Lynn Slaughter
Author Interview - Lynn Slaughter
Author of Leisha's Song
Leisha knows something’s wrong. Her beloved vocal coach at boarding school would never have resigned and disappeared like this in the midst of preparing her prize students for a major vocal competition. Leisha’s determined to find her, make sure she’s okay. Cody, a sensitive cellist, insists on helping her. Sparks fly, clues multiply, and romance blossoms, despite the disapproval of their families. Leisha’s desire to be with Cody and pursue music rather than medicine puts her on a direct collision course with her African-American grandfather, the only parent she’s ever had. But an even more immediate threat looms—because as Leisha draws closer to the truth about her teacher’s disappearance, she puts her own life in grave danger.
Author Interview - Lynn Slaughter
Author I draw inspiration from: Sarah Dessen- wonderful YA author whose books are emotionally moving with characters you can't help but root for. I'm a huge fan of contemporary realistic YA fiction, which is her wheelhouse.
Author Interview - Lynn Slaughter | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: Armchair by our fireplace!
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Eleven-year-old Isabella in Sharon Draper's Blended. Loved her voice and her love of music, Her struggles as a kid with divorced parents, one of whom is black and the other white, really resonated with me as the grandparent of a beloved grandson whose Black mom and white father are also not together.
Author Interview - Lynn Slaughter | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I always loved to write, although I spent much of my career as a dancer and dance educator. I didn't try my hand at fiction until a hip replacement led to retirement from dance and it was time to invent a new dream. I do remember that in seventh grade, I wrote a paper on which my teacher wrote, 'The only thing this lacks is publication." I thought that sounded pretty cool!
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Paperback and ebook
The last book I read: Love, Jacaranda by Alex Flinn-- an updated version of Daddy Long legs- I loved the character, a musically gifted foster kid. She writes emails to her mysterious benefactor who's provided her with a scholarship to a boarding school to study musical theater. Loved the setting and loved the character's voice. Absolutely delightful!
Author Interview - Lynn Slaughter | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Computer mostly- occasionally pen and paper for brainstorming
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I loved Tessa, an aspiring writer, in Elise Bryant's HAPPILY EVER AFTERS- she loves writing romance and has all my insecurities as a writer! Of course, we're in very different generations!
Author Interview - Lynn Slaughter | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Therapist and work with teens and families
Favorite decade in fashion history: I love the 1930s-- must be all those all Fred Astaire movies I watched over and over as a kid!
Place I’d most like to travel: Hawaii- I'm a beach person!
My signature drink: Coffee during the day/a glass of white wine at night
Favorite artist: Musically- love the American Songbook- Cole Porter, etc. And I adore Ella Fitzgerald as a singer.
Number one on my bucket list: Hug my grandchildren- haven't been able to do that for over a year!
Anything else you'd like to add: My characters tend to be about teens involved in the arts because that's the world I know and love, having taught at a performing arts school and served as a counselor at a summer residential program for teens gifted in the arts. They've always been my favorite age group to work with, so I guess it's not surprising that I was drawn to writing about them.
Author Bio: Lynn Slaughter is addicted to the arts, chocolate, and her husband’s cooking. Following a long career as a professional dancer and dance educator, she earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She’s the author of three young adult novels, It Should Have Been You, a Silver Falchion finalist; While I Danced, an EPIC finalist; and Leisha’s Song (forthcoming from Fire and Ice, 2021). Her short story, “Missed Cue,” appears in Malice Domestic’s 2020 anthology, Murder Most Theatrical. The mother of two grown sons, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky where she is at work on her next young adult novel, Deadly Setup.
