The Devil Made Me Do It, with Lynn Hightower

I’ve always been fascinated by tales of demonic possession. I fully realize that is an odd thing to admit, but it’s true. I’ve seen The Exorcist more times than I can count and include similar movies such as The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Rite, and anything from the Conjuring series as classics. Maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing, but if we believe that goodness exists and came to Earth in the form of a God, then the opposite must be true, right? If God and the Angels can do it, why not the devil and his demons? When I was given the opportunity to interview Lynn Hightower about her latest book, The Enlightenment Project, in which an exorcism features prominently, I simply couldn’t pass it up.   MEET LYNN HIGHTOWER Lynn Hightower the author of numerous thrillers, including the Sonora Blair and Lena Padget detective series. Her internationally-bestselling novels have been included in the New York Times List of Notable Books, the London Times bestseller lists, the WH Smith Fresh Talent Awards, and the Shamus award. Lynn teaches Master Novel classes in the UCLA Extension Writing Program and works as a Manuscript Consultant/Writing Coach for novelists. Her latest book, The Enlightenment Project, is available now wherever books are sold. KEY TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE: How her love of writing in grammar school got her into trouble in History, Math and geography class. Her fascination with haunted places and how she lived in one while writing a book. The interesting premise behind her latest book, The Enlightenment Project. Why cases of Exorcism are on the rise in Italy. How her creativity and investigative research fuel her successful career. KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM MY TALK WITH LYNN Put yourself in the reader’s seat. Tell a story you want to read, but that hasn’t been written yet. Give yourself permission. Allow yourself to follow your dream, if your dream is writing a book. Boundaries matters. The business side of the publishing world is juxtaposition to the creativity that fuels writing. Create a boundary between the two to keep your sanity! Follow your instinct. As an author, the best decisions are sometimes made through gut instinct. Love wins. The only thing that matters in life is who you love, so love well.  WHERE TO BUY THE ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT: Amazon  Bookshop.org HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH LYNN HIGHTOWER Website: https://www.lynnhightower.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnhightowerauthor/ Twitter:      https://mobile.twitter.com/lynnshightower MEMORABLE QUOTES FROM LYNN “I have a lot of advice for aspiring authors. Tell the story you wish someone would tell you, the kind of story you would just love to curl up with and read. Readers will forgive you anything if you deliver on once upon a time. I really believe that. Second, give yourself permission to be a novelist. This is the work of your heart. It's what you really want to do, and it's not for the cool kids or for the special people. If you have a story to tell, go ahead and tell it and get it down as best you can. After that, it's a brutal business. Not every novel that should be published is published. So, the only way to keep yourself sane, is to do everything you can, but just accept that your story is going to find its place in the universe, and send it out there and hope that it finds its way into the hands of somebody who would like to read it. That's how I survive.” If you liked this conversation, please tell a friend about it as well as like, rate, and review Uncorking a Story wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices