Last month I posted a blog about the serendipity of spontaneously stopping by my childhood home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio to take a look – since I hadn’t seen it in fifty-five years. While I was there, one of those weird universal coincidences happened when I met Florenza Lee, the author currently living in the house who was smack in the middle of publishing her new book.
Two writers from the same exact location? Maybe there
is something in that aquifer.
My curiosity was piqued. I needed to know more, and I
thought you might too. Please welcome Podcaster/Publisher/Author Florenza Lee.
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Welcome, Florenza. What a treat to host you on the Writers Who Kill blog.
Q: What was your reaction when Martha Reed
unexpectedly showed up on your doorstep? (NB: Trust me,
this happens. One of my nicknames is Bad Penny because you never know where
I’ll turn up.)
A: My initial thought was, “Yep, I know how this movie
is going to end!” And that was BEFORE I learned you were a writer—not just a
writer, but a crime fiction writer extraordinaire. For your readers, it may
come as quite a surprise, but things like this happen to Papa Bear and me all
the time. We seem to be “Netflix movie storyline magnets.” Why should a
mysterious, slow-moving vehicle with two absolute strangers possibly casing the
house be any different from any given Tuesday?
Tell us about yourself:
Q: When did you decide to become an
author, and why?
A: I don’t know that I ever decided to
become an author as much as I finally stopped resisting becoming one. I had
spent years writing in one form or another, but after retiring from a 31-year
career as a federal civilian employee and Army spouse, the stories that had
been patiently waiting for me suddenly had room to breathe.
Writing full time gave me permission to ask, “What
if?”—and then follow wherever the answer led. What began with children’s books
grew into stories for readers of different ages and genres, but the reason I
write has remained the same: I believe stories have the power to entertain us,
challenge us, connect us, and sometimes help us see ourselves a little
differently.
Q: Do you have a preferred genre to write
in, and if so, why?
A: I’m not sure I have a preferred genre
as much as I have a preferred kind of story. I love stories that make readers
feel something, question something, or see something from a perspective they
may not have considered before. That can happen in a children’s book just as
easily as it can in a psychological thriller, romantic suspense, or
inspirational work.
Writing across genres also keeps me creatively
curious. One day I can be solving a mystery with middle-grade characters, and
the next I can be plotting something that would make you seriously reconsider
trusting your neighbors. Apparently, my imagination does not believe in staying
in its assigned lane—and I’ve stopped trying to make it.
Q: Does your life experience influence
your creativity or help you develop your characters?
A: Absolutely. I’ve lived long enough to
have collected a whole lot of stories—and even more characters. My life experiences are woven into nearly
everything I write, although rarely exactly as they happened (that’s my story
and I’m sticking to it).
More often, I borrow the truth of an
experience: an emotion, a conversation, a personality trait, a place I’ve
lived, or something I’ve witnessed. Then I ask, “What if?” and let my
imagination take over. Thirty-one years as an Army spouse also introduced me to
people from different cultures, backgrounds, and walks of life, and those
experiences expanded the way I see people and the world.
And if you knew my family... whew! Talk about a
Netflix series happening in real time! There is no shortage of material around
here.
So, are my characters based on real people? Not
exactly. But if you know me and suddenly recognize a familiar quirk on the
page... mind your business.
Q: What is your writing discipline or
practice? Do you have a favorite place to write? Do you write every day?
A: I wish I could tell you I have some
beautifully disciplined writing ritual involving a perfectly organized desk, a
steaming cup of tea (wink-wink), and several uninterrupted hours of creative
bliss. I do not.
I write when the story starts talking—and once it gets
loud enough, everything else tends to become background noise. I don’t
necessarily write fiction every day, but I do write every day. Between
books, publishing, podcasting, speaking, and the million other things happening
in my world, words are simply part of my daily life.
As for my favorite place to write, I can write almost
anywhere. Give me my laptop and a story that won’t leave me alone, and I’m
good. I’ve learned not to wait for the perfect setting, the perfect mood, or
the perfect block of uninterrupted time. When the words come, I make room for
them.
Q: Do you have a dream project you haven’t
tackled yet? If so, what is it?
A: For a long time, one of my biggest
dreams was to be traditionally published—and with McGill & Lee, I
can officially say, I did that! Now, I think I’m living another dream project
with Alchemize Your Story.
For years, I resisted writing a guided journal because
I understood the responsibility that comes with asking people to revisit their
stories. I never wanted to simply hand someone prompts, stir up emotions, and
then leave them there.
Alchemize
became the project I didn’t know I had been preparing my whole life to write.
It brings together storytelling, reflection, the lessons I’ve gathered from my
own experiences, and my belief that we can look at what has happened to us
without allowing it to become the entirety of who we are.
So, for once, the dream projects aren’t sitting
somewhere on my “one day” list. I actually did them. And there is something
incredibly satisfying—and a little surreal—about being able to say that.
Q: Are you traditional,
indie/self-published, or hybrid? Why did you decide to follow that path to
publication?
