Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to L.C. Mortimer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi L.C., thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

One thing I’ve learned is that every writer follows a different path that ends with publishing their first book.

Some authors spend years studying literature, the craft of writing, and what makes a great story. Others pursue full-time careers in engineering or teaching before they decide to step back and write the story they’ve been dreaming of. I once met a doctor who had written an entire zombie novel and dreamed of being an author once he retired. Everyone starts somewhere different.

For me, I began as a reader. I spent my childhood reading as many books as I could get my hands on – Nancy Drew, The Babysitter’s Club, The Boxcar Children, Mandie – and absorbing the many adventures these characters had. Later, I went to college to study writing and I’m so glad that I did. I learned a lot about what it means to be creative and how to write a good story; however, the biggest thing that has helped me as a writer is just physically writing.

Reading a story and writing a story are two different beasts. You can visualize the most fantastic scene in your head, but until you sit down to write, you won’t know what that’s actually going to look like on paper. I think the biggest thing I would have told my younger self is to “write more, write always.” The more you write, the stronger your writing becomes.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m L.C. Mortimer, and I write zombie books.

Well, I write other things, too, but I have a special place in my heart for zombie, apocalyptic, and dystopian stories.

I write both adult books (Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse, Outbreak) and young adult books (Stay Dead, Beautifully Undead, Hybrid Academy), but no matter who I’m writing for, my goal is the same: to give you a fun, interesting story that you’re going to keep thinking about long after the story is sitting on your shelf.

One of the things I’m most proud of with my books is that I write a very diverse range of characters. The Beautifully Undead series features LGBTQ+ protagonists, Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse has PTSD representation, and Stay Dead features a main character who is in her 70s. Each reader approaches fiction with their personal background and they are as diverse as the characters in my stories.

I also have a passion for writing characters who are adopted or who are in foster care. My main character in Zombie Survival for Foster Kids is a foster child who just wants to be reunited with his dad. (I won’t give any spoilers, but it’s worth a read!)

No matter what I’m writing or which characters I’m working with, the thing I want my readers to know is that I’m as passionate about writing interesting characters as you are about reading them.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

When I first started writing, I stayed in the indie author space. I’m a hybrid author now (both independently publishing and working with publishers), but at the time, I handled everything on my own – editing, covers, publishing. There wasn’t a huge indie author community at the time that was easily accessible, but there is now! For anyone wanting to publish fiction, regardless of what your pathway looks like, I’d highly recommend getting plugged in to Facebook groups that feature writing. There are also Discord servers and Reddit forums where you can connect with other authors; however, I’ve found the Facebook groups Wide for the Win and 20Booksto50K to be incredible valuable.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When you’re building your brand on social media, remember that you don’t have to tackle every social media platform. I’m very active on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, but I’m not on Twitter much. That’s okay! You can find your audience wherever you choose to start building. I think a lot of authors get overwhelmed at the idea of having to manage multiple social media channels, so I’d say to start with one, post consistently, and then expand from there.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lcmortimer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlcmortimer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorlcmortimer/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/l-c-mortimer-1710062a5/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lcmortimerbooks