Talking with Julie Lynn Hayes today

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Julie Lynn Hayes, author of When Will I Be Loved.

Hi Julie, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.

Good morning, Dawn,  and thanks for having me here today!

I come from the Midwest, and have pretty much lived in St. Louis, Missouri, all my life. I live there now with my daughter, Sarah, and our cat, The Mighty Ramesses. I have a job I enjoy with an elevator inspection company, although I’ve had lots of other jobs before this one.

I’ve been married twice, and have five children and three grandchildren. I began writing when I was about nine. During the 90’s, I began publishing in small magazines, none of which exist anymore. Short stories and poetry. It wasn’t until 2010 that my first book, To the Max, was published by Dreamspinner Press. Since that time, I’ve had a number of other books published.

My current book is When Will I Be Loved, with Amber Quill Press. It’s the sequel to When Can I See You Again. The first book was about Raoul Marchand and Alexx Jameson, while this one features Miller Fenwick and Holt Wynne.

Do you have pictures that you use for your characters? Can you share them with us?

I absolutely do.  I’ll show you a few of my faves:

Raoul Marchand (from When Will I See You Again), Holt Wynne (from When Will I Be Loved), Holden Heidegger (from Person Business, a WIP), Hunter (from Leonardo di Caprio is a Vampire)

What kind of book would you like to write that people would see as a huge departure for you?

The only one I can think of would be a non-fiction book, and actually I’m supposed to be writing one of those, but I haven’t started. It’s supposed to be a children’s book, a biography of Percy Grainger, and I did lots of research, but never really started. Perhaps the idea of writing non-fiction is daunting to me, and I’m afraid I’ll fail. I’m not sure.

Have you ever killed a character? Was it traumatic for you? If you haven’t killed one, would you ever consider it?

Yes, more than once. In Dark Love, a few people died, and I was sad over at least one, not so much the others, but it wasn’t traumatic. When Will I See You Again is the first book where a character’s death was traumatic. I cried when I did it, and every time I read it. I guess it all depends on how emotionally vested I am in the character in question.

Favorite location you’ve ever written about?

I love writing stories that take place in Missouri, especially St. Louis. I guess that’s because it’s what I know, and I feel comfortable doing it. Plus I can draw on my own experiences in the area. I’ve lived here most of my life, after all. I do set stories in other places, and do the research, including New Orleans, and Paris. One story takes place in Lafayette, Indiana, and I do know that city, because I have a daughter who lives there.

Introduce us to characters from a work in progress.

I’d love to! I have more than one, so I’ll just choose a couple of WIPs.

First, I’m co-writing my first book with friend and fellow author Chris T. Kat. The first book in our fantasy series is The Prince and the Mercenary. It takes place in a country called Tochelle, which is populated primarily by wood elves, but it’s a diverse place, and includes people of other races as well. Prince Ryo is the youngest son of the king and queen. He’s gentle by nature, and loves animals. He has the ability to heal animals, but not people. Some might say he’s a little spoiled, and used to getting his own way. Merrick was born in Tochelle, of an elven mother and human father (long since gone), and has suffered for having a human father, who did not marry his mother. His mother married when Merrick was ten, and his stepfather is a counselor to the rulers. His stepfather was hard on Merrick. When he was sixteen, he left home, and became a mercenary, traveling to far lands in order to ply his trade. When it is decided that Prince Ryo will wed the daughter of the rulers of Mykling, in order to form an alliance, Merrick is hired to see the prince reaches his destination safely.

I’m also working on my first PI novel, which will hopefully become a series. The PI’s name is Holden Heidegger, and he looks a whole lot like Keith Urban. He wears silver hoops, and cowboy boots, and a cowboy-style hat. He likes country music and line dancing (first character I ever had that likes country music, blew me away when I found out lol). He’s lived all his life in the city of Riverport, Missouri, located up near the borders of Missouri, Iowa, and Illinois, known as the Tri-State area. His dad was a cop for years, and Holden knows a lot of the guys on the police force. He has his own way of looking at things, and he prefers not to use violence. He owns his own business, and he has a part-time secretary, who’s a student at a local college, but she isn’t exactly reliable. Luckily, she’s leaving when the semester is over.

Thanks for having me here today! Have a great day!