Q&A with Lili Vincent

On Becoming a Writer

  • Yes! Always!

  • I'm what the writing community calls a "pantser" meaning I write by the seat of my pants.

  • I have a beautiful sunny office where I do the majority of my writing but I also do a lot of writing in the car in the pick up line and in the bleachers at the pool while our girls are at swim practice.

  • I like to listen to music while I write but other than that, not really.

  • I am inspired by the relationships between mothers and daughters. I also love exploring friendships and their capacity to transcend distance, space, and time. I also like to put my characters into impossible situations and watch them work their way out.

  • I write what I know. Blindness and visual impairment have always been a part of my world. It doesn't surprise me that it surfaces in my writing.

  • No writers block. I don't believe in it, or at least I don't call it writers block. To use the famous words from Hamilton, when I'm stumped or stuck "I write my way out," I try to shift gears and either write something else or somewhere else in the story. Sometimes I put myself in the tricky characters shoes and write a journal entry or letter from their perspective.

  • Being okay with the first draft sucking and in this season of life, finding the time to write.

  • Don't share your work with ANYONE until you've finished your first draft. Your energy and excitement goes down as soon as you open that door to the world.

  • It's not personal, even though it feels very personal, it isn't, it's just business.

On Books and Reading

  • I love to read from lots of genres, I don't gravitate naturally to historical or period romance, but would read it if someone recommended something specific.

    I love Stephen King, Judy Blume, Emily Giffin, Jennifer Weiner, Sophie Kinsella, Lisa Wingate, Michael Knight, Jane Porter, Liane Moriarty, David McCullough, Candice Millard, Amor Towles, Barbara Kingsolver, J.K. Rowling, and so many more!

  • In no particular order, here are 12 of my favorite novels (because I just couldn't narrow it down anymore).

    • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: Misselthwaite Manor is where I escaped to in my mind as a little girl

    • Mr. and Mrs. BoJo Jones by Anne Head: This book showed me that I could write about real life and that real life wasn’t always going to be pretty. It’s a masterpiece and truly changed my perspective on being a writer.

    • 11/22/63 by Stephen King: Time Travel, a diner portal, the assassination of JFK and learning to Lindy… Need I say more. This novel had me on the edge of my seat and falling in love all at the same time.

    • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: There just aren't words...That is all!

    • In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume: Judy writes for grown up ladies too! I hope she lives forever and never stops writing! She is my favorite! the actual G.O.A.T.!

    • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: Jo March you had me at “Christmas won’t be Christmas without presents.”

    • The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles: One of the best epic adventure/coming of age stories I've ever read.

    • Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard: Candice writes history that reads like fiction! From the moment I crack open the book I can't put anything she writes down. Literally nothing gets done in my house until I finish. She's one of the most talented storytellers alive!

    • Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner: This was the first novel I loved that was told from more than 2 POV and it’s a master class in how to do it well.

    • Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin: This is such a well done story about the choices that carve our paths through the world and also about the one that got away.

    • The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella: I laugh till I cry almost every time I read this. I was a struggling undomestic goddess when I read this the first time and now, so many years later I can't make bread without thinking of Samantha Sweeting.

    • The Frog Prince by Jane Porter: I read this book in the first year I was married and it may have been a "right place at the right time" read but it has \ stayed steadfast in my top 12.