Linda Kage

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.

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