Lindy Sternberger Hudis is an author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. Her independent film, The Lesson, was screened at the 2000 Seattle Underground Film Festival and Cine-nights LA. She is a graduate of New York University, and is also a former actress, appearing on the Aaron Spelling daytime drama, "Sunset Beach". She lives in Santa Monica, California with her husband Steve, a Hollywood stuntman, her baby girl, Veronica Noelle, and newborn son, Cameron Michael.
I had a chance to ask Lindy some questions. I hope that I asked some things that you would like to know :)
Nikki - You have an interesting background, acting, directing, and screenwriting. How does that background help you in the creation of your stories?
Lindy - Well, it comes in handy when I am telling my story. I let the characters come to life, so to speak, and I let them tell the story. My stories are very character driven, and I tend to pull my characters from parts of me. I learned that in drama school. When I was an aspiring actress, I had a bunch of strange things happen to me. I wrote a book about that. My next book, CITY OF TOYS, was inspired by my Hollywood actress wanna-be days.
Nikki - I love the “new character” notice on your website. Tell us about your children.
Lindy - Veronica is my 4 ½ year old daughter. She is very dramatic and feisty. She is already a flirt, too. Am I going to have my hands full in a few years?? My son Cameron is 3 months old. He was born in Easter Sunday. He is pretty feisty too.
Motherhood is an adventure, but a wonderful one.
Nikki - Do you use bits and pieces of real people for your characters or are they all imaginary? If you do use any real people, what is it about them that sparks the idea for a character?
Lindy - Absolutely! I do get inspiration from “real” people all the time. When I meet a person, and they make me feel something, I will use that person for inspiration. Positive or negative, they all work. I have met some great villains that way, if you know what I mean.
Nikki - I understand you use a lot of characters in your books. Do you have a secret for keeping them all straight?
Lindy - Yeah, I have a reason for that. As a former actress, I know how hard it is to get work. I write many characters so that , hopefully, when the book is made into a movie, more actors will get work. Seriously, I was inspired by Jackie Collins. She uses many characters, and they are all intertwined and they all interact in the most unusual way. I think that is amazing how she can do that.
Nikki - Character creation is one of my favorite elements of writing. This is true when readers identify with them. Your reviews indicate you are very good at this. Would you like to share any character development tips?
Lindy - I call upon an old acting exercise called “character development”. As I stated before, I let the characters come to life and take me on the journey. I get into the mind of them, and I let them tell me what they think they should do next. Yeah, it does sound kind of strange, I know, but it seems to work for me. I don’t really have any tips, just get into the head and heart of your characters. They will tell you what to do next.
Nikki - Tell us a bit about the setting for Weekends. Did you use real places and events in the story? If so, how does this work for you? Do you find any specific difficulties in using real places or do you feel that makes things easier to create a realistic and three dimensional story?
Lindy - WEEKENDS is about an innocent-sounding family reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters. In my words, I wanted to write a sexy, romantic California story, and transport the reader as much as possible. I guess I am one of those writers who wants to take the reader away.I live in, and love, California Growing up in Tennessee, California was my dream, a magical, mystical place that I used to dream about. It is so beautiful, and it is definitely my inspiration. The beach, the mountains, and all the artistic and creative people...I could not live anywhere else. All of my stories take place here. I guess you could say that was my inspiration. I wanted to give the reader a romantic beach story, and there you go
Nikki - I love the opening sentence in your prologue. Do you find it hard to find just the right way to start a story? If you have any tips for finding the best place to start, our readers would love to hear them.
***** This is the opening paragraph for the prologue ******
The man woke up next to victim number twenty. He had tied her firmly to the bedpost by her wrists and ankles, then passed out. She was nude, her eyes red from crying, her face had a petrified look on it. Her nose was also swollen and bloody from the repeated blows to the face.
Lindy - I like to start a story with a “hook”. I want the reader y to want to read more. I want to draw them in. Again, I was inspired by Jackie Collins, she is wonderful at that. I just like to write what I like to read, actually. There is nothing like a good, juicy hook. I want the reader to turn the page, literally.
Nikki - What drew you to a story about a serial killer? Was there anything in particular that made the story complicated?
Lindy - I have always been interested in crime stories. I watch Forensic Files every night, and I am a Court TV junkie. I even thought about joining the LAPD there for a while. I think I would have made a pretty good detective. There is always an element of crime in my stories. That dark, savage place where some people seem to go, and of course you have the hero that saves the day. You can’t have good without having evil, in a story and in the world. However, good always wins over evil, in the world and in my stories.
Nikki - Are you a planner or do you write from the “seat of your pants”? Why?
Lindy - I am definitely a “seat of your pants” kind of person, in life and in writing. That is the most honest way for me to write. I am a very spontaneous person and a writer too. I just want to keep it real, and that is real to me. I could tell you about the time my friends and I were sitting around bored and decided to drive to Mexico ! I just may write a book about that! No, I am not a plotter or a planner.
Nikki - Tell us about your best reader review. What made it special to you?
Lindy - My first review was the most special. It was from Nadine St. Denis over at Romance Junkies. She said that WEEKENDS has “ an amazing cast of characters” and a “fascinating plot”. That was nice for a new author to hear.
