Author spotlight: L.M. Boelz: Vampire Dolls–The Legend of Adocinda

The author spotlight today is on L M Boelz. A proud mother of two children and three grandchildren, she has had a fascination with legends and stories told around campfires for as long as she can remember. She was always the first one to jump up and offer a chilling tale of what is really hiding in the shadows. After being asked by several people if she ever planned on writing a book; she decided to follow her passion and write down some of her stories.  Lin decided the best place to start was with one of her worst fears as a child. No matter what her parents said, she was sure there was something hiding under the bed.  Lin relates the authors having the biggest influence on her writing as Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The shows that influenced her most were The Twilight Zone, Outer limits and The Night Gallery.  When asked what she believed made a good story, she believes that it is to keep a book interesting you have to have just the right amount of plot twist. As a reader she likes to be surprised when something unexpected happens. Lin’s favorite way to end a campfire tales is to ask, :Have you ever ask yourself, what if it is not just a story?”

Tell us a little about your book.

I guess the best way to describe this book is to say after talking to a few people I found a fear of dolls is not uncommon. I tried to place myself in the role of the characters to bring realism to them. They story looks at both sides: the good and the evil. From the standpoint of each they clearly believe their adversary is the real evil and does not deserve to live.

How did you come up with the title?

My husband is actually the one who came up with the idea for the book. He knows I have had a long standing fear of dolls. This combined with my conversations with him about a couple books about vampires I was featuring on my site spurred an idea. He suggested I take my fear and combine it with a greater fear.

How are your story ideas born?

They come mostly from thinking about what scared me the most when I was growing up. I also like to ask people what they are the most frightened by and use it to base a story on.

How much of the book is realistic?

I would say except for the actual part of the vampires possessing the dolls I tried to make it all sound feasible.

What is your writing process?

I am a flow writer. I sit down with an idea and just try and keep up with my fingers as they spill the words out on the screen. I let the characters tell me what they are doing as they develop their own personalities

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your book?

No, I feel good about how this one came out. It is fast paced and has a perfect ending. Of course I may be a little biased on that matter.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

Yes I definitely did. I hire a pre-editor and a finish editor. I also used two beta readers. I cannot stress enough how important it is to hire people to critique and help polish it. You only get one chance to make an impression. Indie authors are more scrutinized for mistakes; you lessen your chances of getting bad feedback if you take the time to go the extra mile. Putting part of your soul out there to be judged and hopefully enjoyed is hard work. It does have its rewards when you hear from someone who lets you know they enjoyed it.

What are the future plans for you and this book? 

I hope to eventually branch off into merchandizing by adding tee shirts and coffee mugs of my favorite characters. I also would not mind being able to make this into an audio book someday.