New Release: Code Raven The Istanbul Conspiracy by Lynda Filler @LyndaMFiller

How Did You Get into Writing? I’ve been writing most of my life. But when I was given 6 months to live in 2009, I promised myself I would publish. I started with poetry which were actually journal entries of my life. In 2015 I began publishing fiction.

What’s Your Favorite Genre to Write? Mystery/Contemporary Fiction

Is there a genre you’ve always wanted to write in that you haven’t yet? HEA Romance. LOL, I’m a cynic.

Who are some of your inspirations? Interesting question. Elizabeth Gilbert. Paulo Coelho. Daniel Silva. Lee Child. David Baldacci. Dan Brown.

Do any of your stories have personal experiences in them? Yes, absolutely all of the 16 books I have written draw from my life and from acquaintances and lovers.

Who are some of your favorite authors to read? The same as the ones who inspire me.

What’s your writing process look like? (Outline or go with the flow of your character) I outline a rough plot. Then if I get stuck, I know my plot is wrong. I let my Muse step in with a surprise or two and then my book takes off. I call it the “magic happens.”

What are some of your hobbies? Photography. Travel. Food. Chocolate. Adventure. Learning new things.

Have you attended any signings? If so, what was your favorite thing about it? No. Mainly because I started publishing while living in Mexico.

When reading reviews, what is something you love to see written? I love when I’ve entertained the reader or inspired. The reviews that make me laugh or feel a sense of touching someone’s life–those are the reviews that matter to me. I don’t like negative hurtful reviews because although I appear to be a bad-ass, I’m very sensitive and put my heart and soul into my passion for writing.

If you could spend the day with one of your characters, who would it be and what would you do? I would love to spend a day with Luke Raven. That’s because my friends and some fans know he’s based on a real person who has a terminal injury from his life as “Luke Raven.” He lives in a hospital. He’s my hero and I feel him all around me when I write the Code Raven books.

What are you currently working on? I’m about to start three projects. 1. Code Raven 8. When you read The Istanbul Conspiracy, I will let you in on a secret: the ending was a complete surprise to me! So, I know I have to continue to see what happens next!! After the success of LOVE, the Beat Goes On–my memoir on “healing from a 6-months-to-live diagnosis,” I know I want to write the Next Chapter. I’ve been traveling all this year and am currently living in Istanbul, Turkey. There’s a tremendous message in everything that I’ve done over the last 10 soon to be 11 years. I need to share that with those who need to be motivated and inspired. And third, I have hundreds of pages emails from a friend who died in 2011. He was a Navy SEAL, and never married. I loved him and feel him around me all the time. His story is meant to be told. He’s already a character in Code Raven, but his personal story is very moving. He died suddenly while in South Sudan and he left me his journals, but his ex-team, after a year of emails back and forth, refused to release them to me. I have enough of him in his writings to tell his story. And I think I’m ready to do this now.

What’s your writing routine? This past 11 months I’ve been traveling, doing a lot of photography, and living my life fully. I didn’t write as much as I have in the past. But I’m now back to a routine of yoga/news/writing/blogging/eating/social-median/shopping/hanging out with my boyfriend/Netflixing. I try to get to sleep before 2:AM and one of these days, I will! But I’m like a kid on permanent vacation and I’m loving every minute of my life right now.

Do you have a superstition when it comes to writing? If so, what? No. Maybe. I do believe that 50% or more of what I write flows through me. It comes from a place so deep inside me that sometimes I actually find myself crying. That’s actually funny when you think about it because I write fast-paced stories that read like movie scripts.

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received? It came from another author who writes mystery/suspense. He said, “make an outline!!” I use excel. And the second piece of advice came from a book I read on writing: Stop writing as if your mother is reading over your shoulder!

Where do you find the names for your characters? A lot of times the name just fits the character I have in my mind. Some are actual names of people I know.

What is your favorite book made into a movie/tv show? JACK REACHER

Anything else you want your readers to know about you? I’m wild, a bit crazy, always up and high on life. I’m older, much older, and I’m single although I’m currently dating a very young Turkish guy and I’m not afraid to talk about it!

If you won the lottery what would you do with the money? I think my life is pretty close to perfect right now. I suppose lottery money gives you a certain sense of financial security. I would travel more. And give away more. And surprise and spoil the people I love.

In your everyday life how do you give back to the world? You might remember a site called MySpace. I think it was the first really successful social media online site. I had tons of followers and posted a lot of poetry, etc. My name on that site was LIGHT & LOVE. I don’t care how bad things are in the world, it’s my mission to spread light and love. When I began this epic voyage early February 2019, I called it my #weareallone journey. From Israel to India to Turkey to Malaysia, we are all one. We all live, and love and want to be happy. I spread that message in my writing, in my blogging, in every aspect of my life. I LIVE that message and I feel passionate about uniting the world in peace and love. I was never a hippie, although that’s my generation. I guess I’m a late bloomer!

If you could give your younger self one piece of writing advice, what would it be? When you know this is what you are born to do, follow your heart and just do it.

The wedding of DJ Turk and the daughter of the Minister of Defense is about to take place on a mega-yacht on the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Hours later the much-anticipated photos show corpses lined up along the dock and a bride covered in blood.
Was this a random act of terror, a targeted assassination of the Turkish political elite, or an attack on DJ Turk who leads a double life?
Luke and Samaar of the Raven Group have their own wedding to attend but it’s called off at the last minute when they uncover a breach in their security. Instead of returning to Paris, they come to the aid of the Turk to get to the bottom of this horrific event.
The conspiracy they uncover must be prevented before the balance of power in the world is perilously reversed.

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