FoX Friday with R.L. Merrill and a chance to win!
Happy FoX Friday, my lovelies! It’s been a little chilly here in the writing cave, but I have something that will warm us all up. Today’s FoX is my dear friend R.L. Merrill, and she’s here with her brand new release from Dreamspinner Press, Typhoon Toby. Before we meet Toby and Spencer, let’s learn a little bit more about our fabulous author in this delightful interview. Read on for a chance to win a $10 Amazon GC!
Hiya! Congrats on your new release.
THANK YOU!
I’m stupid excited about this book. It will hopefully make you laugh, cry, push
your buttons (both the happy ones and the uncomfortable ones) and leave you
feeling satisfied at the end… maybe even ready to take in a tap class, go see a
show, or donate to your choice of mental health awareness/LGBTQ support
programs!
Absolutely! Did you always want to be a writer? If not, what else did you want to do?
There may have been a time when I was in elementary school when I wanted to be a writer. A few years ago, my mom pulled out a bunch of my old school work and there were some short stories in there that were actually quite funny. Even back then I wrote weird shit.
Haha!
But no, in college I wanted to be a therapist, and then switched to History teacher. I went to grad school three years later to earn my master’s so I could do school counseling. Through an internship, I ended up working in the police department as an advocate for victims of domestic violence. The department I worked for wanted me to apply to be an officer, so I did. I passed the test and interview with flying colors… but I literally couldn’t get over the damn 6-foot wall during the test.
Oh no! (facepalm)
I’d been practicing for weeks with female officers and I even tore my pec trying. So, I went home and said, “hey, babe? Let’s have kids instead.” Here I am, a 25-year veteran educator, and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Writing stories with happy endings that deal with real-life issues and emotional struggles has fulfilled me like nothing else. So yeah, I’m going to keep writing but never grow up.
And we’re so glad to hear that. 
