C.E. Lemieux Jr. - Author Interview
It is my absolute pleasure to share with you my
interview with C.E. Lemieux Jr. Author of
Loving Deacon and Whispers In The Wind.
How
would you describe yourself and how does your description translate into the
way you work?
You’re starting out deep, I told you not to go too deep. I’m pretty laid back. I don’t get real worked up most of the time,
except when I feel someone is pushing me on my convictions. The things I do get worked up about are
usually things which are important to me or I feel make me who I am. We often have to compromise on things when we
are dealing with other people. We don’t
all see things the same way, but compromise only works when what we are
compromising on is something that really doesn’t matter or that we don’t feel
strongly enough about to justify the fight.
If it is part of your core, then how can you compromise on that? It would be like abandoning yourself. So I guess the way it translates into the way
I work is that I want to write about things which matter – love, commitment, integrity,
honesty – or about the things which test our resolve towards those things.
Did
you always want to be a writer?
I’ve always enjoyed writing. I don’t know that I always had an ambition to
be a writer. I think I communicate much
better in written language. I can
organize my thoughts and refine what I mean to say. I’m one of those people who will look at a
tweet from every angle to make sure I’m not saying something the wrong
way. I’d much rather send an email than
talk on the phone. My wife is much more
of a social butterfly than I am. I’m
completely content to spend time alone or with my family.
Back to the answer to your
question: I can remember writing stories
as early as second or third grade. The
idea of actually being a writer or a published author first materialized back
in high school when my English teacher challenged me to turn a short story into
a children’s book. She made a deal with
me. I didn’t have to do any of her other
projects if I would write the book and submit it for publication. I took her up on the challenge, wrote and
illustrated it, and submitted it to a publisher. It wasn’t accepted, but the seed had been
planted.
Loving
Deacon and Whispers In The Wind were both such beautifully written stories,
where does your inspiration come from?
Thank
you for the compliment. I’m glad you
liked them.
The simple explanation would be
that they come from life. As for
Whispers in the Wind, I came up with the beginning of the story by watching my
kids play. I originally wrote that
particular story as a challenge to myself.
I wanted to test my ability to develop the character and the voice. I decided one of the hardest things I could
write, believably write, would be a story in which the narrator was a
female. If I could capture the voice,
the thoughts, and the point of view in a way that female readers would accept
her, then I could probably write almost any character.
Loving Deacon did have some
specific inspiration. The house we live
in is one of the oldest in our community.
It had been previously owned by a couple who offered some of the
inspiration for Deacon and Emily. In
fact, the dedication page of Loving Deacon explains a little more about the
role they played in the development of the story. Although the characters are fictional and the
events are used to propel the story, I wanted my characters to share some of the
same values, commitments, and traditions.
I guess it goes back to that core I mentioned earlier. I attempted to use their core values in my
characters. Of course, my characters
have flaws and weaknesses which are designed to feed the story.
The main thing I look for as far as
inspiration is emotion. I want to write
stories which trigger emotion – sadness, longing, joy. I admire the way an author uses words to move
the reader to feel emotion or to see images as they read.
What
process do you go through to define your characters?
I want my characters to be someone you want
to know; there has to be a connection. If
I’ve done it right, you as the reader will come to know the depth of the
character as the story grows. Not just a
narration of their characteristics, but who they are and how they think.
To me the best characters are the
ones I miss when the story is over. When
the story ends, if it is like saying goodbye to an old friend, then the author
has done a terrific job of building that character. And I use the same scale to measure how good
a book is to me. If I am anxious to
finish it, but I actually hate the fact that the story is over when I do finish
it, then that’s a great book.
What
do you hope readers will experience while reading your books?
