An Interview with FanLaw.org

An Interview With Psylocke
Conducted December 2002

Maria:
I'm looking for an interviewee...have any idea where I can find her? Other than looking at the game, of course.

Lori L. Lake:
No Twins game until 3:00 today. <g>

Maria:
LOL
I was waiting for you to make the first IM, but I guess you are shy today

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, shy is my middle name.

Maria:
Welcome to your first interview with Fanlaw.org. I say first because you seem to be an often-interviewed writer, and after reading your book I hope to interview you again.

Lori L. Lake:
I have had 3--no, maybe 4--other interviews, I think. And, since shy is NOT actually my middle name, I would be perfectly willing. I like to talk far too much, at least according to my mom.

Maria:
LOL Well, if talking translates into writing then your mom is right on the money!
Please tell Fanlaw.org readers a little bit about yourself.

Lori L. Lake:
I'm a bit over 40, live in Minnesota, and am celebrating my 21st year with my partner next week. I have been writing seriously since my mid-20's, and my first widely published book was Ricochet In Time, which came out in 2001.

Maria:
It is my understanding that you began writing short stories that wound up being novels, is this correct?

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, in a way that is true. From age 26 to about 31 or 32, I tried to write short stories. I mailed them to various magazines and journals, with no luck getting published. I did finally get one accepted (called "Propane"), but then the journal folded....

The more I wrote, the longer the pieces got, and one day, when I was reading something to my writing group, they proclaimed that I had the start of a great novel.

I haven't been able to write a short story since.

Maria:
What role, if any, did the Internet play in your getting published?

Lori L. Lake:
One of the stories that my writing group said was a novel consisted of the first scene in Ricochet in Time. When I finished writing it, I sent that book around to every publisher that would be likely to publish a lesbian novel, and every one of them turned it down.... even the publisher I worked for at the time said no! I shelved the book and decided that I ought not write.

About two years passed and I didn't write anything other than in my journal. But then I found MaryD's fan fiction site, read a few novels there, and decided to try my hand at it. I figured if I wasn't good enough to be published by a regular publisher, at least I could enjoy writing for groups of people on the Net who seemed appreciative and very supportive.

I really didn't plan on ever being published. The Internet support and acclaim gave me heart, and so that whole realm is responsible, in large part, for giving me hope and energy.

Maria:
So, what you are saying is that the support network and acclaim you received from the online community is what kept you trying.

Lori L. Lake:
Yes. I posted the first 35 or so pages of Gun Shy, and the next day when I came home from work, there were 22 messages from people encouraging me to keep going. Every time MaryD put up a section, more people wrote, including the original e-mailers. Some of those women still write to me, even now, 3 years later.

Maria:
Do you think that the medium of the Internet allows you as a writer a different relationship with your readers than that of more "traditional" writers, who may not post their work on the Internet?

Lori L. Lake:
The relationship is more direct, more immediate. In addition, it allows me to receive general feedback about a piece, which is quite nice. As a fan of many authors, both Internet and paper-published, I very much enjoy being able to express my opinions as well as my appreciation for any book that affects me, whether it makes me laugh or cry or just feel deeply.

As an avid reader, I understand how nice it is to be able to tell an author how much his or her work affected me. A lot of people feel exactly that same way and are most grateful for an opportunity to correspond—perhaps only just briefly—about the work.

Maria:
Your first book Gun Shy has received a lot of accolades. What do you think sets it aside from others?

Lori L. Lake:
That's a hard question to answer because I don't have a lot of perspective—since I wrote it. Makes it hard for me to compare or contrast with other work.

That book came from my heart. I didn't write it for fun (though parts of it were fun to write). I wrote it to work out many of my own internal issues. I think some of the issues alluded to in Gun Shy (and resolved in Under The Gun) are issues that many women—and many men, too—have to deal with. People have told me over and over that although the work is fiction, it feels "real."

So perhaps that sets it apart.... the fact that it isn't just fiction, but it is also a working out of serious human issues that many of us have to deal with and confront.