A: Today, I’m proudly a hybrid author, but my journey
began very intentionally as an indie publisher. On January 31, 2014, I started
Words to Ponder Publishing Company, LLC because I wanted to take ownership of
my words.
At the time, I didn’t fully understand the path to
traditional publishing, but more importantly, I wasn’t comfortable turning my
words over to a stranger. I felt deeply connected to what I had written. Those
stories were mine, and I wanted to understand every part of what happened to
them—from manuscript to finished book. So, I decided to learn the business and
publish them myself.
And I am so glad I did it my way.
Since then, I’ve written and published 30 books, built
my own publishing company, and learned an industry I once knew very little
about from the inside out. Now, I’ve also had the experience of becoming
traditionally published, which has given me the opportunity to see both paths
from a completely different perspective.
And I can say with complete confidence: if I had to
start all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Indie publishing didn’t become my path because I
couldn’t find another way in. It became my path because I chose to take
ownership of my words—and, ultimately, that choice helped prepare me for every
opportunity that followed.
Q: When did you become a podcaster? What
inspired or lead you in that creative direction? Or did podcasting come first?
A: On the Air with Florenza is actually my
second podcast. My first introduced me to women who had survived some of the
most horrific, traumatic, unimaginable experiences—and then, seemingly with
their very next breath, made the decision not only to live, but to thrive.
Their stories of resilience inspired me beyond words.
And I discovered something about myself as an interviewer: there was no story I
wouldn’t shift, turn, or gently dig beneath to get to the why, the how, and the
what. I wanted to understand what allowed someone to move from surviving
something to deciding it would not define the rest of her life.
Although the listenership grew, the platform itself
was small and eventually folded. I put podcasting on the back burner and turned
my attention to writing and advocating for our Nation’s Veterans.
Then fellow author and good friend Tracy Blom
interviewed me for her show, Books, Kids & Creations with Tracy Blom.
That interview unexpectedly led to an invitation for me to sit on the other
side of the microphone again.
It was not a quick yes.
At the time, my life was where insanity went to become
insane. 😂 The last thing I
thought I needed was another commitment. But after a few phone calls, emails,
and texts, I finally said yes.
And let me tell you! In what feels like a ridiculously
short, mind-bending amount of time, On the Air with Florenza has grown
to nearly 300 episodes and counting.
What makes me proudest, though, isn’t the number. It’s
what the show has become. On the Air with Florenza isn’t limited by
genre, race, gender, religion, or the boxes we so often use to separate
ourselves and our stories. I’ve had the privilege of sitting across from an
extraordinary range of people and discovering what I learned during that very
first podcast: there is always another layer to the story if you’re willing to
ask the next question.
That’s what On the Air with Florenza has
become—a place for “authentic conversations with a twist.” And somehow, all
these years later, I’m still chasing the why, the how, and the what.
Q: What are the main differences between
creating a podcast and developing a story?
A: For me, there really aren’t many differences.
Listen to one episode of On the Air with Florenza, and you’ll quickly
realize this isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill podcast. I develop a
conversation much the same way I develop a story.
For starters, no one comes onto my show as a “guest.”
They are my co-hosts because we share the platform equally. And somewhere along
the way, the questions become characters themselves. They plop right down
between the two of us and say, “Okay, let’s see where this takes us.”
My questions are often stories in themselves. They
have context, curiosity, and sometimes a little mischief built into them. But
I’m also listening—to the answer beneath the answer, the unexpected detail, the
pause, or the breadcrumb that makes me abandon where I thought we were going
and follow where the conversation wants to lead.
And here’s another important part of the experience:
no one—and I mean absolutely NO ONE—receives the questions in advance. My
co-hosts come into the experience blind. That’s intentional because it protects
the authenticity of the conversation. I often warn authors, “Be warned: you
can’t go on autopilot with me and blurt out your rehearsed, canned answers. No
sirree, Bob. Get ready to stand ten toes down, chin up, with your whole chest,
because this is a unique literary experience.”
And it is.
That’s also exactly what happens when I’m developing a
story. I may begin knowing where I think we’re headed, but then a
character reveals something, the story shifts, and suddenly we’re exploring
something far more interesting than what I originally planned.
I’ve stopped counting how many times a co-host has
paused and said, “Now, that’s a great question!” I never tire of hearing it
because it tells me the question did more than ask for information—it opened a
door.
So, the biggest difference may simply be the medium.
When I write, the story unfolds on the page. When I podcast, the story unfolds
between two people in real time. Either way, I’m listening closely, following
the breadcrumbs, and trying to get to the story beneath the story.
Q: Does podcasting support your creative
writing, and vice versa?
A: Absolutely. Hearing the journeys of
other creatives inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing. I learn a little
something from every co-host who sits across from me. At this rate, I’m pretty
sure I’ve earned several MFAs.
I keep a notebook beside me during every show because
tremendously talented creatives are constantly dropping nuggets I want to
remember. Their experiences, lessons, mistakes, and wisdom inevitably find
their way into how I think about my own creative work. For that, I am eternally
grateful.
Q: How do you balance the time it takes
between your writing and your podcast?
