Take Five With Lauren Linwood and Her Novel ~ Written In The Cards

Thank you, Lauren, for coming up with the name for my new Meet An Author Series.  You rock!!

Welcome to An Indie Adventure, Lauren.  Tell us, what inspired you to write your book Written in the Cards?

I wanted to write another western and decided to incorporate the idea of dime novels into the storyline. After the Civil War, public education grew by leaps and bounds, and the literacy rate rose dramatically. People were hungry to read. Dime novels were the Harry Potter books of their time—popular, accessible, reasonably priced, and full of adventure.

I decided to have my hero Ben Morgan be the author, but my heroine Maggie Rutherford is pretty darn feisty. She demanded to be the dime novelist of my tale, so I let her have her way. She writes and illustrates her dime novels under a male pen name and travels to the West so she can experience firsthand the events she writes about. Ben wound up being a gambler who killed a card cheat in self-defense, and now the cheater’s gunslinger brother has sworn to kill Ben.

Have you been a lifelong reader of historical romances? What are some the first books you remember reading?

I’ve always been drawn to historical romance, probably because I love history. Growing up, I read Victoria Holt novels and wanted to crawl inside and live them! Then Kathleen Woodiwiss hit the scene and changed the landscape of romance forever.

What do you do to rev your creative juices?

I’m a reader by nature, so I’ll read all kinds of history books and scour websites that have information that involves the era I want to write about. I’m drawn to medieval times and the American West, in particular. 

I’m also a daydreamer, so I devour dark chocolate (I freeze bite-sized Dove so I don’t gobble it too fast!) and then I let my imagination soar. I think of a name, and then I begin to physically see a person of that name. The personality and characteristics follow. I finish fleshing out my hero and heroine (and sometimes the villain) by creating their back story. Once I have the people, the creative juices begin flowing—and the fun of writing their story begins.

LA NOTE, good idea about the chocolate, I'm going to try that!

What would be your advice to people who are considering a writing career?

Don’t quit your day job! If you really want to write and be published, you’ll find the time to be creative through your writing—and still pay your bills. It’s the rare author who can make it through writing alone. At the same time? You’ve got to write, write, write your heart out. 

Dare to dream. Jim Carrey just told a class of graduating college seniors in Iowa, “You could fail at what you don’t love, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” If you love writing, pursue every avenue possible. Write every day. Join a critique group. Attend writing workshops. When you’ve got the best polished product, be brave enough to submit to a publishing house.

You’re having a dinner party. What character from your novel do you hope doesn’t show up? 

Without a doubt, Black Tex Lonnegan. Why? He’s the 19^th century version of a terrorist! He’s got a set of big guns, has murder on his mind, and . . . he’d smell AWFUL!

Give us a brief summary of Written in the Cards:

When dime novelist Maggie Rutherford interviews cowboy Ben Morgan for her next book, she falls fast . . . and then learns he’s actually a gambler with a gunslinger hot on his trail. Will Ben run from his growing attraction to Maggie and an outlaw’s promise of death—or will he make a stand for his life—and love?

Buy Links: Written in the Cards

Bio:

Lauren Linwood became a teacher who wrote on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of teenage hormones. Her romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire and yearning for one another grow into the deep, tender, treasured gift of love.

Lauren, a native Texan, lives in a Dallas suburb with her family. An avid reader, moviegoer, and sports fan, she manages stress by alternating yoga with five mile walks. She is thinking about starting a support group for Pinterest and House Hunters addicts.

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