with a degree in Sociology. She had a long and rewarding career as a professional modern dancer and dance educator. When she retired from dance, she felt lost. She had always been an avid fiction reader, and long after she became an adult, she continued to love reading young adult novels. Despite all her writing experience having been in nonfiction, she decided to try writing a young adult novel and discovered a new passion. She returned to school and earned an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and has continued to write—and write—and write.
Currently, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband and cat Lucy. She is the ridiculously proud mom of two grown sons and grandmother of five.
dianneascroft.com 