Maria:
Gun Shy addresses a lot of issues --for example, Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD), previously unspoken about until September 11th such as: coming out at work and sexual harassment.

Just to name a few, those are very serious matters, usually not addressed by a first time novelist. What compelled you to write about them?

Lori L. Lake:
I think that most people who have never had any dealings with PTSD or coming out at work or any other myriad of issues know little or nothing. But just as an example, if you consider that 1 out of 4 women (probably more) are sexually assaulted during their lives and many more suffered abuse in child, then PTSD becomes a very real issue. But you are right--it is has been spoken of very little—as though people were ashamed of it. But the stress and trauma of experiencing something horrendously painful does often induce levels of PTSD in otherwise normal people, and many go through their lives masking it, not dealing with it, and suffering.

9/11 brought the PTSD phenomena to the forefront, just like Matthew Shepard's death brought hate crimes to the forefront for straight America.

Maria:
I find it particularly interesting that you wove two PTSD instances in your book...the attempted rape of one of the characters and the effect the death of a police officers partner has on one of the lead characters.

Lori L. Lake:
The book takes place in a world of street crime and occasional violence, a world that is ripe for that sort of psychological phenomena to occur. Cops are affected at a higher rate than anyone ever wants to admit. After all that has happened in the last year, people now want to understand trauma and its affects. Huge numbers of people who merely watched the events of 9/11 and the days that followed were impacted very severely, too. Many people in our nation are aware of the effect that terror has had upon all of us, and it isn't pretty.

Maria:
What made you interested in writing a book like this? Dealing with such psychological trauma and social issues?

Lori L. Lake:
For anyone who has ever suffered an attack like the character Sara did, safety often becomes a primary issue. Sara has a different sort of PTSD than Dez does, but both are insidious and painful, causing the bearer of the pain to live a life less bountiful than what s/he deserves. From a personal standpoint of dealing with loss and grief, I found the topic to be compelling.

I was drawn to the topic and didn't fully understand why, and it was in the writing of it that I was able to sort out events of my own life and make sense of some childhood griefs that had never been laid to rest. You could say that by writing it, I vicariously worked through my own issues in a therapeutic manner, not really knowing what I was doing until I was done. In fact, I would have to say I didn't know - not fully - what Gun Shy was about personally until about a year after it had first posted. All I knew as I wrote it was that the story called to me, and the characters visited my dreams and pulled me to them, to write of them. Once I realized how much of my Self was involved, it made me feel very vulnerable for quite a long while as though people could see right through me, to the core.

It was too late to take back though. Lucky I have settled those issues since and feel more comfortable. It did make the penning of Under The Gun a bit more of a challenge, though. I was more aware of what I was writing about, and I felt the need to do more research to be sure I was accurate.

Maria:
Could you tell us what some of those issues where?

Lori L. Lake:
Loss and abandonment and abuse took its toll on me, and like so many other kids, I didn't have the resources to deal with that until I got old enough and to a safe place to not only deal with it psychologically but also afford to pay for help with that.

Suffice to say, I had a hell of a childhood.

Maria:
You do know I have to ask you the next question and completely put you on the spot right?

Lori L. Lake:
Go for it.

Maria:
What was with the cliffhanger? The end of Gun Shy screamed "to be continued" -- Why did you do that?

Lori L. Lake:
When I finished Gun Shy, it felt finished. Besides, if I had added on the answers to the four hanging plot points, it would have been longer than WAR & PEACE!

Maria:
LOL

Lori L. Lake:
It took another 490 pages to work out the details in Under The Gun, and the entire arc of that story would have neared 1000 pages if I had put it all in Gun Shy. It would have put your legs to sleep holding it in your lap!