Thank you for taking time to answer my questions. For much more information, visit Lindy's virtual tour page -
http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2007/06/weekends-virtual-book-tour-07.html.
I had a chance to ask Lindy some questions. I hope that I asked some things that you would like to know :)
Nikki - You have an interesting background, acting, directing, and screenwriting. How does that background help you in the creation of your stories?
Lindy - Well, it comes in handy when I am telling my story. I let the characters come to life, so to speak, and I let them tell the story. My stories are very character driven, and I tend to pull my characters from parts of me. I learned that in drama school. When I was an aspiring actress, I had a bunch of strange things happen to me. I wrote a book about that. My next book, CITY OF TOYS, was inspired by my Hollywood actress wanna-be days.
Nikki - I love the “new character” notice on your website. Tell us about your children.
Lindy - Veronica is my 4 ½ year old daughter. She is very dramatic and feisty. She is already a flirt, too. Am I going to have my hands full in a few years?? My son Cameron is 3 months old. He was born in Easter Sunday. He is pretty feisty too.
Motherhood is an adventure, but a wonderful one.
Nikki - Do you use bits and pieces of real people for your characters or are they all imaginary? If you do use any real people, what is it about them that sparks the idea for a character?
Lindy - Absolutely! I do get inspiration from “real” people all the time. When I meet a person, and they make me feel something, I will use that person for inspiration. Positive or negative, they all work. I have met some great villains that way, if you know what I mean.
Nikki - I understand you use a lot of characters in your books. Do you have a secret for keeping them all straight?
Lindy - Yeah, I have a reason for that. As a former actress, I know how hard it is to get work. I write many characters so that , hopefully, when the book is made into a movie, more actors will get work. Seriously, I was inspired by Jackie Collins. She uses many characters, and they are all intertwined and they all interact in the most unusual way. I think that is amazing how she can do that.
Nikki - Character creation is one of my favorite elements of writing. This is true when readers identify with them. Your reviews indicate you are very good at this. Would you like to share any character development tips?
Lindy - I call upon an old acting exercise called “character development”. As I stated before, I let the characters come to life and take me on the journey. I get into the mind of them, and I let them tell me what they think they should do next. Yeah, it does sound kind of strange, I know, but it seems to work for me. I don’t really have any tips, just get into the head and heart of your characters. They will tell you what to do next.
Nikki - Tell us a bit about the setting for Weekends. Did you use real places and events in the story? If so, how does this work for you? Do you find any specific difficulties in using real places or do you feel that makes things easier to create a realistic and three dimensional story?
Lindy - WEEKENDS is about an innocent-sounding family reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters. In my words, I wanted to write a sexy, romantic California story, and transport the reader as much as possible. I guess I am one of those writers who wants to take the reader away.I live in, and love, California Growing up in Tennessee, California was my dream, a magical, mystical place that I used to dream about. It is so beautiful, and it is definitely my inspiration. The beach, the mountains, and all the artistic and creative people...I could not live anywhere else. All of my stories take place here. I guess you could say that was my inspiration. I wanted to give the reader a romantic beach story, and there you go
Nikki - I love the opening sentence in your prologue. Do you find it hard to find just the right way to start a story? If you have any tips for finding the best place to start, our readers would love to hear them.
***** This is the opening paragraph for the prologue ******
The man woke up next to victim number twenty. He had tied her firmly to the bedpost by her wrists and ankles, then passed out. She was nude, her eyes red from crying, her face had a petrified look on it. Her nose was also swollen and bloody from the repeated blows to the face.
Lindy - I like to start a story with a “hook”. I want the reader y to want to read more. I want to draw them in. Again, I was inspired by Jackie Collins, she is wonderful at that. I just like to write what I like to read, actually. There is nothing like a good, juicy hook. I want the reader to turn the page, literally.
Nikki - What drew you to a story about a serial killer? Was there anything in particular that made the story complicated?
Lindy - I have always been interested in crime stories. I watch Forensic Files every night, and I am a Court TV junkie. I even thought about joining the LAPD there for a while. I think I would have made a pretty good detective. There is always an element of crime in my stories. That dark, savage place where some people seem to go, and of course you have the hero that saves the day. You can’t have good without having evil, in a story and in the world. However, good always wins over evil, in the world and in my stories.
Nikki - Are you a planner or do you write from the “seat of your pants”? Why?
Lindy - I am definitely a “seat of your pants” kind of person, in life and in writing. That is the most honest way for me to write. I am a very spontaneous person and a writer too. I just want to keep it real, and that is real to me. I could tell you about the time my friends and I were sitting around bored and decided to drive to Mexico ! I just may write a book about that! No, I am not a plotter or a planner.
Nikki - Tell us about your best reader review. What made it special to you?
Lindy - My first review was the most special. It was from Nadine St. Denis over at Romance Junkies. She said that WEEKENDS has “ an amazing cast of characters” and a “fascinating plot”. That was nice for a new author to hear.
Thank you for taking time to answer my questions. For much more information, visit Lindy's virtual tour page -
http://virtualbooktoursforauthors.blogspot.com/2007/06/weekends-virtual-book-tour-07.html.
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