Meet Lynn Santer

We recently connected with Lynn Santer and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lynn, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

My purpose was born out of two catalysts, one nature and one nurture.

I was born to write. I started writing stories in crayon on my bedroom wall as in an infant. My parents quickly decided to keep me supplied with an endless stream of paper and pencils. Very proudly, I sent my first story to a publisher when I was nine years old, enterprisingly finding the address inside my favorite “Winnie the Pooh” book. I now have several bestselling books and two multi-award-winning, internationally acclaimed documentaries. The documentaries are hard-hitting, “truth bombs” that reveal nefarious truths behind the trophy hunting industry (www.LandOfTheFreeMovie.com), whereas my novels range from thrillers, to anthropomorphic animal adventures loved by readers aged 8-88 (www.SwanLakePress.com). The animal adventures have attracted the attention of none other than Priscilla Presley, an agent in London, and a rep in Hollywood, who all want to adapt these stories in animated musical feature films. I am also now developing a gritty, edge-of-the-seat, political thriller feature film based on real events: https://youtu.be/CwOwfqCC53Q. The (kick ass) pitch deck was completed just two days ago and soon we will be reaching out to commercial investors for first stage development funding.

As for the nurture catalyst: my father was a pharmaceutical chemist, initially involved in research, ultimately chairman of an international pharmaceutical company. In his early years, when we were living in London (before emigrating to the paradise of Australia) father visited Africa on business regularly. Outside of the boardroom and research facilities, father’s passion was wildlife photography, so much so that he built a full-blown cinema in the attic of our London home. When he traveled to Africa, it was with a small suitcase of clothes, and an enormous suitcase of Super 8 camera gear (as it was, back in the day). When he returned to London, he would spend hours in his projection room, splicing together soundtrack, narration, and sound effects, before proudly screening his David Attenborough style documentaries for little Lynn and her little friends. I was mesmerized… and super impressed. I fell in love with Africa and her endangered species immediately and determined my life’s mission was to save them all.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am focused on several projects at the moment, and each has a social impact element to it.

My latest anthropomorphic animal adventure “The Dragon Who Found His Wings” addresses the clear and present danger of climate change and deforestation in an enchanting adventure story that is as compelling as it is unique: https://youtu.be/ScIVUReeUxw. Profits go to wildlife rescue and I have a team looking at an animated musical feature film adaptation.

This is the second anthropomorphic animal adventure novel in my “Mermaid Waters Series”, both of which have captured audiences of all ages worldwide: https://youtu.be/CncukIDRsCc

This is the trailer for the first book in the series “Swan Song”, which includes an excerpt from the audiobook: https://youtu.be/W5FFaIAooHY

As mentioned in my introduction, the other project is light years removed from these stories, a gritty political thriller based on real events that I was personally involved with.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

You need a rhinoceros hide!!! Rejection is part of this journey. You have to be able to take it on the chin, know it’s their loss not yours, and move on. I remember, very early on in my writing career, I had the honor of meeting bestselling novelist, Lord Jeffrey Archer (we are still friends nearly 40 years later!) Jeffrey told me that when he was starting out, he was rejected by 18 publishers. Aghast and in horror, I replied, “Jeffrey, I don’t know 18 publishers.” He turned to me and in all earnestness assured me, “My dear, you will!”

Embrace solitude. Writing and film development may take an army of talented supporters to get a final product across the line, but the leg work is largely done in solitude, in the silence of tomb. You need discipline. You need a structured routine. And you need the worlds you create to be alive in living color all around, in every fiber of your being, as you create your masterpiece/s.

Become an empath. Whether I am writing fiction or nonfiction, whether my main character is human or mythical, whether I am writing about something I have experience and knowledge in, or whether I am writing about something that I would not do even should hell freeze over (such as climbing Everest… something I wrote about for a client who had done just that) you must live the story through the eyes of your main character. You must think and see and smell and feel and fear and love and hear and react just as your main character would do. This is truly an art form; I call it “method writing”. It’s exhausting!! Believe me, I climbed every inch of that blasted mountain with my client! But the results are nothing short of pure magic. It takes practice, discipline, and a boundless imagination, but you can do it.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Who isn’t looking for someone to collaborate with? It takes an army!!

I’ve already mentioned that I have a team seeking to develop my anthropomorphic animal adventure novels into animated musical feature films. You can find the books at: www.SwanLakePress.com. Priscilla Presley is in love with the stories, keen to act as Executive Producer, and she’s perfect for the voice of the elegant and serene yet wily and determined Swan Queen in the first story “Swan Song”. Actually, you’ll see photos of Priscilla with the real swan who inspired this story on my website. So, anyone who can add any value to that project, by all means please contact me through the website.

I’ve also already mentioned that I will soon be reaching out to commercial investors for initial developing funding for my new gritty political thriller. Here’s the pitch deck: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:62818b6d-8f4c-4139-af73-996ffb415533. I’d be keen to speak with appropriate directors for this project as well, but we might be a wee bit early for that yet. But maybe not.

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