Written Author Interview
Why don’t you guys introduce yourselves? Tell us a little bit about what you both do and what kind of work you’ve put out there.
Lelina – Okay well I’m Lelina Smith. I married Bruce back in December, so we’re newlyweds. I’ve been an author for a really long time. I’ve been writing since I was a child, but I just recently took the plunge into self publishing. And by recently I mean within the last three or four years or so. I’ve got two published books out currently. They’re books one and two of the Kira Raymond Trilogy. The first book is called The Girl Who Was Too Much and Not Enough. And the second book in the series is The Girl Who Saved Them All. There will be a third book, but in the meantime, I’ve been taking a little bit of a hiatus from that project, and I’ve been working on a new, adult, romantic comedy. So that’s what I’ve been working on.
But when Bruce and I met I got really interested in screenplays, because that’s what Bruce writes. During our time together the idea kind of evolved to turn his screenplays into books. Into a series of books. And so Heaven that Never Was, the most recent project that we collaborated on, is a short story that’s a prequel to the series of screenplays that he’s written. And I’ll let him tell you more about that.
Bruce – Heaven that Never Was was brought off of Devil’s Delight, my very first screenplay. My manager says, “Hey, you need to write a short story.” Kind of bringing this into a light. So. Heaven that Never Was is pretty much the beginning of everything, from that demise, from God and Lucifer and their deal that they made between each other, and it shows, in my point of perspective and view, the fallen. Gives the reason why they decided to part ways. For everything that humans have that they didn’t have. So I started with that and it just kind of evolved into the short story from the screenplay, and it kind of leads into Devil’s Delight, the next screenplay and then from there it goes to three other more screenplays that I have written. And so we’re just kind of in that mode and that push to start with Heaven that Never Was and just work its way up and see what goes on.
And are you hoping that these turn into movies, plays? I know that the one you two collaborated on together is a book, but what are your hopes for these?
Lelina – Well, the short story, Heaven that Never Was, is actually—we’re getting funding right now to make that into a short film, in Canada. So, we’re just waiting on funding for that. We’ve been applying for grants and trying to brainstorm other avenues to raise the capital to go ahead and get that movie made. And once that gets made, the idea is to be able to have that series optioned either as a series, or as a series of films, or whatever the case may be.
Since you both are writers, do you each have a favorite spot that you like to sit and write, brainstorm, come up with all your ideas together?
Bruce – When we first started talking and everything, it was about seven o’clock at night. We were on the computer back and forth doing video chat, and I think my very last screenplay had everything down in about five to ten minutes and I just gave it to her and said, “Run with it.” The next morning, I get up and I’ve got an email saying, “Okay, you have to write all this.” She put it back in my lap. And this is where we were just talking, but most of the time, whenever I write, I tend to think everything through. And then I just, wherever I want in the house, I just find a spot and curl up into and I just start writing. I just really let the idea evolve in my mind and I start just writing things down and putting the words to each character, and then after that I just go with the backstory for each character on a later time.
Lelina – I have a little bit of a different process. I work mainly either at my writing desk, which is here in this room, or curled up on the couch. I like being comfortable. I do have my particular spots where I like to do my writing. Those are my two spots.
For each of you, is there a specific time of day that you seem to be most productive with your writing?
Lelina – Morning for me for sure. I’m very much a morning person. I’m a very early riser. I usually get up about 4:00 a.m. everyday. It gives me time to myself, be able to think, be able to get my creative juices flowing. I go to the gym. Sometimes if I’m really blocked, just walking on the treadmill for an hour will really get me to start thinking about where I want to go next with something. That really helps. I’m definitely more of a morning person. I did have an opportunity to write full-time for a while, which was wonderful, and not have a day job. But now, sadly, I do have a day job that cuts into that quite a bit. But even writing full-time, especially writing full time, I had a very structured day. I would get up and I would write for so many hours. I treated it like a job, which is what it is.
Bruce – All day long. I tend to carry a small notebook or a little pad of paper and whenever I have ideas, I just write them down. I just think the process through and either at the end of the day or on the weekend, I take everything and I put it together. I work from anywhere between five o’clock in the morning to five or six o’clock in the evening, I have to write everything down on a pad and get it all out. It just evolves from there after that.
Do either of you have anything playing in the background when you’re writing? Are you listening to music? Is the TV on? Are you listening to a podcast? Anything specific?
Bruce – A lot of times I’ve got music going on and it just varies. It ranges, but the louder the better for me because I just let the characters enter my mind and I have to put myself in every character’s position, the wording. And a lot of times the music just really helps. Sometimes it’s whatever I have on my channel of YouTube that I listen to, whatever hits it just becomes a brainstorm and the words start to flow. Not the words from the music but I put my own words and my own head and my character, and that’s how it will flow down for me.
