First and foremost, please tell us a little bit about
yourself. I’m a Midwest farm girl, who grew up on a dairy farm as the
youngest of eight. I married my hubby when I was twenty-one. Had my baby and
published my first book when I was thirty! When I’m not reading or
writing romance stories, I’m usually working at my day job as an assistant
librarian in a university library. I don’t have the most exciting life, so
that’s why I love escaping into fiction so much!
You tend to write various types of genres. What's your
favorite to write and why? What are you most comfortable to write and
why? I don’t really write too many genres. It’s all contemporary
romance. The age groups just vary from YA, NA, to adult! To me,
happily-ever after love is universal through all the ages, so it doesn’t matter
which subgenre the romance comes in, I adore them all equally!
Are you a plotter or a pantser? I usually have a vague idea of how I want the story to go in my
head. Then I jot down the scenes that won’t leave me alone first. It’s kind of
jumbled mess at the beginning, because I have all these disjointed lines and
excerpts. Then things get really pantsy when I piece them all together.
What is your writing routine? Routine? Ummm, don’t really have one. I don’t actually
have “writing time,” so I just steal forbidden minutes here and there when I
should be doing other things.
Where do you find your inspiration? Everywhere. Real life situations, other stories, movies, newspaper
articles, other people’s conversations I overhear in the check-out line at the
grocery store. You name it and it becomes fodder for my story inspirations!
You write young, new, and adult stories. Do you have a
preference, or a genre that's easiest to write among the 3? Which comes
most naturally to you? What's been the biggest difference between writing
these different genres? I like all three equally! I’m going through a new
adult reading phase lately, so I’ve been writing more of those lately. And I’m
probably best at YA an NA stuff because I always somehow come out all immature
sounding. But each genre has its own problems and issues and I like watching
couples struggle and overcome through each phase of life!
Even when we know it's trouble, why do teenage girls fall
for boys they supposedly shouldn't (like Carrie in THE STILLBURROW CRUSH)? Well, I’m sure it’s different for each girl, but Carrie fell for
Luke because he was different and not as much trouble as she initially thought
he’d be! But I can say there’s just something about those boys who are
trouble...when they give you a glimpse of their softer side, that one little
peek makes you addicted.
How did you turn Luke Carter into an actual character
instead of a stereotypical jock? I made him write poetry!
What kind of research did you put into writing Mason Lowe, a
gigolo? How did you make him a hero anyone could fall in love with, and
not a tacky stereotype? Research? Ooh, that would have been a good idea!
I know absolutely nothing about real-life men of that occupation. The
only thing that people seemed to think saved Mason was that he really didn’t
like to do what he did. He wasn’t a man-whore.
How did you come up with such a unique storyline for PRICE
OF A KISS? Stole it! Right before Abbi Gline’s one book about the
gigolo came out, I saw her blurb for it and something about that idea caught me
and wouldn’t let go, so I wrote a story about it too.
FIGHTING FATE has a seriously conflicted storyline. I
got excited just by reading the tag for it. How does Paige forgive Logan
enough to allow herself to fall in love with him, even though he murdered her
brother? She gets these glimpses of him and sees how much it tortures
him
What was your favorite sizzling scene to write in HOW
TO RESIST PRINCE CHARMING and why? Um, let me think. I’m thinking the scene where Braxton
drives Lenna home after they run into each other at the club is one of my
favorite sizzling scenes in that book, because they start and then stop, and
it’s like one great big, giant tease and left me wanting more.
How do you decide which stories will have sex and which will
be sweet? I don’t know. The YA won’t have sex because I have
nieces that want to read some of my books and they need clean stuff. Then
I have to have a few sweet adult books so my mom will agree to read some.
Then I have some sexy ones because those are the kinds of stories I love to
read.
A baby doesn't guarantee a relationship will last. In
many cases, it's the reason couples break up - because something unexpected
happens and they're not sure how to deal with it, much like BJ and Grady in THE
TROUBLE WITH TOMBOYS. What is the essential quality, in your opinion, to
make relationships work, even when unexpected obstacles cause enough tension to
want to get out of the relationship? For Grady in THE TROUBLE WITH TOMBOYS, he’s the
old-fashioned moral type, and the baby is what makes him want to start a
relationship with BJ. Once they start that relationship, though, they realize
they’re perfect for each other. They have the chemistry, companionship, and
balance out each other’s characters.
What type of relationship is your favorite to explore and
develop? I’ve always liked the opposites attract, where they start
out hating each other and end up in love.
What type of person is your ideal heroine when you're
both reading and writing? What type of person is your ideal
hero when you're both reading and writing? Are they the
same? Why or why not? I think my favorite type of heroine is like Reese in PRICE OF
A KISS. She’s not perfect, but she has the humor and down-to-earth
practicality to admit it, she’s an everyday woman that I can put my own shoes
in. I have a soft spot for reading bad-boy heroes. But I kind of
suck at writing them! So I usually somehow create broken heroes. I
just love reading about those big, tough, hard men that show a weakness for
their everyday woman. It’s totally sigh-worthy!
What has the publishing process been like? A long up-hill battle with plenty of two-steps-back and
one-step-forward momentum. I still have lots to learn but one thing I know is
that not-giving-up is why I got as far as I have.
Would you recommend advertisements or did you market your
books through a different venue? I wasn’t sure how advertisements helped me. It’s impossible
to calculate. So I stopped doing that. Through book blogs and social
media networks is how I’ve promoted mostly.
How involved are you in terms of editing/book cover/release
date/marketing process? Um, depends on which book we’re talking
about! For my self-published ones, I’m way more involved than the ones
that are published by a publishing house. I pick out my editor, cover artist
and release date, and do ALL the marketing for the self-published titles. And
each publisher has different processes, so that’s kind of impossible for me to
answer, sorry!
Are you working on anything now? Oh, I’m always working on something...or about a dozen
somethings. Writing is in my blood. Whether I never publish again
or what, I’ll always write my little stories!!!
Any upcoming releases? I’m most involved in writing book two for the Granton
University series (Fighting Fate was book one). This one stars Tess. But it’s
not finished yet.
Website - http://www.lindakage.com/
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http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003ILJHKM
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http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3213942.Linda_Kage
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