Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma but now writes thrillers full-time, using her clinical experience to explore the dark recesses of the human psyche.
She's written a total of nine standalone thrillers, with her most recent novel, Under Her Care featuring as an Amazon 'First Reads'.
She explained the importance of deadlines and targets, why she writes every single day and her distaste of sitting that still leads her to writing outside and often on the move!
Where do you live?
Los Angeles
How many books have you published?
Nine standalone thrillers.
How long have you been writing?
Since I could hold a pencil. Seriously. Since I was a little girl. I taught myself to type on an old-fashioned typewriter in second grade. I wrote my first 100+ page book in fourth.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
Yep. I’ve always had voice inside me that needed to get out. That’s really why I write. I’m tortured otherwise.
Do you write full-time?
I have for three years now. I used to be a psychologist specializing in trauma, but I stepped away from the field to write full-time. I haven’t looked back since.
Who are your favourite authors?
Too many to count. Top two probably Stephen King and V.C. Andrews. I know you don’t see those two names together very often, but both are my favs for the same reasons, they’re amazing story tellers and provided the best escape for me when I needed it growing up.
What does your writing day look like?
Every day is different. It all depends where I am in the cycle of writing, editing, or releasing. Sometimes all three are happening at the same time so I work very long days. I always give myself targets when I’m under deadlines. I went to school for too many years not too so it’s built into me. But no matter what, I write every day, even if it’s just scribbling away in my journal in the morning.
Do you plan your books in advance or discover as you go along?
I have a general idea when I’m pitching the book because I have to give a synopsis to the team, but where I end up at the end of the book? Who knows! That’s my favorite part of writing. Discovering where the story goes.
Where do you write?
I write as much as I can outside. Oh, and usually standing or moving around somehow. I hate sitting still.
Which has been your most successful book to date?
Depends on how you define success. The Best of Friends has sold the most copies and The Perfect Child has had the most hype.
Where do your ideas come from?
The world. The truth is better than any fiction.
If readers are new to your work – which book of yours do you recommend starting with?
I’d start with my latest release - Under Her Care - because it’s my best work yet. A chilling thriller that pits two mothers of autistic children against each other in a story of narcissism, lies, and murder. It just came out as an Amazon First Reads book so you can get the kindle version early and free. It comes out on audible and in paperback on June 1st.
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on the edits for Off the Deep End which comes out in 2023 and waiting to see what I’m going to write next. Lots of exciting stuff happening.
Tell us about your latest release.
Under Her Care. It just came out as an Amazon First Reads book so you can get the kindle version early and free before the June 1st release of the paperback and audible book. It pits two mothers of autistic children against each other in a story of narcissism, lies, and murder. It’s gotten great reviews including a starred one in Publishers Weekly. I’m so excited for readers to experience it. It’s my best work yet.
Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. Now, she spends her days writing full-time where she uses her clinical experience to blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys taking her readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human psyche. Her work has been optioned for film and translated into multiple languages. If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. Find out more at lucindaberry.com
Lucinda Berry was talking to AJ Wills, the bestselling author of multiple psychological thrillers. He was a journalist for more than twenty years and has been writing full-time since March 2021. He's married to fellow thriller writer, AJ McDine.
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