Featured Author – Lynn Almengor and “Now That We’re Adults”
I want to introduce you to another one of the amazing authors I met earlier this month at AwesomeCon. Today, please say hello to Lynn Almengor!
Lynn Almengor holds a BA in Video Communication from Arcadia University, and previously wrote/directed guerrilla-style independent films. Because her parents were right about art rarely paying, she also works as a Web Producer in her hometown of Philadelphia, PA. When not writing, Lynn can usually be found playing video games, watching “bad” movies, or goofing off with her husband and their ferrets.
You can follow Lynn all over the Interwebs: at her website, on Twitter, on Facebook, on YouTube and also on Goodreads.
Lynn’s first book is called Now That We’re Adults, and it’s fantastic. I read it, and I thought it was really truthful, insightful and moving as well (but also really funny), and I totally recommend it.
A group of geeky 20-somethings in Scranton, PA, struggle to form post-college identities without alienating each other in the process.
When happy-go-lucky Wade is dumped by his longtime girlfriend, he’s left to wonder whether she might have a point about his lack of ambition. Needing a distraction from the heartbreak, he begins programming a video game, which soon becomes a passion project as he strives to prove he can follow through on his own.
Meanwhile, his brother Ian barely has time for games now that he’s overloaded at work and struggling to connect with pregnant wife Kat, who’s starting to doubt whether she wants a baby at all. In fact, without the shared experience of college, their entire friend group is splintering.
Needing his friends more than ever, Wade becomes obsessed with turning back the hands of time. But with everyone’s hopes and expectations so tangled up, it might take an outsider—someone like painfully shy librarian Eleanor—to provide some much-needed perspective. That is, if she could get out of her head long enough to risk making a connection.
The book is on sale this week for just $0.99, so you have absolutely no excuse not to go and buy it right now!
I’ve also got an interview with Lynn – check it out!
Who is your favorite author?
My favorite unpublished author is my husband, who’s currently in the middle of writing a fantasy series. But my favorite published author, who you can (and should) go out and read right now, is Dan Burley. He writes character-driven crime fiction that spans the entire lives of Detective Reggie Harper and his crime novelist daughter, Elizabeth—and his dissection of family dynamics is just as compelling as the cases themselves.
How do you describe your writing style?
My writing style is very matter-of-fact. I tell you exactly how it is and get to the point using the fewest words possible. Coming from a filmmaking background, I also like to let the majority of my scenes play out in cinematic real time so you feel like you’re right there next to the characters.
Why should we read your book?
Because it’s honest. A lot of stories infantilize 20-somethings by playing into sitcom clichés about trouble doing laundry or paying bills on time, without digging deeper into the serious fears motivating that behavior. I went to a lot of dark places while writing this book, but the tone is still hopeful. Sure, you can fail miserably, disappointing yourself and everyone else, but as long as you’re still alive you get a chance to learn and choose differently next time.
Have any of your characters been modelled after yourself?
There are bits of me woven into each of my characters, but none of them are specifically based on me. It’s more like I took everything I’ve experienced, thought, or witnessed over the years, chopped it up into tiny pieces, and rearranged those pieces into entirely new stories.
If you could exchange lives with any of your characters for a day which character would you choose and why?
Definitely Rob. That guy gets up to some pretty crazy antics off-page. The first draft actually had more scenes alluding to his secret life, but they didn’t advance any of the main characters’ arcs so I had to cut them. Which is fine, because ultimately, I prefer letting Rob remain mysterious.
What books have most influenced your life?
“The Catcher in the Rye” holds a special place in my heart. When I first read it at age 15, Holden was my hero. Then, by the time I read it again in college, I’d pretty much become Holden, so it was like reading about myself. Finally, when I read it for a third time, closer to age 30, I realized Holden was just a regular kid going through regular kid problems. And that’s when I realized I’d grown up!
Beatles or Monkees? Why?
I was never particularly into either, but I’m biased toward the Monkees because my sister has been obsessed with them since high school and still goes to their concerts. Plus they’re fun, and sometimes you just need fun music!
Who should play you in a film of your life?
Dakota Fanning. I never think celebrities look like me, but recently saw a poster for “The Alienist” and did a double-take! If you gave her glasses, messy red hair, and a pair of plaid pants, she could totally play me.
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