We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Teanna Lynne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Teanna, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be an author. I used to write little stories about a boy and his dog and force my family to listen as I read them. As I got older, like every other kid, I had to do a lot more academic based writing. That only increased as I entered college. I became so burnt out from writing papers and assignments that I just stopped writing for fun. It wasn’t until I was day dreaming during a long drive that I really felt inspired to write again. The idea came from thoughts of my best friends. We’re all avid readers and during COVID we started a book club. I was thinking about how much I wish we could go on those kinds of adventures and how our friendship is one that people should know about. Then, I sort of started plotting it all out and in the end, Realms of Peace was born. This book is like a love letter to my friends who have stuck by me through every up and down, always encouraging me and helping me remember what I am capable of.

Teanna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I identify as a new-adult author. Right now, I’m writing the third book in my high fantasy series, Sovereign Sisters. But I also enjoy writing contemporary romance as well. Realms of Peace is my first full length novel and has popular tropes such as found family, plus elemental magic, and a lot of LGBTQ+ representation.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

There is something about seeing your book finished that just feels so rewarding. The cover, the pages all bound together, the weight of it in your hands. It’s a physical representation of something that has, up till then, only lived in your mind. For me, the most rewarding part of writing is sharing a story that means something to me and hoping that others connect with it as well. If even one person reads my book and feels like they can relate to a character or experience, then I feel like I did what I set out to do.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

For most of my life I have struggled with my mental health. Over the last 8 years it’s really been at its worst. Depression, anxiety, and being bipolar has really made it difficult for me to live my every day life, let alone pursue my dreams. So many days I struggle to just make it out of bed, let alone write and it’s that feeling of uselessness and failure that constantly weighs down on me. So many times I have started writing a story that I was passionate about, even once finishing about 80% of a book, but then I gave up for one reason or another. To me, the biggest success I have achieved is finishing these books. I still remember what it felt like when I finished the first draft of Realms of Peace and I realized that I made it. I didn’t quit. I didn’t give up on myself. I actually finished. Getting to that point was hard, I had to force myself every step of the way and there were so many times when I just wanted to STOP but I didn’t and now, I am so proud of how far I have come.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.authorteannalynne.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/authorteannalynne?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg==