Local Author Breaks New Ground- first article in the Dreamweaver's series

By Jorena D. Faulkner
February 15, 2008

The walls of Lynny Prince's home are adorned with Indian artifacts, thick with the heritage she and her husband Matt ( who is Dakota Sioux) share in their wooded sanctuary. The smell of sage, the slow simmer of homemade chili cooking in the kitchen, a seemingly monstrous dog lying lazily at the foot of a comfortable recliner- all are humble beginnings of an up and coming local author; the perfect setting for a Dreamweaver. 

Lynny Prince is of Scots-Irish and Cherokee ancestry, with a little German thrown in "for the sauerkraut side" (as she likes to say). She began her writing career as Linda Schmitt, a twelve-year- old girl enamored by the adventures of Marguerite Henry and her "Misty of Chincoteauge" series. Inspired by her late mother, Betty Jean Goff (who wrote beautiful poetry that expressed the trials and tribulations of her life and the lives of her four daughters), Lynny began writing and illustrating her own books about her first love, horses.
"Writing has been in my heart as long as I an remember," said Lynny. "I think I was born with a pen in my hand!" However, the realization of another dream was to manifest sooner than she thought.

In her late teens, Lynny threw caution to the wind. Jumping on a Greyhound bus with her guitar-playing boyfriend, she took off to Los Angles to pursue rock star status as lead singer of her own band. In a career spanning nearly 30 years, Lynny found success with her band Miss Joshua, who won several awards for their original material before going their separate ways in January of 2000.

She met and married her husband Matt that same year, and began writing seriously shortly thereafter. He insisted she quit her job as a paralegal assistant and devote herself to writing full-time after coming across an unpublished manuscript Lynny had been working on about the ghost of Marilyn Monroe entitled The Haunting of Mann Theater.

Lynny began writing Scattered Leaves: The Legend of Ghostkiller in January of 2004 in the spare moments she had between helping care for her terminally ill mother and new grandbaby.

"The book saved my sanity during some pretty dark hours," she said. "Those spirits that I wrote about are still with me today. I'm just the vehicle by which their story traveled to the paper."

Dedicated to her project and intent on seeing her work published, Lynny set about researching anything and everything to do with self-publishing, marketing and distribution of literary creations. She decided early on that relying on the approval of the major publishing companies wasn't an avenue she wanted to base her success as a writer upon, and was determined to maintain control of her work by "keeping her hand in the creative pot."

Using the internet as a primary source of information, she researched local publishing companies, contacted producers and composers, and networked with other authors to build a comprehensive plan to becoming a published author. She has played an integral role in every aspect of making her dream come true, from signing on with a local publisher, to the development of her Web Site, securing the cover art for the publication and the production of a book trailer hosted on YouTube.

Having spoken with several high profile industry professionals, development discussions for a future movie deal are already in the works.

As a result of her hard work and dedication, Lynny was invited to be a speaker at this month's Kentucky Women's Book Festival at University of Lousiness, Exstrom Library. Co-hosting a panel entitled "writing thrillers," along with well-known author Laura Benedict, Lynny hopes to highlight areas in which writers can gain more control over the destiny of their success by taking control of their own publishing process, and discuss the importance of the publication is Native American women's literary work. Although certainly "thrilling," she considers her work more historical fiction.

She and Matt are the founders of Red Road Awareness, an organization that raises the awareness of Native American issues in the Kentuckiana area.

Author's Note: This book is currently out of print. Check the latest news tab for details on its future availability!