Lynn H. Blackburn

Since the release of Beneath the Surface, I have fielded a ton of questions.

For example . . . “Why doesn’t more of the book take place underwater?”

Well . . . here’s the thing. Some people enjoy lots of details about regulators and buoyancy and diving techniques. But I have to tell you that when I’m reading a book and the author goes into a lot of specifics about something that is very cool but that I don’t know anything about, guess what I do? I SKIM—or even (gasp!) SKIP—THAT PARAGRAPH.

As a writer, I try to avoid writing paragraphs people will skip! If the information proves I did my research but doesn’t do anything to move the story forward, I make every effort to cut it.

Here’s another one  . . . “How do you pronounce (___)?”

• Leigh is pronounced Lee, not Leah.

• The “i” in Anissa is a long “e” sound. As in Lisa. Not a short “i” like Melissa. I realize it’s confusing.

• Oh, and apparently I like the long “e” sound, because we also have Sabrina, another “i” with the long “e” sound.

• No, I did NOT do this on purpose. 🙂

But this is the one question I’ve gotten the most.

Do YOU dive?

Until this weekend the answer to that question was no. Not because I didn’t want to. But because this series sold a lot faster than I ever dreamed it would, and instead of getting my SCUBA certification last spring, I was crazy busy writing Beneath the Surface.

This spring, I’m still crazy busy writing the third book in the series (#GabeandAnissa) but I’m carving out time to get my certification in advance of a family vacation this summer to the Florida Keys.

Saturday and Sunday I’ll be in class and then in the pool learning how to dive safely. Then in a couple of weeks I’ll do my open water dive.

I have to tell you this though . . . I am terrified. 

Truly. I’m not worried about the sessions in the pool (much). And I’m not worried about the physics and chemistry in the homework. I have a degree chemical engineering—I understand pressure and volume and density. I get it.

I am worried that I will panic fifty feet underwater. Or that I’ll do something really stupid and be put in a database of people who should never be allowed to dive. (I feel sure this exists!)

The instructor told me in all the years he’s been doing this he can count on one hand how many people have decided diving wasn’t for them after they finish the class.

What if I make him go to two hands? The shame!

Mostly, I’m afraid I will stink at it. I’m not the most coordinated person in the world. And I’m a little worried that they don’t make wetsuits my size. (I’ll take that in a short/chubby?)

So, feel free to pray for me this weekend. And pray for my instructor. He’s gonna need it.

Grace and peace,

P.S. I’ll be documenting this (as much as I can) on social media. Check out my Instagram and Facebook feeds if you want to follow along. 🙂