Time to Tumble with Lyndi Alexander

Me: Today I welcome Lyndi Alexander to the gym! Before we get started, we have to stretch first to prevent injury. Why don’t you share your favourite stretch with us?

Lyndi: I’d definitely say sitting on the floor, leaning forward to grab my toes. *performs stretch, then sits up and shakes spine back into place*

Me: Very good! Time to let out your inner gymnast – if you could, what is the one gymnastics trick you’ve always wanted to learn?

Lyndi: The uneven bars. That always seemed like flying to me.

Me: Fantastic! We'll get there in a minute. *walks her over to uneven bars*

 Have you ever performed gymnastics before? As a kid what kinds of sports did you participate in?

Lyndi: No organized sports to speak of…too busy being the president of the pinochle club. J

Me: Interesting... To each his own :) In gymnastics we have to keep in top physical condition. Writing is such a sedentary job. What do you do to keep in shape when you’re not typing out your next story?

Lyndi: Run up and down the courthouse steps on the way to hearings.

Me: Let justice be served! Let's chalk up. *Lyndi blinks at Kellie* Put that white stuff on your hands. *Lyndi's eyes widen* It's calcium bicarbonate. Kind of like chalkboard chalk, but...not. That's it - rub it on your palms. It'll help you keep a grip on the bars. All right - now to be good at gymnastics it takes perseverance and determination not unlike that of being a writer. Tell me how you get through those times when you feel like giving up. 


Lyndi: I  access all my writer friends and get together. We do an every-other week critique group that consistently pumps me up, gets me back on track. Even if I’m not writing, reading what these dear friends are putting out re-energizes my own drive.


Me: What an awesome idea! Don’t forget to regrip on the backswing. 

Lyndi: *strained voice* What??


Me: What do you mean you don’t understand? Oh forget it – get down before you slip off and hurt yourself. *Lyndi jumps down*   Let’s move onto the balance beam, shall we? If you own the beam, you own the competition! Hehe  *Lyndi gives Kellie a weird look* You have to be a gymnast to understand… Let’s take your mind off of how high this is and tell me when you decided to write to be published.

Lyndi: *clears throat* When I was 14. I wrote my first time-travel romance and brashly submitted it to Doubleday. Surprisingly, they didn’t take it. *shaky laugh as she walks to end of beam*

Me: Great job! Now jump off the end and land feet first. 


Lyndi: Oof! It's a lot higher up there than it seems!


Me: Indeed! Time to test your tumbling skills. What should we start with – a cartwheel or a roll?

Lyndi: A virtual cartwheel is good for me!


Me: Well visualization is part of being a good gymnast. Close your eyes and picture that perfect cartwheel. 


*Lyndi closes her eyes, breaks out in a smile* I did it!

Me: *chuckles* Time for a break - tell us about your newest book release.

Lyndi: THE ELF CHILD is book two in the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot series—book three, THE ELF MAGE, should be out after the first of the year.

The moment Astan Hawk accepts his clan’s challenge to protect the young Elf Queen Jelani, trouble dogs his heels. Jelani’s human upbringing clashes with clan tradition and spurs dangerous intrigues within the Circle of Elders.
   Seeking revenge against Jelani for the loss of his mentor Bartolomey, outcast Grigor Biren finds powerful elf mages deep within the forest and sets out to prove himself worthy to learn their secrets.
     When Astan finds that his father Daven supports the agenda of the Circle, he has no choice but to turn to Jelani’s human friends for help.  Paranoid Crispy, empathetic Iris, and computer whiz Lane complicate Jelani’s unexpected pregnancy and the young queen’s attempts to rule her people. After the child is born, everything that could go wrong does.
     Can Astan carry through on his promise to keep Jelani safe when the whole world seems to have turned against them?

Read a excerpt here!     http://www.dragonflypubs.com/excerpts/elfchild.html

One of the recent reviews: “The Elf Child, second in the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot Series, can be read as a stand-alone, but is probably a richer reading experience if read in sequence. Lyndi Alexander has created a very interesting story that occupies a rather unique niche in the fantasy genre; not exactly urban fantasy, but with hints of same. I like her main characters, but like the secondary ones even more. Former wards of the state Lane and Crispy are unique and extremely likable. The overall story, which could have gotten sloppy at a couple of points, avoids falling into traditional pitfalls and instead, flows along, smoothly at times and with an urgency at others which grabs the reader and pulls him/her along in a page-turning frenzy as her well-crafted world grows real enough to create a nice movie in one’s mind. I am certainly looking forward to the third installment in the series and plan to go back and read the first one so I can have a complete understanding of what happened to set up this book. The Elf Child is highly recommended for fantasy readers who like a contemporary setting and plenty of action.” ~ reviewed by John R. Clark (public librarian) for TCM Reviews.  http://www.tcm-ca.com/?p=9007

Me: Congratulations on the review!  Gymnastics was my first passion. Then I found writing. What are your passions other than writing?

Lyndi: We have seven kids between my husband and myself and eight grandkids, so we keep pretty busy just staying in touch with and visiting everyone across the country! In the summer, we garden and can vegetables to last the winter, and in the winter I crochet and quilt. As far as work goes, I donate my time to clients of the local battered women’s shelter, making sure they get restraining orders to keep them safe.

Me: Good for you. Sounds like a busy and full life. Since our time in the gym is almost up – what is one thing you’d like to try before we’re done? 

Lyndi: I’m all for jumping on the trampoline… learning to do flips.


Me: *sigh* Everybody wants to learn how to do a flip. Think it's so easy... Do you know it takes years to learn those?


Lyndi: Can I at least jump on the trampoline?


Me: Of course! *walks with Lyndi to trampoline* Now stay in the middle and start with slow bounces.
*watches as Lyndi goes all out* Stay in the middle! So, how about in life – what is one thing you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t yet?

Lyndi: In life *goes up* I’m a passionate traveler as well *goes down* —I’d love to be able to sail around the world *goes up* and see all those exotic places. *slows her bounces & stops* Oh that was fun!

Me: Thanks for visiting the gym! All the best with your books J

Lyndi: Thanks so much for having me, Kellie—I’ve never had such a workout!

(Please list buy links, website info, facebook or twitter info)

Visit the Clan Elves of the Bitterroot at http://clanelvesofthebitterroot.com, and like us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Elf-Queen-Clan-Elves-of-the-Bitterroot-Series/158076904227479

Retail Hardback at Qoop [EAN 978-1-936381-09-8 | ISBN 1-936381-09-5] prices vary

Amazon Paperback [EAN 978-1-936381-10-4 | ISBN 1-936381-10-9] $9.99

Barnes and Noble has the ebook for Nook here and the paperback here.

eBook (all formats) for the Kindle, at Smashwords and Omni-Lit  $5.98 [EAN 978-1-936381-12-8 | ISBN 1-936381-12-5] and Fastspring $4.98 Listed Retail