Maria:
How does someone who "apprenticed" writing short stories, write this much and still leave the reader hanging? LOL

Lori L. Lake:
I don't think that Gun Shy really had a cliffhanger, though. The key points of the storyline were resolved. I might have never written a sequel, and people would have been fine with it. There were hints that Dez had the strength to carry on, that she and Jay would work out their professional and private lives, and that Dez would manage to reconcile with her family. It was at a logical ending.
But the reader is left "hanging" because it seems many people just wanted to know more, to carry on in these two women's lives, not to mention find out more about Luella and Sara and Tim and Crystal and Cowboy. It was a world that begged for more telling, so I did.

And I will likely write several more sequels because I love their world so much.

Maria:
I vehemently disagree with you on the cliffhanger issue, but I do see where you would think so. Yes, the story is one that begged for a continuation.

Lori L. Lake:
Vehemently, huh?

Maria:
<G>

Lori L. Lake:
Hey, you're from New York. You GET to be vehement!

Maria:
ROTFLOL
Well, you know New Yorkers...

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, quite a few.... some of the nicest readers I have heard from, too.

Maria:
hey, hey...don't let that "nice" thing get out...we have a reputation to protect

Lori L. Lake:
All right, then. It'll just be our little secret.

Maria:
LOL
What, if any, response has there been from your family, friends, co-workers, employers, etc in reference to your writing?

Lori L. Lake:
There have been so many levels of response--everything from surprise to excitement, concern to encouragement. Since I am writing about the lives of lesbians, some people are made uncomfortable. Why does everyone think that lesbian novels are just going to be chock-full of sex?

Maria:
Well, since you brought it up...<cough>
Where are the umm, sex scenes, that so many online writers rely on?

Lori L. Lake:
I guess I would have to say that I don't write sex scenes. I write love scenes, and the goal of those scenes is to show how the characters relate. One view of making love—my view—is that it is another way of communicating with one's partner, expressing self, and learning about the other. Besides I am often skeptical of scenes where two people have unbelievable, eye-opening, world-crashing sex on the first try. It just seems there is more practice/practice/practice needed, if you know what I mean.

Maria:
Well, that much is true, not everyone believes that story dominating sex scenes are the only way to express attraction and/or love in a story.

Which brings me to the next question...how did you wind up in an Alt vs. Slash panel?

Lori L. Lake:
Alt v. slash...I have opinions about it, and Sue Beck asked me to come sit on the panel and share with her and T Novan and Linda Crist. It was a fun and funny topic.

Maria:
Could you tell us about your opinions on it? I for one would be very interested.

Lori L. Lake:
I wouldn't say that I would ever leave out love scenes, but just like in most people's lives, my characters' lives do not revolve around sex, but around intimacy and caring. I'll include love and making love any time it seems to show or deepen character, but I just don't put in gratuitous stuff so that people will buy the book for it.

If you've bought my books hoping for hot sex, you'll be disappointed. What you get is something a bit different from that.

Maria:
I guarantee you that after reading Gun Shy; I will purchase Under The Gun. I believe in the one addiction at a time rule, LOL The addiction of the moment is a Writ on Deep Linking. LOL

Lori L. Lake:
Deep Linking...hmmmm, sounds like speculative sci-fi sex.

Maria:
ROTFLOL
Just when I thought you were an innocent
LOL

Lori L. Lake:
No, I just couldn't ever classify myself as an innocent. I have read too many Stephen King novels. I assume that the Writ on Deep Linking is legal?

Maria:
Deep Linking is a legal question in respects to individuals and others directly linking to a page on a website bypassing the main page, which often contains advertising, which as we all know pays the bills for a lot of the commercial sites

Lori L. Lake:
Oh, I see. Technological-related.

Maria:
You will find that with few exceptions, I am a law and computer nut. If you ever hear me say something that sounds wild and/or kinky...it will probably have more to do with either of those two topics than with my bookworm self. Now the question is, is that good or bad?

Lori L. Lake:
You will find that with few exceptions, I am a book and music nut.

Maria:
You read Stephen King? Hhhmm, can we look forward to a horror story from you?

