USA TODAY Bestselling Author
Linda’s Road to Romance
Linda began her journey on the road to romance writing in 1972 with an overcooked Thanksgiving turkey and her nose buried in a delicious copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s first novel, THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER. Reading has always been one of her favorite obsessions, but Woodiwiss had, for the first time fused the sweeping majesty of history with the sensual power of romance, and from that moment the romance novel industry went into high gear and was changed forever.
Linda was desperately hooked on historical romance and soon after began secretly writing her own romance novel. She had a lot to learn!
Nearly 25 years after that fateful Thanksgiving weekend of 1972, her badly titled, unpublished manuscript had won 1st place in six romance writing competitions, 2nd and 3rd place in six other competitions, and the 1995 Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart for Long Historical.
Two months later the book sold, along with a one-line proposal for a second novel, to Avon Books, and, in February 1997, her own first novel–FOR MY LADY’S KISS was released , to her great delight!
Many more books have followed, five of which hit the USA Today Bestseller list, with settings as varied as Medieval, to Regency, Victorian to World War II.
Of course, like every author, Linda started writing in early grade school, as soon as she realized she could put her own words together to make up her own stories, just like the real authors of her favorite childhood books–BEAUTIFUL JOE and HEIDI and the Nancy Drew mysteries.
Her love for storytelling eventually led to a bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts at California State University, Dominguez Hills where she gained a deep understanding of character development, dialogue, scene-shaping and plotting techniques. Linda is also a playwright, one of the lucky ones who have had full productions of her works produced– seven full length musicals, four revues and two full-length plays.
Linda writes full time from her home office near Portland, Oregon. “And when when I’m not writing, I’ve been known to direct plays and musicals, garden ’til I drop, hunt mushrooms, spoil my two grandkids, take extended research treks with my hero husband and blaze trails through our 5-acre woodland with Pippa, our Portuguese Water Dog who holds numerous titles in the canine sport of Nose Work.”
Because writing tends to be a solitary endeavor, one of her favorite professional perks (besides working in her sweats) is hanging out with other writers, attending conferences, meeting readers, and teaching writing workshops.
If you want to keep up with Linda’s newest book releases as well as her many escapades, come follow her on social media, where the conversation is intense, the company is brilliant and the adventures never end!