Lyn Worthen is author of many genres of books, and the managing editor of Camden Park Press. She puts together anthologies and she writes books under different pen names. Worthen was in attendance at the Readers Fest at the West Jordan Library along with other writers.  

A picture of Lyn Worthen taken at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (Photo courtesy Lyn Worthen)

Worthen has always read since she was a young girl starting in kindergarten. As time went on she couldn’t find the kind of stories she wanted to read, so she started writing books. She has been writing since the mid ‘80s. 

The organizer of the event, Anna Marasco, reached out to the local author community, many of whom are members of the League of Utah Writers as well as smaller writing organizations across the valley. “There's a pretty big network of writers in the area,” Worthen said.  

Marasco has been working with the West Jordan Arts programs. She had the vision for the writers and reached out to them to help make the event happen. 

“Many of the readers participate in book selling events and reader events, they are happy to do it because many of them sit in a room and make stuff up and there's nobody else around. It’s always nice to be able to get out and connect with people that want to read what they have written,” Worthen said.  

As part of editing at Camden Park Press Worthen is part of the anthologies they do. As of this holiday season there are up to two dozen anthologies. She scopes out the stories and solicits them. She chooses and edits the stories. She has a copy editor that does a final pass through to make sure anything that she has missed or the authors have missed is caught. She assembles and publishes the books. She wears multiple hats and it depends on which part of the publishing world she is part of. As an author she responds to other solicitations for stories, as a novelist she writes books and publishes them. “The words are toys to me and I like seeing what ways I can put them together,” Worthen said.  

She connects through Substack which is a platform people use for blogging and email newsletters. It is how she connects to her readers. She can reach out directly to people who are already following her. 

A picture of Lyn Worthen taken at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (Photo courtesy Lyn Worthen)

Newsletter marketing is staying connected with your readers. It is very important to her because she wants to hear what the readers have to say and let them know when they are working on something fun. 

Worthen has different pen names she uses for different genres, such as Lauryn Christopher for the mystery genre. Michele Dean is the pen name she uses for the romance genre. Lee Saunders is her pen name for writing science fiction and fantasy. Worthen interviews with Jana S. Brown, her copy editor. Brown copy edits her anthologies. “Jana keeps my eyes from going cross eyed,” Worthen said. 

Worthen enjoys writing and what intrigues her is she likes to see how people react in different situations. Because she can play in different genres she can put people in situations that she wouldn’t put a friend in. “I can create a fanciable world and see how they interact with the fantasy characters, and put them on an alien planet with far future technology and see how the culture of the people in that situation go together,” Worthen said. 

The 22nd multi-author anthology “Cooking Up Death.” Lyn Worthen created her own cover. (Photo courtesy CookingUpDeath)

It all depends on what hat she puts on and decides what author she is writing as. She likes the flexibility she has of being able to switch in and out of different genres. It makes sense to Worthen depending on what mood she is in, she can write a light and fluffy story, or a murder mystery. She can market stories so that people are going to find the books they are wanting to read. Many authors write under different names because they can get their books published faster, it is a common practice. The authors have more freedom and do what they want without some of the restrictions of the publishers. Without the restrictions the authors can be artisans and play in the world they want to play in and be creative. 

Writing is what Worthen has always done. In 2008 is when she really came into writing in a big way and started novels again. She has done writing before and then she went on a hiatus, writing occasional short stories She is up to two dozen anthologies as of this holiday season. All in all she has written 10 novels, two more in progress and 80 short stories. Worthen also creates her own covers on her books. 

She has done reader events at the Viridian Center.  You can find Worthen’s books at “Forget-Me-Not Finds” at Gardner Village. “Cooking Up Death” is her 22nd multi-author anthology just released Nov. 4. “It’s a deliciously lethal collection of cozy mysteries,” Worthen said. It includes recipes at: http://books2read.com/CookingUpDeath   

Go to www.camdenparkpress.com for more information about Lyn Worthen’s books.