EA: For starters, would you tell us the concept behind Winston's Will?
LBB: I have always wanted to write stories. I came across an article in a newspaper about a man on death row that had tried to organize a murder of someone on the outside, and I thought it would be a good story to completely fictionalize and turn in another direction.
EA: What inspired you to write it?
LBB: I was originally into writing screenplays and wrote the story as a script. After hitting wall after wall in trying to solicit and sell the script, I attended a writer’s conference and in a session, it was suggested to the group to turn our scripts into books. So, I did. After the rejections it received as a script and my strong desire to share the story, I decided not to even attempt traditional publishing but instead, to self-publish. Anticipation of the result, is what inspired and still inspires me, I was eager to know if I could satisfy readers with a complete story and identifiable characters in a short novel.
EA: Were there any authors who influenced you to become a writer?
LBB: I’ve always been fond of Stephen King and John Grisham and I loved seeing their books come to life on the screen. But because I really wanted to write screenplays for television, my influence came from movies I watch on LMN (Lifetime Movie Network) and other networks.
EA: What is your approach in terms of engaging readers?
LBB: I like to read stories, but I can never find time to finish them because they are so long and I have little time. I am sure there are many others like me who would love to read a story from beginning to end in a couple days or even on a long flight across the country. I engage readers by keeping it interesting, getting them to quickly know and relate to the characters, hooking the readers at page one and keeping the story moving without a lot of fluff.
EA: Do you have any upcoming projects?
LBB: Yes. A Memphis Plot is going to be released at the end of this summer. From the content to the design of the cover, there were many lessons learned from self-publishing and I’m excited to give it another try with this next book. Then, I will be challenging myself with a series of supernatural thrillers in a way that I hope to be unique and welcomed by readers.
EA: Tell us about the screenplay that made the top 100 of the 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Screenwriting Competition / Film Category.
LBB: I wrote a screenplay titled 'Confusion.' It’s about a woman named Tawney Hendricks who, after several years, decides to visit the cemetery where her sister Zoe is buried. When she arrives, she has trouble finding the grave and with the desecration of the grounds, she accuses the cemetery of grave stacking. This is just the beginning and when word gets out about Tawney’s search for her sister, it creates opportunity, suspicion and fear, all connected to one secret that was hoped to stay buried with Zoe’s grave. I submitted the script in the Annual Writer’s Digest Competition and was happy to have it placed in the top 100. This however, didn’t help as a catalyst to sell the script, so, I have finally decided to turn this into a short novel now titled A Memphis Plot.
EA: What do you aspire to accomplish overall as an author/writer?
LBB: I still have the dream to someday see my books on the screen and am converting the scripts that I have written, into books. I am continuing to study the craft of screenwriting as well as novel writing.
EA: Finally, tell the readers why Winston's Will is a worthy buy and a good read.
LBB: Winston’s Will is a quick read and pure entertainment. Readers will empathize with some of the characters and will dislike others, but they will want to keep turning the pages to see how far each will go to get what they want. The one thing readers will begin to expect from my work is an unexpected twist, something Winston’s Will undoubtedly has.
Epilogue
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