Make Note of L.C. Hayden
Happy Holidays, Noters!
For my last post of 2022, I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for all your support and encouragement this year. Your kindness means everything, and I hope you know how deeply I appreciate you sharing your time with me and my characters.
With the recent release of Ardent Ascension, Book Nine in the Court of Mystery series, I’m very grateful for an incredible year of writing that included #FollowMe for Murder, attending my first book conference, launching The Bookish Hour, Too Much to Candle, and Ardent Ascension.
Duchess Jax, Coco Cline, and Hazel Wickbury all send their regards, as well, and my lovely ladies look forward to reconnecting in the new year.
My guest this week is a prolific author with much wisdom to share. Without further ado…
A Bit About the Author: Hayden is the author of the popular Harry Bronson and Aimee Brent mystery series. Her works have been finalists for the Agatha, Silver Falchion, Readers Choice, and LCC Awards, hit the Pennsylvania Top 40, the B&N Top 10, and the Kindle Category Best Seller Lists. Her angel/miracle series are International Best Sellers.
Hayden is also a popular speaker. She presents workshops, has spoken to clubs, and major cruise lines hired her to speak while cruising all over the world. From 2006 to 2007, Hayden hosted MWA’s only talk show, Murder Must Air.
L.C., it’s so wonderful to have you here today. I’m so thrilled to share your many books with my readers. Tell us, what book made you first fall in love with reading?
I was in elementary school and reading was just okay. Then during the summer, I got bored and decided to read. I had no idea what kind of book to get. I went to the library and browsed. One particular book captured my interest. I read it and loved it. From there on, reading became one of my favorite hobbies. The book, you ask? Tan, the Wild Dog.
It’s always amazing to learn when writers got bit by the “reading bug.” Books are truly magical in that way. How did you make the jump from reading books to writing them?
When I was a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, I had two term papers due on the same day. I was particularly concerned about the first one because my professor was the type who, if the word the appeared twice on the same page, he’d mark it and deduct tons of points. Consequently, I devoted all of my time strictly to this paper.
Three days before the due date, I finished except for the final proofreading. I then went to the library to work on the other paper. I decided to take the completed paper with me so that I could give it that final proof while it was still fresh in my mind. I found some minor mistakes that would require retyping four pages. Those were the days before computers simplified matters. After I marked the mistakes, I set the paper to the side and began to work on the second term paper.
By two in the morning, I was exhausted. I gathered my work and went home. The next day, I got up early so I could retype the pages. I reached for the paper and came out empty-handed. I remembered setting it aside to work on the second paper.
In my haste to get home, I had gathered only the work I had done on the second paper and left the entire first paper in the library. I rushed to the library, but my research paper was gone. The note cards, the bibliography, the text, the outline, the title page—all gone. The due date was only three days away.
I knew it would be useless to ask for an extension of time, so I took the only option left: I began from scratch. Somehow, during the next three days, I managed to complete both papers. I turned them in and weeks later, I got the first paper back. I received a C. The only comment followed the letter grade: “And you want to be an author—Ha!”
I was devastated. My depression lasted until I received the second term paper. This paper earned an A and the following comment: “This is good enough to be published. If you get rid of the footnotes and revise the paper to suit the magazine, I bet you it would be accepted for publication.”
Desperate to prove the first professor wrong and even more desperate to prove to myself that I could do it, I accepted the second professor’s challenge. I wrote, revised, proofread, and rewrote again. A month later, I received a letter of acceptance from the magazine. And that was the first thing I got published.
So, yes. I wanted to be an author. 28 books later—Ha!
What an inspiring origin story! It really shows the power of never giving up. I’m glad you proved that mean professor wrong. In writing 28 books, I’m sure you’ve learned plenty of great lessons over the course of your publishing career. What’s the one piece of advice you wish you knew back when you started your journey?
Slow down. Don’t be in a hurry. Make sure your story is as perfect as it can be.
What is the most challenging part of writing a first draft? How do you tend to tackle it?
I’m a pantser—which means that I often encounter writer’s block. When that happens, I live with my characters for several days and talk to them. Sometimes it takes up to a week. Other times, it’s only a few days. Once I get the answer, I say, “Voila! Why didn’t I see the solution before?”
That’s always such a victorious moment. I’m sure both pantsers and plotters can agree with that. You mentioned you spend a lot of time chatting with your characters. What trait do you admire most about your protagonists?
I write the Harry Bronson Thriller series and the Aimee Brent mystery series. Although both of my series characters are very different from each other, both are fighters. No matter the odds, neither will give up. They will always find a way to achieve their goals. My kind of people.
They certainly do sound like your kind of people, especially after learning how you didn’t give up on your research paper. But writing isn’t all struggles and strife. How do you celebrate a big professional accomplishment?
In November, when my latest novel was released, That Final Ghost Dance, I said, “Yay!” and posted the good news on Facebook. That day, my husband and I went out to eat and we even got to squeeze in a movie. Sometime during the day, I also did the Happy Dance—which is different from the Ghost Dance!
A Happy Dance is the perfect way to celebrate, for sure. What’s been your favorite “research” moment or activity?
In my second Aimee Brent book, Vengeance in My Heart, Aimee has to scuba dive to gain some information from a scuba dive master. I am of the strong belief that my characters are not allowed to have more fun than me. So I took up scuba diving. I love it!
Wow! How cool is that? That’s a great philosophy to have, as well. Tell us three things that are always on your writing desk/writing space.
Being the super interesting person I am, the three items I always have on my writing desk are a computer, paper and pen, and a glass filled with water on the rocks. Told you I was interesting!
Water on the rocks — love it! What is your favorite, can’t-live-without writing tool?
That would have to be Grammarly: https://app.grammarly.com I get so involved in the story that simple grammatical errors pass me by. Sometimes, I even have the habit of inventing new words! Grammarly helps correct most of those mistakes.
I am a big fan of Grammarly, as well. Such a useful tool, even if you just use the free option. Now, for our last question: You stumble across a crime scene. What book character are you alerting first? Why?
No and’s, if’s, or but’s. The first person I would call would be my thriller series character Harry Bronson. He is smart, alert, and always gets his man—or woman. But if I need the news involved, then I’d choose my mystery series character, Aimee Brent, ace reporter.
Sounds like an unbeatable team, L.C.! Thank you so much for being here on Noteworthy and sharing your writing journey with us. Noters, you can check out all of L.C.’s books here, including her latest novel, The Last Ghost Dance.
The Last Ghost Dance: Kuyuidokado, Nevada's Paiute's chief councilman, is murdered while performing the Ghost Dance, a dance created by the Native Americans to bring peace and restore their land to the way it used to be.
Nevada reporter Aimee Brent is granted an exclusive to investigate the crime and report to the world what Kuyuidokado was really like. Aimee is eager to travel to Nixon to investigate the murder. She needs to be away from her editor/fiancé with whom she has just broken up with.
Upon arriving at Nixon, Aimee finds that not everyone or everything is as should be. She stumbles upon secrets—secrets that could lead to her death. It's up to Aimee to unravel them before more people fall victim to the grand scheme of That Last Ghost Dance.