An Interview with Lynessa Layne
As writer/Navy Spouse Lynessa Layne shares, life can certainly lead us into unexpected directions, but those strange paths often take us exactly where we need to be.
MilspoFAN: Tell us a little about yourself, your journey as a military spouse, and where you are today.
Lynessa: I was born and raised in east Texas in the boonies outside Houston. If you’re a fan of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, I grew up in the woods behind there and used to work the festivals every fall. I met my military spouse through circumstances that could read like an urban thriller. For 13 years, I was married to my high school sweetheart, a civilian. I’d never been exposed to military life as there were no bases nearby.
I met my military spouse through an author community. We weren’t romantically involved. He was my friend, and I had no idea who he really was until my husband, in an alcohol-induced rage almost killed me, and I had to flee from the only life I’d ever known.
When I needed refuge, he offered me a safe place. When I told him I didn’t even know him offline, he called me from Japan. It cost him $1100 for that little bit of time he requested my info to do a background check on me. I figured if he’s doing a background check, maybe he’s legit. I learned he was a special operator for the Navy. I remember praying I wasn’t about to be murdered when I flew to take his offer of a safe place to stay.
When I arrived and saw a full wall of autographed photos of celebrities and framed notes from them thanking him for his protection during their USO tours, I understood how blessed I was to be in such a safe place.
Long story short, we have been together ever since. He’s an amazing man.
MilspoFAN: How did you become a writer?
Lynessa: I always wrote poetry and journaled throughout my teen years, but in 2013 after reading the Sookie Stackhouse series that became True Blood, I wanted another long series like that because I’m a fast reader. When I couldn’t find it, I tried my hand at writing what I wanted to read. Turns out, I had a gift I never knew about.
MilspoFAN: Describe for us your creative process and how that influences what you write.
Lynessa: I wake up at 5 am every morning when it’s just me and the coffee pot, then I ask myself where I want to go today. From there, I sit and let my mind take me away. I grew up poor. Being poor gives you a lot of time to imagine and wonder. So does being bored in the woods, lol. The imagination I developed as a kid runs wild to this day. I cannot plot. My brain rebels against plotting, so it’s almost like I go into another world in my mind, a mystery that plays out while I’m working. I push to see how it’s going to end.
MilspoFAN: We heard that you and your husband are co-hosting the TropiCon Book Expo & Writing Convention in St. Augustine, FL! Tell us about your journey putting on such a great event for the writing community and the great connections you’ve made along the way.
Lynessa: I was an uber-shy wallflower and after my messy divorce and trauma; it closed me off even more. Between periods where I had to fight for custody of my children and my new husband’s deployments, I had a lot of time to become even quieter.
When I hit publish on my first book again in 2020, my husband introduced me to the concept of book shows. It terrified me, so we went to the first one as readers to help me ease into the idea. Unbeknownst to me, my husband signed me up for one of their shows at the very prison where The Shawshank Redemption was filmed and kind of pushed me into the pool so to speak. It helped that I wanted to see the Ohio State Reformatory super bad.
Turns out, I love, love, love readers and people. I just had to get over my trauma, and this was the best medicine I never saw coming. Now, with almost 35 shows under my belt in 2 years, we tossed the idea of hosting a show ourselves. When we walked into the Renaissance Hotel in Historic St. Augustine, we knew this was meant to be. I can’t wait.
MilspoFAN: How has your role as a military spouse impacted your work as a writer- creatively, logistically, or otherwise?
Lynessa: Well, it’s given me fabulous insight into the good, bad, and ugly of military life and the characters that novelists and movies often romanticize. I love a strong alpha, but the humanity I’ve gleaned is what I’m really after and what I can now write with genuine perspective. It helps flesh out the struggle of loving someone in the military and makes for great reading. Personally, it’s developed me into someone who is far more independent than I ever knew I could be. I’d never been without anyone until I had to flee my old life. When I was alone, then he had to deploy and I was truly alone, I had to contend with my demons myself. To some, and to me at the time, it was terrifying, but I learned who I was without anyone else’s input, and I learned to handle long-distance with long-suffering.
Writing in between deployments was like that 90s feel to a relationship again where you’re rushing to the phone or answering machine when you get home to see if your crush called. Every time he came home, I had butterflies waiting for him to walk into baggage claim. There’s something so romantic about learning to wait and long for the one you love no matter how long you’ve been together.
MilspoFAN: How do you cultivate your creativity?
Lynessa: I love to people-watch. When I can’t think, I find a crowded place like a park or a pub and watch human interactions. There, characters flow.
MilspoFAN: Now that your husband retired from the Navy, how are you growing your community and progressing writing?
Lynessa: Through shows we get to meet people we’d never come into contact with before. We also get to take our homeschooled kids on cross-country trips to see more than their little bubble, so they learn about every walk of life. Raising them to see the world is bigger than the media or social media would have them believe and helps them dispel fiction from fact, and that’s priceless. So is bringing love and kindness to other readers and writers who maybe didn’t have enough belief or courage to write without the encouragement of a stranger.
MilspoFAN: What’s next for you?
Lynessa: I don’t know, but thanks to my military spouse and our crazy journey together, I’m not afraid to find out. I look forward to the unknown.
MilspoFAN: What is the most practical piece of advice that you would give to other artists?
Lynessa: Just do it for the love of creation first. Pour that piece of yourself out and share it. Even if one other person loves it as much as you, it’s worth the share.
Find Lynessa Online at:
https://www.tropiconbookexpo.com
https://www.instagram.com/lynessalayne/ (@LynessaLayne)
https://www.facebook.com/authorlynessalayne
Villains of Romantic Suspense – Mystery and Suspense Magazine