Lori L. Lake:
I don’t know about horror….I like some of the work that has come out of that genre, but I am not sure if I can write it. But if you want to talk about an author who deals with issues of PTSD over and over, well, Mr. King is the one. I like his stories that deal with character as well as horror: Misery, The Stand, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Dolores Claiborne, and I loved Insomnia. I was never into the Cujo/Christine/Tommyknockers kind though.

Maria:
Your work is practically wholesome...do you think that has to do with your growing appeal and positive reviews of your work?

Lori L. Lake:
Wholesome? Like Miss Polly Purebred? (That makes me laugh.) I would like to think that all the editing work coupled with the intense to write a compelling story are the reasons why I am finding an audience and getting positive reviews.

Maria:
Do you feel there is a shift in the types of stories that are being written?
It seems as if a lot of topics, issues, have lost their shock value and it takes more to be entertained.

Lori L. Lake:
Stories written by me? By those from the Xenaverse? In general?

Maria:
In general and then how that relates to your work
Should be shorter than 400 pages
ROTFLOL

Lori L. Lake:
I think we are all writing the same stories that have been written for all time. Some write to shock, some to educate, some to entertain...nothing has really changed but the technology and the furthering of human imagination.

In my work, I have no idea what I am doing most of the time. I find a character - or more than one - who has a problem that is interesting to me. Like a magnet, bunches of other problems and characters glom onto the story and next thing I know, I have a giant rubber band ball of knotty scenes and plot threads to reconcile.

Maria:
What types of characters and/or matters do you think you would be interested in dealing with in the future?

Lori L. Lake:
For my 4th novel, I resolved to get away from all the deep issues, and I decided to write a short, light, fluffy romance about a pop/country music tour and the women traveling on it. Next thing I knew, Different Dress was 140,000 words long, full of drama and angst and alcoholism.... it just blew me away. I don't know what or who I am channeling, but I can tell you that I'm not entirely in control here with my novels!

Maria:
ROTFLOL

Lori L. Lake:
I finished Different Dress and we're editing it now for a May release. I started another novel, Missing Link, about an 18-yr-old basketball player. It, too, was meant to be short, sweet, and simple. Next thing I know, the coach's point-of-view is in, then Link's best friend Adam and his lover, Frenchy, then a transfer student named Reggie... I don't know where they all come from! I have learned to just go with the flow, and all the tangles will eventually work out.
You will be surprised to learn, though, that my 5th book is a book of short stories.

Maria:
Surprised? I think shocked is more likely

Lori L. Lake:
They are the stories that I have worked on over the years. Initially we were calling the book Jumping Over My Head (after one of the stories), but I do believe we have settled on Stepping Out, partly because the characters ALL step out of the ordinary in their lives, but also because this novelist is stepping out, too.

Who knows—it may be the only book of short stories I am ever able to write.

Maria:
You still have not told me your opinion on Alt and Slash

Lori L. Lake:
What would you like to know?

Maria:
hhmm, you have opinions, tell me about them

Lori L. Lake:
But about what aspect?

Maria:
you choose...hhmm, why did Sue ask you to speak? Do you have a different opinion from what is "commonly" accepted.... what was your experience with the panel?

Lori L. Lake:
She just wanted a variety of opinions on the panel. She is really much more expert on the topic than I - and, in fact, I would highly recommend you interviewing her here. She's got loads of personality and is very well read in many areas.

Maria:
LOL She is already on my "hit" list, but thanks for letting me know I am on the right track, LOL
Still, what is *your* opinion on it? I don't expect people to be experts, but I like to know what you think

Lori L. Lake:
I enjoyed the panel. We had a lot of laughs about the writing of scenes containing sex. You know, it is quite an art to write about sex without it being gratuitous or stupid or having the reader roll her eyes and throw the book across the room.

My writing obviously falls into the Alt category. I have not written any PWP (plot, what plot?) stories. I am not sure I am that interested. I am less intrigued by physical feeling than by emotional feeling.

Maria:
A true romantic

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, I might be considered a true romantic. Maybe I am more interested in matters of the heart and soul because I have a soul mate and some of those other issues are settled.