A: If you ask Papa Bear, he’d probably
say I’m not balancing as much as teetering toward destruction. It’s hard. I won’t lie.
Podcasting takes far more time than the hour or so I
spend behind the microphone. I record and edit every show myself, then divide
each interview into Intermissions—bloopers, behind-the-scenes details,
fun facts, and more—and the main show. More recently, I’ve started breaking
both into mini-bites for TikTok and other platforms. Meanwhile, my characters
are somewhere tapping their fictional little feet, waiting for me to get back
to them.
For a while, I was downright reckless with my
schedule. Monday through Friday, from 9:30 to 18:30, I made myself available to
authors, publicists, editors, and others. Eventually, I had a mountain of
unedited shows, unfinished writing, and absolutely no idea how I was going to
dig myself out.
So, I stopped. I took several months away from
podcasting, cleared the backlog, gathered my thoughts, and created a schedule
that left room for both things I love.
I learned a valuable lesson: even good things can
drown us when we don’t set boundaries. I had to put boundaries around something
that genuinely gives me life so it wouldn’t take time away from another thing
that gives me life—writing.
Do I have the balance perfected now? Ask Papa
Bear. But these days, my characters,
husband, family, and friends gripe a lot less and laugh a lot more.
Q: Do you have a dream podcast special
guest?
A: When I first started, I absolutely had a list of
people I thought would signify that I had “arrived” as a podcaster. Somewhere
along the way, though, I realized something: every author who sits across from
me is my dream co-host.
I’m incredibly fortunate that people who write stories
trust their stories with me—even if it’s only for 45 minutes or so. I know how
insanely chaotic my own days can be. Just carving out 15 minutes to eat can
require an act of Congress, a meeting with the archangels, and an emergency
session with the trinity: me, myself, and I.
So, when I receive a request from a publicist or an
author asking to join me as a co-host, my soul still does a little happy dance.
I never want to become so accustomed to those invitations that I forget what
they mean: someone is trusting me with their time, their work, and a little
piece of themselves.
It’s like being the shy girl holding up the wallpaper
at the high school dance, watching the hottest guy in school walk through the
door—and realizing he has eyes only for me.
Yeah. After nearly 300 shows, it still feels like
that.
Q: Which social media do you use? How do
you connect with readers? Any tips?
A: Okay, this is where I show my age. Most people find
this very hard to believe, but I am a Baby Boomer! Yep. Born in 1964, the final
year of the generation.
Although I consider myself semi-fluent in social
media, I’m still learning as I go. I’ve mastered Facebook, Instagram,
Threads—though I don’t use it as much as the others—X, which I still insist on
calling Twitter, and LinkedIn.
TikTok, however, is the monster under my bed.
I know I should utilize it more. Like, a lot more.
Especially since I write short stories that could probably get the juices
flowing for TikTok users. I’m just a little slow getting to the parade. I
promise I’ll make it there before the music stops and they start sweeping the
ticker tape from the concrete.
As for connecting with readers, my biggest tip is
simple: be a person before you become a promotion. I talk with people. I answer
comments. I share pieces of my life, my writing process, my ridiculousness, and
the things that matter to me. I don’t want every interaction to end with “buy
my book.”
Readers can tell when you’re genuinely interested in
connecting with them. So, whatever platform you choose, show up as yourself.
Even if, like me, you’re occasionally showing up while still trying to figure
out which button does what.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to
cover?
A: I’ve typed so much, my fingers are
thirsty. I think I’ve truly said all I
need—or probably should—be saying at this point.
This has been an absolute delight, and as my co-hosts
so often say to me, “That was a great question!”
Thank you for taking the time to chat with me about my
life, my writing, my podcasting, and all the wonderfully chaotic spaces in
between. I hope we’ll continue the conversation beyond these pages.
Until then, cheers—and keep pondering!
Florenza, thank you for sharing these
insights into your creative life. It’s been a joy meeting you. I wish you all
the best in your endeavors. I’m delighted to think that your positive energy is
busy at work in my childhood home. I have many happy memories of when I lived
there, and I hope you will too. Write on!
Florenza Lee is an award-winning author, publisher,
narrative coach, speaker, and host of On the Air with Florenza, where she
shares “authentic conversations with a twist.” Founder of Words to Ponder
Publishing Company, LLC, she has written and published 30 books across multiple
genres, including romantic suspense and psychological thrillers under the pen
name Aiken Ponder, and is also traditionally published. Whether behind the
microphone, standing on a stage, or putting words on a page, Florenza believes in
the power of story to entertain, connect, challenge, and transform. Her
favorite invitation remains simple: Listen. Read. Ponder.
On the Air with Florenza podcasts are
available on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiINfX_iapz2f-RY9UfTbPXRRVf4izC9
Social media links:
Florenza Lee IG Page
https://www.instagram.com/florenza_denise_lee/
Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/Florenza-Denise-Lee/e/B07RBF8G95
Florenza Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/Florenza.Denise.Lee/
Florenza’s Website: https://www.florenza.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florenza-lee-7076418a
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Florenza_Lee
