Meet Lily Black

1. In your novel, Storm of Attraction, your heroine is a librarian by day and karate instructor by night. What made you think to give her such different vocations?

I think many of us wonder what else we could be, what unlocked potential we have inside us. It’s not that we aren’t grateful for the good things we have…we just wonder about that missed fork in the road, and the path we didn’t take. For that reason, it made sense to me for Alexa to love being a children’s librarian but also have the need to kick some booty on the dojo floor. The two professions perfectly suit her, and allow her to explore both halves of herself in her daily life. As she grows throughout the book and lays a few of her personal demons to rest, I like to think that she’s better able to bring the different parts of herself together into one balanced whole. And that of course includes embracing the potential in her relationship with Drew!

2. You’ve done everything from being a guest teen athlete at the Olympic Training Center to doing life styling modeling for an Italian magazine. What do you think of as your craziest experience out of your very eventful life?

I’m wondering if it’s wise to share this one…but what the heck, we’re all a little foolish in college, right? My craziest experience was heading out with a date to better get to know our campus. We started by climbing on the various statues around campus, getting various shots* of ourselves standing on their shoulders and so on. Then we arrived at the piece de resistance: BYUs math building, which has a relief sculpture of a protractor on the exterior of the building which stretches probably fifty feet high. As a small crowd gathered, we started to climb. My date was perhaps more sensible and was quickly coaxed down. I on the other hand was focused and enjoying the thrill of the climb. What I planned to do on reaching the top, I still don’t know! I was probably thirty feet up when noise below me attracted my attention. A police car had arrived, and the officer was respectfully requesting that I come down, which I did. Long story short, that was how I got a misdemeanor on my record and took my only ride in the back of a police car.

*Unfortunately, the camera was confiscated, so no pics! Does that mean it didn’t happen, and my record is clear? 😉

3. Word is you and your family made the trip to South Carolina for the solar eclipse. What was that like, for those of us not so lucky as to have gone?

It truly was an amazing experience! In fact, we’re planning to drive to the center of the country and catch the next one in seven years.

While the physical phenomena of the eclipse was amazing—from the 360 degree sunset, to the drop in temperature and feeling of the land being hushed—what I found most interesting was the feeling of witnessing a miracle of nature. My heart beat faster as the sun gave way to the moon and the sweeping darkness overtook the light. The crowd of several hundred people became muted, all of us completely focused on the improbable events taking place thousands of miles over our heads. It was honestly the kind of experience that’s hard to describe, and so of course I tried to capture it in a story! I’m sharing that bit of flash fiction in my fall newsletter, in hopes I can bring a bit of that experience to my readers. I’m also planning an eclipse for my fictional town of Willowdale, and will have to include some eclipse chasers in the tale!

4. With all your different hobbies, which would you say takes up most of your free time (after writing of course!)?

If I’m being fully honest, what takes most my non-writing time at this point is caring for my teen daughter and managing her medical situation. She has a connective tissue disease (Ehlers-Danlos) and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and is working through those challenges as she plans for college and works for a chance at a full life. I do what I can to coordinate her medical care, from physical therapy to doctors with a different approach, and it’s something I’m grateful I can do! However, that’s not to say we don’t get out and have fun! We’re a family that loves to explore and experience new things, so we hit as many of the festivals and events we can, which thankfully Raleigh has plenty of. I also like to get out in nature as I explore the lakes and trails near my home. Walking has always been one of my best creative times!

5. Finally, what do all of your fans have to look forward to? Any fun appearances? New books?

Yes, and yes! Willowdale book two will feature a wounded warrior, a Senator’s daughter, and an ugly blackmailing scheme that goes terribly wrong. It will also be set against the backdrop of a winter festival, and I hope to have news to announce on it this winter!