Maria:
Question.... do you consider yourself to be conservative in your writing? In general?

Lori L. Lake:
I don’t see myself or my writing conservative at all. I think that writing about anything that has to do with people outside the pale (lesbians, for instance) is an act of radicalism. My writing STYLE might be somewhat conservative. I have an undergraduate degree in English and master’s degree in literature, so I am sure that has an affect on me.

I don't really read Slash fiction—never have. I have, however, very much enjoyed all of Gina Dartt's Janeway/Seven fiction, both the alt stories and the ones that would be considered slash.

Maria:
LOL you read Gina's work

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, I love Gina's writing style, and, truth told, I am a big speculative fiction fan. I read Elizabeth Moon, Diana Rivers, Jean Stewart, Chrisanne Wolf, Orson Scott Card, LOVE Nancy Kress, and many other sci-fi fantasy type stories. I love Heroine/Quest stories, and at heart, I think I would have to say that a lot of the underpinnings of what I write fall partially into that category.

Maria:
Would you like to write a sci-fi fantasy? Or do you see yourself more as someone who enjoys them but doesn't write them?

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, ma'am, I AM writing a post-apocalyptic sci-fi type novel called Isolation 2020.

Maria:
You know, some people don't know that you lift weights and could easy pass for one of the many heroines in these stories.

Lori L. Lake:
I've been out-of-commission from lifting for six months, though. I was gearing up for a competition and herniated a disk in my low back. No more dead lifting or squatting for me. I can still do bench press and light leg work, but never again can I be lifting heavy weights.

Maria:
similar to the Dez character in Gun Shy

Lori L. Lake:
Well, I’m just a bench presser now, and Dez is a bodybuilder with a MUCH trimmer build than *I* will ever have!

Maria:
Tell us more about ISOLATION...I believe it is due to come out next year, correct?

Lori L. Lake:
Isolation is set in Minnesota, a part of the country that has survived--though not thrived--after a combination of human-made and natural disasters occur. The population of the US has been reduced by about 95%. There is no law in the outlying parts that are not near cities. My story takes place near the Mississippi River, within a settlement that was forward thinking - and lucky. I was clipping along quite nicely on it last fall . . . and then 9/11 happened. I didn't have the heart to work on it. I know I will go back to it soon, but it is not due to come out any time soon. Instead of finishing it, I finished Under The Gun.

Maria:
Do you see yourself taking more risks with your writing?

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, I am taking more risks, and I'll take more in the future. One story that is rumbling around in my head (and has been there for a very very long time!) is called The Fourth Option. It has two points-of-view, a 32-yr-old woman and her 60-yr-old father. I have never written a major POV from a male perspective, and the parts that I have made notes on are really more powerful than I expected.

Maria:
sounds like it will be a very interesting story

Lori L. Lake:
I see myself writing characters of many ages, backgrounds, races, genders... I used to be afraid of writing a character of a different race. But then Luella came along (in Gun Shy AND in real life), and I learned that to put myself in any other person's shoes is a leap of imagination that would change the world if only everyone would try to do it. I may make mistakes, but I am going to try it.

Maria:
You are taking a leap of faith. Do you think you will continue to write stories with lesbian leading characters? Or do you think you will also write more traditional stories?

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, I will forever and always write stories with lesbian leading and secondary characters. The reason I began writing in my 20's was because I could find few good stories to read, so I wrote the stories I, myself, wished I had available. I also see myself writing "mainstream" stories, too, but I have a hunch I will include gay and lesbian characters. I am also curious about gender issues and have had the honor of meeting a woman who considers herself male and two men who are transitioning to female. I am interested in exploring issues surrounding their experiences, and before long, I may just do that.

Maria:
sounds like we have a lot to look forward to from you

Lori L. Lake:
If I could hand you all the stories I have in my head, you'd need more than two arms to carry them!