Lelina – I’m the complete opposite. I like to have it really quiet when I’m writing. I find it just too distracting to listen to anything. I used to write with a playlist, but I find that music serves like more of an inspiration. Like when I’m at the gym, for instance, and I’m thinking of ideas and where I want the story to go, then I’ll be listening to music usually. And that will sometimes take me in the direction that I want to go. But when I’m doing the actual writing, I need to have quiet.
Have either of you, with your most recent pieces, experienced writer’s block?
Bruce – No, I really can’t say I have. It’s something that is always evolving because I will have something down and then I’ll think of something else. I’ll put it with that or I’ll change something up. If I’ve ever gotten stuck, which may be quite a few times, I just forget about it and find something else to do. I do whatever I can to forget about it because later on I’ll fall asleep and something clicks and then I’ll get back up, and it’s adding more or changing things.
Lelina – I’ve actually had a lot of writer’s block with this current project I’m working on. So, I’m trying to work through that. But part of overcoming that was collaborating on this project with Bruce because it is something that was completely different from what I’ve been working on. Hopefully that will help get me back on track with my other projects.
Do you have any particular advice for those who may be struggling to move on or do something else?
Bruce – If it’s what they enjoy and what they want to do, I wouldn’t say move on. I would more or less say set it to the side, and just let your mind go and work on something else. And I think, eventually, what they want to work on will click for them, and they’ll be able to jump right back on it with a fresh perspective that will work with them in their own mind, because it’s coming from their mind as a writer. They may give themselves a break, do something else, continue on with their day job, their night job, whatever. And a conversation might spark something in their mind to go back to it, and pick up where they left off and be able to continue and finish what they’re doing.
Lelina – I agree. I think that you just have to keep going if you really love writing, which those of us who are writers generally do. We’re not in this for the money, most of us, because it traditionally doesn’t pay very well. Unless you catch a major break. And I have to give myself this pep talk all the time. Just keep going. Just keep going.
For both of you, if there was a celebrity, a famous actor, writer, somebody that would want to read your work, who would it be for each of you?
Lelina – For me it would be Stepehn King. One hundred percent. I’ve been reading him since probably, way before I should have. And he’s always been somebody that I’ve just looked up to tremendously as far as writing. Stephen King is on my bucket list, for sure. To meet and to, my goodness, to have him read anything that I wrote would just be a dream come true.
Bruce – I have two actually. Jack Nicholson, you know, is not just a tremendous actor, but one very creative mind who can put an entire story down that somebody gives him and rework a lot of it or some of it, put a lot of his own touches on it. And he’s done a lot of work on some of the movies that he’s been in. Another one that I find very interesting and creative would be Freddy Prince Jr. He’s done a tremendous amount of work, not only on some of the movies he’s been in, but also with WWE entertainment industry. He’s got a very creative spark to him that a lot of people don’t see. Not only as a well-known actor, but he has that instinct as a creative writer to be able to bring something together in a dialogue that a lot of people don’t realize. He’d be another one that I’d like to have a read or sit down with.
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About
Having traveled the world for his job as a millwright, Bruce has a unique perspective on the promises and plights of society. His experiences inspire his screenplays and give him the ability to provoke his readers to think differently. He is not afraid to challenge his own biases and preconceived notions to make himself a better writer and a better person. His award-winning scripts include Heaven That Never Was, Devil’s Delight, Ladders To Fire, DWA and Mary’s World. Bruce is a native of Indiana, where he continues to live today with his new wife, Lelina. When he is not writing, you can find Bruce tending to his yard or spending time with his family. He takes great pride in supporting his loved ones and they fuel his passion to be the best version of himself.
Lelina Smith was born in New York City and raised in Guinea, West Africa by globe-trotting parents. After pinballing around Europe as an accidental tourist in her teens via boarding school, she landed briefly in Virginia, where she earned a degree in Psychology and became a wife and mother. She lived in Texas for 25 years and now resides in Indiana, rediscovering herself and embracing a renaissance in her creative life. She enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, and supporting fellow independent authors in the writing community. She is an author and poet across multiple genres, including Young Adult, Romance, and Horror, including the Kierra Rieman Trilogy, under the name Lelina Durrette. Lelina is currently working on an adult rom/com adventure, a horror novel, and a collaborative book series with husband and screenwriter Bruce Smith.
Social Media
Bruce’s Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brucesmithscreenwriterauthor/
X: https://x.com/BruceAndLelina
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-smith-451332182/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dan226306
Lelina’s Social Medai:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lelinasmithwrites/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lelinasmithwrites?xmt=AQF0K-BbKrxFY9WxCm-8wlsY7rKOPZdB4sxEbl6kcD-yJ5M
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lelina-smith-695955191/
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