Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a professional writer and author. I contribute to multiple online publications as well as indie press anthologies and short story collections. I am indie all the way and am about to release my second novel.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My new romance, Sweet Love–Bitter Fruit tells the story of Marcus and Toni Kent. Readers met the couple in book one of the Brothers in Law Series, My Way to You. Marcus and Toni are a successful Black couple with productive professional and family lives. They love each other deeply but struggle with infertility. It tests their love and threatens their happy marriage. I wrote Marcus and Toni’s story to show how love isn’t always enough. The realities of life and disappointment can destroy even stable relationships.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often say that my characters run around inside my mind clamoring for me to get them on the computer screen and pages. Sometimes I need to channel them, especially if I’m writing a challenging scene or conversation. My family caught me acting out a scene alone in my bedroom or den. Not any full-blown action or sensual scenes. That would be weird even for me. I do like to act out conversations characters have. It helps me to get them out of my head and to readers.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Black women romance authors like Beverly Jenkins, Zane, and Alyssa Cole gave me the confidence to write romance not simply with Black female protagonists, but with a love plot that reflects the lives of Black women and to highlight my cultural experience as an African American Muslim woman.
There aren’t a lot of American Muslim romance authors. I like to feature Muslim characters going through woes and triumphs of falling and staying in love from Islamic perspectives. I don’t always write Muslim characters, but I love to take the chance to focus on the unique culture whenever I do.
What are you working on now?
I am finishing up a novella series, Open to Love, featuring three African American Muslim women. They are childhood friends and each goes through some trials and must face their doubts about falling in love.
I am also getting the next book in the Brothers in Law Series, Building on Broken Dreams, ready for release. Readers have really been looking forward to this one. It is my first full-length American Muslim romance novel.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Promotion is a funny thing. I haven’t nailed down an absolute method yet, but I have found that taking advantage of opportunities to connect with readers plays a big role in getting people interested in your books. Readers want to know the author as well as their writing.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
It is important for authors not to allow negative reviews to kill their creativity. It almost did mine. Despite the fact that most of the reviews my first novel received were positive, the few negative ones stuck in my head and filled me with doubt. It took me a minute to shake it off and get back to the keyboard. If writers find that reviews have an adverse impact on them, it is better to just leave them alone and keep writing.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Some of the best advice I ever got was to embrace who I am as an author and not jump through a bunch of arbitrary hoops to satisfy people’s proclivities and aversions. Outside of a few techniques, approaches and genre expectations, authors are artists who develop unique styles and voices. Some readers will love it while others hate or are ambivalent about an author. That’s fine. No writer can please everyone. It’s better to be who you are as a storyteller for readers to enjoy.
What are you reading now?
I just got the best book by Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. I also got the book The Emotional Craft of Fiction as a gift. I am a strong proponent of authors reading books that will help them hone their craft. In addition to reading other authors, it is a good idea to have shelf space for books that will make one a better writer.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After getting past a book release, I am going to focus on the next stories and co-edit an anthology of Black Muslim writers.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Quran, Sayings of Prophet Muhammad, and a notebook so I can write.
Author Websites and Profiles
Lyndell Williams Website
Lyndell Williams Amazon Profile
Lyndell Williams’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account
Pinterest Account
I loved the first two novels from the Brothers in Law series. Will you finish this series out with stories from all of the brothers. I would love to see how they continue to interact with one another as we moved through their individual stories. In fact I thought that Quinn Ang would be the next story since he played a role in the story of Marcus and Toni. Either way I appreciate your writing and look forward to reading more. In fact, if the opportunity arose I would even love to watch a series that centered around the “Brothers”. I believe if developed correctly it would make for interesting viewing.