Meet Laurie Buchanan

By Cheryl Oreglia

It's my utmost privilege and honor to introduce one of my favorite authors, Laurie Buchanan, of the infamous Tuesdays With Laurie, numerous inspirational novels, and not to brag, but she’s also an engaging public speaker. I know, she’s the complete package, but like all good plots, there’s a twist to her story, something you would never expect…

Read on.

Laurie’s earliest memories mimic my own, that of a devoted mother diligently reading to young Laurie and her sister, thus creating an avid reader in the process. Laurie was beyond thrilled to see her very own name printed on a library card which she used every Saturday morning, gathering new material to “devour during the week.” This love of reading is what prompted Laurie to become a writer.

Why can't people just sit and read books and be nice to each other? David Baldacci

I offer my praise and thanks to all the parents out there exposing their children to good literature and creating “readers” in the process.

• THE BUSINESS OF BEING: SOUL PURPOSE IN AND OUT OF THE WORKPLACE shows you how to thrive, soul side out, regardless of where you are.
• NOTE TO SELF: A SEVEN-STEP PATH TO GRATITUDE AND GROWTH closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Laurie is a retired holistic health practitioner and transformational life coach. Of course, she is because her first two books listed above are non-fiction and reflect her practices in health and well-being.

Here’s where it gets weird, some of Laurie's favorite authors include David Baldacci, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Robert Dugoni, Keith Houghton, and Robert Bryndza. Have you guessed the genre?

Robert Dugoni says, “We live for the quiet, intimate moments that mark not our calendars but our hearts.” I can see why she’s attracted to this author.

Laurie developed an unexpected passion for suspense and thriller novels. Who knew? After writing two nonfiction books, she wanted to try her hand at fiction - in the genre she enjoyed reading! I say bravo Laurie.

Laurie’s next book, INDELIBLE: A SEAN MCPHERSON NOVEL, BOOK ONE, launches a suspense/thriller series that takes place in the Pacific Northwest. When asked what it's like, she says, "imagine Chief Inspector Gamache meets The Last Mrs. Parrish." Yowza!

I love this about Laurie, she says, “my primary audience is readers who enjoy a ticking-time-bomb of simmering tension with no downtime.” This feels much like my life at the current moment!

Outside of her mission to inspire her audiences, she chooses to be “a positive, uplifting, constructive, and healing influence in the lives of those she touches.”

Her author-side aims to “it’s to scare the living daylights out of her readers.” I don't know about you but I captured by the charisma of this talented writer.

I’m sort of nosey so I asked Laurie how she connects with other authors, Laurie says, “whether I’m a presenter, or in the audience, I make a point of connecting with other authors at writing conferences. I also connect with authors on social media: Twitter, Facebook, and my favorite social media platform, Instagram. Why? Because it's uplifting to connect with like-minded people.” Do you love her or what?

When asked about the importance of research in her writing Laurie says, "for her recent Sean McPherson novel research was critical. She met with Vickie Gooch, a detective in the Major Crimes Unit of the Idaho State Police, and Rylene Nowlin, a DNA Specialist at the Idaho State Police Crime Lab, and finally Dr. Glen Groben, a forensic pathologist." This woman does her due diligence and I'm sure that will be revealed in her latest work.

Next to her desk, she keeps a dog-eared copy of Forensic Speak: How to Write Realistic Crime Dramas, by Jennifer Dornbush, who says, “Want to find a suspect? Start with your kin.” Oh, that’s rich.

Laurie writes in a small studio, two walls of which are windows that offer an inspirational view, I’m so jealous and yet immensely grateful she has this stunning environment in which to create. Win, win.

Attending and speaking at writing conferences continues to strengthen and stretch Laurie as a writer. She has an excellent writing mentor, Christine DeSmet of the Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison. She’s a “tour de force for all things literary and makes me a stronger writer.”

Laurie retired at the end of 2019 and currently writes full-time. Her Sean McPherson novels are her primary area of focus, but she is also a monthly contributor to the online magazine, Unbound Northwest, not to mention her hi-traffic blog, Tuesdays with Laurie, that has over a million views.

When I asked Laurie, “what does literary success look like to you?” She said, “literary honors are nice, and I’ve won them. But to me, if one - just one - reader answers the question, ‘Who is your favorite author?’ with ‘Laurie Buchanan,’ then I consider myself a successful author.”

I asked her how essential or burdensome social media was with respect to the promotion and publicity of her work? Honestly, I find the whole process exhausting and laborious but Laurie says, “I stay active on social media. Part of a writer’s success is having a strong writing platform, and part of that platform includes visibility and influence on social media. If I could only post on one social media network, it would, without a doubt, be Instagram.” That was really intriguing to me because I barely use Instagram, so I recently followed Laurie, and plan to emulate her marketing plan.

Laurie says it takes about a year (sometimes longer) for an author to write a book. If you read a book and enjoy it, the best thank you that you can give an author is to write a brief review and post it on Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub (just cut and paste the same one). Most people don’t understand how important reviews are—they’re an author's lifeblood.

The review can be as simple as one sentence: “I like the book because _____.”

To learn more about Laurie Buchanan, please visit her author website at https://www.lauriebuchanan.com/.

Laurie Buchanan is a former holistic health practitioner and transformational life coach. She holds a doctorate in holistic health with an emphasis in energy medicine. Her first two books—Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth, and The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace, are nonfiction titles designed to motivate, inspire, and transform. Coming soon, her third book, Indelible: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book One, launches a suspense/thriller series that takes place in the Pacific Northwest.

When I'm not writing for Across The Board, I'm Living in the Gap, drop by any time.