Check Out Lori Briley Fairchild’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Briley Fairchild.

Hi Lori, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a writer. Pretty much from the time I could hold a pencil, I wanted to write. I went to college and majored in journalism and history, and when I graduated, I worked for a trade publication that served the fresh produce industry. But even though my career was in writing and editing, I still had the itch to write a book. We had kids, and I set those writing dreams aside as I raised my kids and worked as a freelance writer and editor, which I still do today.

In 2019, my oldest was getting ready to graduate from high school, with my younger daughter set to follow two years later. For the first time in 18 years, I realized that I was going to have time to do the things I wanted to do. And I wanted to write a book. Actually, I wanted to run a 5K and write a book (not at the same time). So, I started writing. I set aside 15 minutes every day to work on my book around my freelancing and still being a mom. Slowly, that book came together. I finished the first draft and ran my first 5K in the same week of November.

Now, six years later, I still work as a freelance writer and editor, but I’m also the author of six books in two series. I have a three books out in my young adult dystopian series, The Palumbra Chronicles, and another three books in my children’s mystery series, The Buddy and Panda Mysteries.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No road is ever completely smooth. At the beginning, I just wanted to write a book, but when it was done, I realized I really enjoyed the process and I had more stories to tell. I wrote the second book quickly, but the third book took me over two years to write because of some family things that took up my time.

But it turns out, writing the book is the easy part. I chose to self-publish my books, which means I do all the marketing and promotion for them. Getting your book into the hands of the right readers is a lot of hard work and a lot of trial and error. Identifying the right way to describe your books that encourages people to pick them up takes a lot of testing and willingness to listen to feedback. Trying to make your way to the top of the online bookstore pile can seem like swimming against the current.

I’m not necessarily where I’d like to be yet with my books saleswise, but each year is showing steady sales growth, so that’s promising.

It’s not all about sales for me, though. My Buddy and Panda mystery series for kids is a fun romp with two loveable dogs that are based on my own dogs. Their owner is a 10-year-old girl named Eva who plays ice hockey. My younger daughter played ice hockey from the time she was five, and when she was young, we could never find books about girls who play hockey. When I was working on the idea for Buddy and Panda, I knew I wanted to use some of her experiences to inspire other young girls to try something different. Now, when I go to events, I almost always have at least one girl who comes up to me with wide eyes so excited to see a book where a girl plays hockey because she plays hockey, too. I love knowing that because these books exist, no girl ever has to grow up unable to see herself in a book.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In addition to being a freelance editor and writer, I am an author of young adult and children’s books.

I write The Palumbra Chronicles, a young adult dystopian series about a 17-year-old girl named Maeve Jackson who discovers a time capsule on her way home from work one day that changes everything she thinks she knows about her world. She eventually has to choose whether to join the rebellion or stick with the status quo.

My children’s mystery series is called The Buddy and Panda Mysteries, and the series, as told by Buddy, follows their adventures solving mysteries (they call themselves the Holmes and Watson of the dog world) while also helping their owner, 10-year-old Eva, navigate life’s challenges like friendship, fitting in, and social media.

I love writing for young readers because I find young people to be full of hope and belief that they can make the world a better place. My books embody that spirit.

People always ask me what my favorite book is of the ones I’ve written. I actually have two. The first Palumbra Chronicles book, The Lost Years, will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first one I wrote. It was the one that proved that I actually had what it took to be an author, to sit down and write an entire story from start to finish.

The other book is the second one I wrote in The Buddy and Panda Mystery series called No Girls Allowed. When my daughter was growing up, she played for a long time on an all-boys hockey team. It was tough to be the only girl, and No Girls Allowed talks about that in a way that other girls can relate to. It really delves into the question of how do you deal with it when someone is bullying you for doing something “different.” And while that book focuses on Eva’s trouble, I think both boys and girls can benefit from the message that it’s OK to love something and want to do things that are maybe “non-traditional” no matter what anyone else says.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think every author is a risk-taker at heart. We take a risk every time we put our books out into the world. We’ve given it our heart and soul, shared some of our most personal thoughts, and now we’re sending it out into the hands of readers who will decide whether it’s worthy of their time. It’s always a risk that readers will think the book is terrible, and no one will ever buy it. But there’s an equal chance that readers will love it. Every time I hit the publish button and send a book off, I have a little shiver of uncertainty wondering if the book is any good.

As far as my business goes, I love trying new things, but financially, I’m not a huge risk-taker. I always want to make sure that when I try new things, I don’t have too much on the line if things go south.

One risk I did take that wasn’t financial was when I started doing school visits. I love working with kids, but I was nervous about whether I could hold the attention of an entire group of students talking about my books and writing. I’m so glad I took the risk, though, because school visits are now one of my favorite parts of being an author.

Pricing:

• Palumbra Chronicles books 18.99 each
• Buddy and Panda books 9.99 each
• Writing/editing services Determined per project

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ldfairchildauthor.com
• Instagram: Lori Briley Fairchild
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LDFairchild
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorifairchild/