“The Writers’ League gives me a community to be a part of that understands the pitfalls of writing and the frustrations of having little to no feedback. I’m able to make connections that I didn’t have before, and the resource section is excellent.”
-Lorilee Kolb
A new member of the Writers’ League, Lorilee Kolb lives in Waco, Texas.
Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write?
Lorilee Kolb: Writing crime thriller fiction novels is my first love. I can never get enough. I write most of the day and at night when I wake up and can’t go back to sleep. I don’t think I ever enter a true state of complete sleep. My mind is always working, even asleep, so if I do wake, instead of writing the down the ideas that come to me from my dream, I get up and write. I don’t know if this happens to other people, but I often dream-full length drama. From the beginning to the end. I’m never in the dreams, but instead, I am a watcher. If I wake during the dream, when I go back to sleep my dream picks up right where it left out.
When I was growing up, I wrote short stories, many which were dark. I’ve always been drawn to anything regarding law enforcement, and criminal activity, and injustice for the poor. That may be because I have it in my genes–law-enforcement, not criminal activity. My great-uncle was a deputy U.S. marshal who was shot in the back as he boarded a train, one foot on the train, the other on the platform. I grew up hearing stories about him and have been drawn to this subject ever since. His murder is a fascinating story which I won’t go into because it will probably be the topic of one of my novels. I will say, though, that the Protagonist in my novel, Deputy U.S. Marshal Seth Barkley series, is loosely based on him.
Scribe: What authors would you like to have coffee or a beer with and which beverage?
LK: Lee Child is my favorite author and mentor, although he doesn’t know it. What I wouldn’t give to have him mentor me. I love his style of writing, and I find the journey to his writing career fascinating. And how he has made Jack Reacher sustain all these years is incredible. I’m not sure what drink I would like to have with him. I find coffee a little too formal and businesslike, and I don’t care for the taste of beer. I over-indulged when I was younger, and the smell still makes me a little sick. I don’t drink hard liquor, but if that’s what he would like, I’m game.
Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?
LK: Under the assumption the island is safe and free of predators, I would love to be stranded for a short time to experience the quiet and solitude that I don’t always find in my everyday life. It would be amazing to be able to write with a quiet, clear mind with no distractions or interruptions. So I think I’d like to have a book with empty pages on which I could begin my next novel. If another book just happened to fall out of the sky, it would be any of the Jack Reacher novels.
Scribe: What have you learned from your association with the Writers’ League?
LK: I am new to WLT, so I have so much to learn regarding what resources are available. Writing can be the loneliest professions that exist. You can’t get feedback from your family because they aren’t writers, and they love you too much to give you honest feedback. If you don’t have friends or a critique group, you have no one to give you honest feedback. And, in my case, I can’t find a critique group where I live.
So for me, Writers’ League gives me a community to be a part of that understands the pitfalls of writing and the frustrations of having little to no feedback. I’m able to make connections that I didn’t have before, and the resource section is excellent. And of course, I love the blog. But the best part for me is although I don’t live in Austin, I am one hundred miles away which is a short distance to find fellow writers and be a part of the resources that are offered.
Scribe: Where do you see your writing taking you (or you taking it) in the future?
LK: I intend to write until I am no longer on this earth or am physically unable to. Not only is writing my profession, but it is also my outlet to alleviate stress, unhealthy emotions and a place to vent, although the things I write when I am venting will never be available for publication. It is a place where I can channel all the chatter in my head. It is a place to harness my creativity. So, in short, it is a necessity of my life.
Scribe: Here at the Writers’ League, we love sharing book recommendations. What’s one Texas-related book that has come out within the past year that you couldn’t put down?
LK: Texas Rising: The Epic True Story of the Lone Star Republic and the Rise of the Texas Rangers, 1836-1846 by Stephen L. Moore, is not only a great read but also a “go to book” for my writing. I am a very proud Texan and love anything and everything about the Texas Rangers. The book I am presently working on is the first in a series of crime suspense fiction centered around Deputy U.S. Marshal Seth Barkley, who has to rely on the help of the Texas Rangers to catch a stalker. And I have to reveal that Barkley is the kind of man other men would like to be friends with, and in spite of being flawed, Seth is every woman’s dream. I know he’s mine.
Scribe: Is there anything else about you that you would like to share with the world? An opportunity for blatant self-promotion!
LK: The book I am working on involves issues that are dear to me because of individual experiences. It is a work of fiction but I draw information from my personal experiences: stalkers, attack of a young girl and The U.S. Marshal Service. When published, readers are going to be exposed to a unique perspective that I have not found in any other fiction novels.
