Intimate Interviews

Night Adventures with Lindsey

So let's start with a short introduction. Can you tell us something about yourself? Who are you on your days off writing?

Lindsey: I live in the U.K. with my partner and four bambinos, two boys and two girls. Yes, I have my hands full, lol! I mostly function on coffee and energy drinks to get through sleep deprivation.

When I am not writing, I am reading. I go through books avidly, especially dark romance, because, as stated in my bio, I am a sucker for strong, possessive anti-heroes. I live vicariously through the power of fiction to escape the stressors of everyday life.

My life is hectic but relatively mundane and would probably bore you, lol. I'm just your average gal who likes wine sessions with friends, movie marathons with the family and date nights with my other half

Date nights are the best. ♡ And unfortunately, we don't get bored so easily XD So speaking of date nights, what is your ideal date?

Lindsey: Having four kids takes precedence over quality time with each other. We have to compromise a lot to make it work.

Babysitters are not overly forthcoming when there are too many little ones to juggle. However, if and when we are lucky enough to get a sitter for the squad, we book somewhere last minute and take a road trip. A spontaneous weekend away for a complete mental break.

London is my favorite. Southbank is a fun date night in itself. We also love seaside towns, coastal views and the sea air. A creepy little cabin in the woods is a fun trip too!

So should we consider you as an adventurer at heart? Because apart from your swoon worthy, ideal dates, your books also take your readers to an adventure too! You have an amazing fanbase on Wattpad. How did it all start? Where do you get your writing inspiration from?

Lindsey: Absolutely! I am blessed with love, support and devotion from my followers. They are hardcore TLCK fans and my biggest advocates. To say I am grateful to them would be an understatement. I honestly believe I am one of the luckiest writers on Wattpad to have stumbled across such a fantastic bunch of readers.

My writing journey started with reading. I love books, especially dark romance. I would sign into Goodreads to find new genres and tropes often.

Not once did I think I could be a writer. Avid reader? Yes! A passionate storyteller? Not in my wildest dreams! The thought never entered my mind.

But I remember falling into a reading slump and it frustrated me to no end. I had an idea of what I wanted to read. He was dark, dangerous and mafia. He was morally grey. He was the type of antihero that thrived on love and chaos.

Yet, for the life of me, I could not find this book or character. He did not exist.

It took me a couple of months to realize that he was waiting for me to write his story. I listened to his voice, picked up the laptop and typed the first thing that came to mind: Liam Warren, The London Crime King.

I haven't looked back since.

I derive inspiration from music and imagination. I can hear a song once and know instantly if it's relevant for a scene or character.

Liam sounds like a man of every dark romance reader's dream. Can you tell us more about him and his journey? No spoilers though! Do you have some other works, or some top secret WIP that you would like to share your readers with?

Lindsey: "I am not a fan of fictitious tales. I want the raw realities of life and the tragedies of relatability." - Liam Warren

Liam is definitely for the dark lovers. He is the ultimate anti-hero, the most cold-hearted man in the city of London. Mostly irredeemable, but he does have a soft spot for Alexa.

"What I feel for you exceeds love. You have my eternal gratitude and veneration in the palm of your hand." - Liam Warren

Liam breaks all the rules for her! ;-)

Avoiding spoilers, I can say that Liam's had a very tough journey. Life was unfair and cruel. Nothing was handed to him. He had to work hard from a young age to be the successful man he is today. His character development is second to none.

"Through me, they wish to enervate the glamorisation of modern gangsterism." - Liam Warren

What I love most about Liam is that he is consistent in his approach and character. He does not change for anyone—not even the heroine. He is true to himself, honest to a fault, fights hard and loves even harder.

I have a lot of books to write, so many stories and ideas to share with readers, but The London Crime King has been the cynosure of attention for a long time.

In saying that, I do have a new book due to be posted on Wattpad for the Creator's Program!

The Lies He Told is a thriller romance exclusive to Wattpad. It's completely different to the books I usually work on. I am really excited to share it with readers.

All the very best for your future works! We are certain that "The Lies He Told" will be a huge success along with your other stories. Since your books generally revolve around romance, if there was a genre you would experiment writing, which one would that be?

Lindsey: Thank you! I hope so, too.

Well, I am a romantic at heart, so I think any book I write will always have an element of romance, but I am not opposed to venturing outside my comfort zone.

Dark—typically mafia—is where I am most comfortable. That's not to say contemporary, thriller, mystery, fantasy, paranormal and genres alike are out of the question. I want to delve into many styles of literature in the future.

Before we end this interview, we have a question (or two!) from Bradleys_Toothpick, who is a huge fan of your stories - what helped you create one of your main characters, Alexa? Where did you get the inspiration to make such an amazing main female character?

Lindsey: I should have known Toothpick was behind this interview. She is a great reader, friend and writer buddy. Always supportive! Normally, the questions I receive from readers tend to center around the men in the series, so I have never considered the inspiration behind Alexa's character too much. I know I wanted a strong female lead and realistic character development.

In other words, Alexa would not be a gun-toting badass overnight, even though she is surrounded by skilled marksmen on a daily basis. I also wanted readers to relate to Alexa's character on some level, whether it be her traumatic past or her everyday struggles, like abandonment, bereavement, anxiety, panic attacks or self-confident issues. A girl with perfect imperfections that had to fight hard for a chance at survival, to soar from the ashes of child captivity and sexual abuse to be the best version of herself.

Alongside the convoluted journey of character development and depth of plot, I wanted to keep that compassion, humbleness, appreciativeness and courageousness about Alexa, as I do believe, even with fiction, there is always a message to convey to readers and that's the characters' outcome, the final conclusion and the happy ending. A light at the end of the tunnel. Hope. Not every sad story ends in tragedy. TLCK can attest to that. 

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Thank you so much for chatting with us! On behalf of the readers and AfterDark team, we wish Queen_Of_Desires all the very best for her writing journey!