Maria:
Darling, after reading the books you have ALREADY published I would need two arms...I will need a truck for the ones in your head! LOL

Lori L. Lake:
Yes, Maria, you are right about the leap of faith. Every story, every writing session, in fact, is a leap of faith.

Maria:
You do know all the questions I had for you went out the window somewhere around the first 10 minutes of our conversation right? LOL I felt it was more important to get you nice and loose and have that be the interview than have it be so serious, LOL Which luckily has turned out to be the case

Lori L. Lake:
Nope, had no clue. I was just trying to be ready for any blessed thing! Are there any questions you did have that you want to ask still?

Maria:
Each interviewee is different and sometimes you need to take that into account. There are questions but when I asked you changed the subject matter, I chose to change direction and this has been a very good interview of Lori Lake the person and I think that is good.

Lori L. Lake:
Did you get what you wanted of Lori Lake the author, too?

Maria:
I think the readers will get a very good idea of Lori Lake the person and, in turn, the author. The only question left is the only one everyone is required to answer

Lori L. Lake:
Okay, bring it on, babe!

Maria:
ooohh, I'm a babe! Wait; is that the pig or the hot woman? ROTFLOL

Lori L. Lake:
Mildred Didriksen, I am sure. A woman.

Maria:
please provide me with a favorite quote, it need not be from your own work...it is what goes at the very beginning of the interview page

Lori L. Lake:
You asked for it, you got it! “The soul is constantly about to starve: it cannot live on fun alone. If the soul gets no other food, it will first tear apart other creatures . . . then itself." ~Selma Lagerlof

Maria:
Your past interviews dealt a lot with you in terms of why you write and things like that...I think this interview has turned out a little bit more light and more conversational, which is great...they will get to see this side of you

Lori L. Lake:
And then I send you THAT quote...ha ha ha.... very light and conversational!

Maria:
LOL, it fits with the type of stories you have published, dark, deep and leaves you hungry for more
Back up a minute. Mildred Didriksen? Who is that?

Lori L. Lake:
Babe Didriksen Zaharias...my childhood heroine. You know who she was, right?

Maria:
sorry, never heard of her
when was she around?

Lori L. Lake:
OHMYGOD!! You've lived a deprived existence! She's the greatest women sports hero of the first half of the 20th century, Maria!!!!

Maria:
How old do you think I am?
Shame that I don't know her

Lori L. Lake:
What happened to the final questions about where will you be in 5 years if the world still exists.??

Maria:
ROTFLOL ok, ok...where will you be in 5 years if the world still exists?

Lori L. Lake:
I hope I'll be writing full-time, teaching occasionally, and publishing regularly.

Maria:
don't forget loving...

Lori L. Lake:
No, I am still shocked and astounded that you have never heard of Babe. http://www2.lhric.org/pocantico/womenenc/didrick.html

Even this 4th grade boy has heard of her!
She died young (age 43), but she was a model for Billie Jean King (don't tell me you haven't heard of BJK!), and every budding lesbian who ever heard of her was inspired.

Maria:
She died in 1956! My parents were at least 10 years away from having my older brother! LOL

Lori L. Lake:
Have you heard of Amelia Earhart? Babe Didriksen was, during her time, even more famous than AE.

Maria:
I heard of Billie Jean King, does that save me from being a ‘dunce’ in sports?

Lori L. Lake:
Believe me, Maria, you are no dunce! Your computer and legal skills prove that.

It's amazing how fast 2.25 hours can go, though. Thanks for the entertaining and thoughtful interview, Maria. I know it will turn out to be a very good one. You’ve asked me a lot of interesting questions.

One more thing to tell your readers: R.L. Johnson, C.A. “Mindancer” Casey, Gabrielle Goldsby, and I will be at IN OTHER WORDS BOOKSTORE in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday December 21st. I hope people will come over to the store between 4:00-6:00 and talk to us. People can email me at Lori@LoriLLake.com for more info.

Maria:
I appreciate your doing this interview and hope that we can continue to have a working and friendly relationship. Good luck!