Well, honestly I hope they shed a tear or
two. I had someone tell me they read
Loving Deacon on a plane trip and the person beside them kept asking if
everything was okay, because she cried through the story. That got an excited, “Yes!” from me. I don’t want it to be depressing, but I do
want it to be emotional. We all need to
experience the depth of our emotions from time to time. If I can write something that taps into the
reader’s emotions, I have accomplished what I set out to do. All of my stories are bittersweet. Life is bittersweet. We face the good with the bad; it’s how we
get through it which matters.
Do
book reviews have an influence on your writing?
In that they might show me things I’ve missed – yes. Do I want reviews? Of course!
Who doesn’t? Even the not so
positive reviews can tell me something. Am
I going to write for the review? No.
Ultimately I have to write for my own satisfaction. I’m the one who has to be happy with what I
have written. If I was just worried
about selling books, I’d be trying to write in a more popular genre. I write what makes me happy and I hope it
will find interest with others.
What
advice would you give to a first time author?
Well, I really don’t think I’m all that qualified to give advice. I’m still learning so much from other
authors. I’ve gained some amazing author
friends. I guess that would be one good
piece of advice: Get to know other authors before you schedule that first
release. You may reap the benefits of
their experience. There is a field of
information from which a new author can glean.
Visit author blogs and meet some twitter pals.
I guess I’d also tell them to write
what makes you happy. I can’t imagine
writing in a category I wasn’t crazy about.
It would be so disappointing and mechanical to write something just
because I thought it fit what was popular.
What
advice did you receive that was most beneficial to you?
I would say the advice which I probably rely
on in my writing is “write what you know.”
I am most comfortable writing when I can just let it flow. If I have to stop and do a lot of research
because I am unfamiliar, it interrupts my ability to immerse myself in the
story. I have a couple of stories I am
working on right now, which are requiring a considerable amount of
research. One is a love story set during
war time and the other is more historical.
If I didn’t think the stories were worth it, I probably wouldn’t mess
with it at all. Loving Deacon involved
considerable research because of the history and the dates of the letters and
Emily’s journal. Of course, some
research is just part of the process. It
just takes longer to write when I’m on something I have to learn first.
Are
you currently working on another book?
Several. I don’t write the same
way a lot of authors write. From what I
can tell, most authors just bang on one story until they finish. I don’t.
It works best for me if I just let it flow, so when the flow slows to a
trickle, I switch gears. I may hit a
spot where I just can’t stop until I get it typed out. Then I may take a break from that story and
go back to another for a while. I often
have a number of stories in various stages.
Right now I have two which are near completion and five others in
progress. So far, everything I have
written stands alone; I’m not a series writer.
I do have a sequel to Whispers in the Wind in progress. When I wrote WITW, I didn’t think a follow
up story was possible or even necessary, but after a number of questions from
readers I came up with the idea behind There’s Something About Henry.
This is your chance to speak directly to readers who haven’t discovered your
books. What would you like to say to them?
Well, first I’d like to thank you for offering me this opportunity to
talk about my books. I’ve only done two other
interviews. I’m not a social butterfly,
but as you can tell, once I start talking I have trouble shutting up.
To potential readers, I’d like to
ask them to give me a try. If you like a
story which tugs at your heart, you just might enjoy one of mine. It will probably be a little sad at times,
but there will be some really good times as well. I’ll try my best to paint a picture with words. I’ll work hard to build characters with whom
you can connect. Hopefully, you will
meet someone you would love to know in real life. And you may even find a little bit of yourself
in there somewhere.
And to those who have
read and given me feedback on my books, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate
your comments and support. It is great
to see your books sell. It is even
better to hear people tell you how much they enjoyed it or how it impacted
them. That is one of the greatest
feelings in the world. If a reader uses a
piece of their very valuable time to leave comments in the form of a review that’s
really special because time is a limited commodity
Lemieux Books
Blog - Words Written
Loving Deacon
Whispers In The Wind
My Review - Loving Deacon
My Review - Whispers In The Wind
In Search Of Lucy is a heartfelt tale of two sisters
with a bond that can't be broken no matter how much time has passed or how the
past has shaped their lives.
