The Solitary Life of Extrovert Lynne Gentry

As much as I enjoy putting words on paper, the life of a full-time writer is not an easy one for an extrovert. Some days the isolation becomes so great I’m forced to take drastic measures to satisfy my cravings for real people. Those are the days I run screaming from the make-believe characters populating my head and walk the mall. I’ve been accused of talking the ears off  perfect strangers.

I’m not one of those writers who can say, “I wrote my first story at age seven and knew one day I would write books.” But I have always been a storyteller. I grew up in rural America. Our dairy farm was fifteen miles from the nearest playmate. I was forced to entertain myself. One of my earliest memories is of me standing on a cattle loading dock with a stick in my hand that doubled as a microphone and a magic wand. With a wave of this wand, my mind quickly transported me into an imaginary world where I played all the characters, good or bad. Another wave of my hand and my stick became a microphone I could talk into for hours.

The stage was the ideal place for me to capitalizing on this ability to make-believe and talk. I went on to become a playwright and drama director. Writing a book never occurred to me until a writing friend thought my second musical would make a good novel. After two years of being holed up with a computer, I had a permanent twitch and 400 pages that will probably never see the light of day. But the grueling process of fleshing out characters, plot, and message had carved a home in my heart.

That was ten years ago. Since then, I’ve been writing every day.

Some days the words flow. Admittedly, they usually flow better after I’ve experienced the stimulation of being around real people. But when those words flow, it’s an extrovert high. I’m once again standing on a cattle loading dock waving a wand. This time it’s at a computer, painting one word picture after another until I’m satisfied that I’ve transported readers from their solitary lives to the exotic places in my head.

If it seems I have an ulterior motive, I do. If I can immerse real people so deeply into my adventure that they forget where they are, I suddenly don’t feel so alone. Please don’t make me walk the mall.

Lynne Gentry has written for numerous publications. Her newest novel, Healer of Carthage, is the first in The Carthage Chronicles series. She is a professional acting coach, theatre director, and playwright with several full-length musicals and children’s theater curriculums to her credit. Lynne is an inspirational speaker and dramatic performer whose first love is spending time with family.

You may learn more about her on her website, or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of her latest release, Healer of Carthage, the compelling adventure of a disgraced twenty-first century doctor who discovers healing in the middle of a third century Roman plague.