I came across The Seer Series somewhere or other and quickly devoured the first two books. The next two came along pretty quickly after that and now the last two are on my wishlist for Christmas. I am also very eager to read her Dead Girl books and can't wait to try them!
Linda's books maybe for young adults but so far I am loving them. Full of mystery and some lovely paranormal elements they are very addictive. So I hope that this interview and my reviews of the series so far will give you a solution as to what to buy that younger reader in your life for Christmas! After all you can read it first...or borrow it after they are finished with it ;)
Don't forget to enter the contest! You could win yourself a copy of the first book in the Seer Series!
Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you here as a guest! Could you start things off by telling us a little about your Seer series?
Linda - I had such fun getting to know Sabine and her friends. I especially loved Dominic's connection to animals and Opal, Sabine's spirit guide. I was lucky to be contracted for 6 books then also the spin-off with Thorn, BURIED. There are some short stories, too, including Dark Lifer's Revenge which is free on Nook and Amazon.
Linda - I had the idea for a mystery series with a psychic sleuth over 20 years ago, and the original title was Psychic Sleuth. When I sold the series to Llewellyn/Flux, they came up with the title THE SEER. I wrote the first book in about 4 months,
Amber - I have only read the first four books in the Seer series so far. Did you know how many books there would be and how the series would end?
Linda - When I plotted the series, I came up with about 10 title suggestions. Each title was contracted separately, so I was never sure how many more books I'd be asked to write. The series was supposed to end at 5 books and there's a 3 year gap between #6 Magician's Muse came out. I was just happy whenever I was allowed to write more books. BURIED: A GOTH GIRL MYSTERY, is a spin off, and at this moment the last book, although I have started a sequel to BURIED called REAPER that I might self-publish.
Amber - Were you always interested in psychics? What about other Supernatural and Paranormal elements?
Linda - I've been interested in psychics since I was young but I never actually went to one until I started researching for THE SEER series. I go about once a year now. I have never seen a ghost or had any supernatural experiences. But I believe everything is possible.
Amber - You have written a lot of books so far. What are your other series about?
Linda - I wrote 3 series for younger kids: STRANGE ENCOUNTERS, MY SISTER THE GHOST and CHEER SQUAD,.
STRANGE ENCOUNTERS is about Cassie Strange who finds paranormal mysteries while traveling with her family.
MY SISTER THE GHOST: Miranda's twin comes back as a ghost and the sisters have fun & dangerous adventures baby-sitting, at sleepovers and battling shadow ghosts.
CHEER SQUAD - Competitive cheerleading with romance, mysteries and road trips.
REGENERATION - 5 teens discover they've been cloned with enhanced skills, and a wicked scientist wants them dead. #1 is only $1.99 on Nook.
THE SEER - 6 titles and a spin-off, BURIED.
DEAD GIRL WALING - Mysterious, romantic, humorous trilogy following Amber who wakes up in a different body for each book--including the body of her best friend in DEAD GIRL IN LOVE.
Amber - What kind of research have you done for your books? Anything interesting or is the research boring?
Linda - I've gone to psychic fairs, read biographies of psychics and interviewed some. For my STRANGE ENCOUNTERS series, I travelled to each location in the book, which was lots of fun. For Sword Play, I took fencing lessons. And for Magician's Muse, I read about women magicians.
Amber - Do you only write Young Adult series? Is it difficult writing about teenagers and not going too adult?
Linda - I have a picture book coming out in 2014 and have written middle-grade series, so I don't only write YA. I love YA, though, and have other books I've written that haven't sold yet. I read a lot of YA, which helps me keep up with teen, also I love to watch TV and pay attention to what teens are saying, wearing and doing. While styles and trends change, the emotions of being a teen are timeless. And I tap into my own memories of heart-break, love, hope, fear and joy when I write about teens.
Amber - How do you pick the names for your characters? Do they have any special meanings?
Linda - I come up with names in a similar way as you might decide what you feel like eating or what music to listen to. It's all very intuitive, and I just listen in my head for a name that feels right for each character. When I came up with Sabine, I didn't like it at first, but it just felt like the character wanted that name, so I gave it to her.
Linda - Titles, like names, usually just pop into my head. I don't always get to keep my titles, though. Here's how it went for THE SEER series.
1. Don't Die Dragonfly -- My title idea and luckily it worked for my editor, too.
2. Last Dance -- Not my title. I wrote the book with the title of Ghostly Charms.
3. Witch Ball -- My title. Inspired by an article I read on witch balls.
4. Sword Play - My title.
5. Fatal Charm - Not my title. I titled this one Kiss N' Kill.
6. Magician's Muse -- My title. Surprisingly, I got to keep it.
Amber - How long on average does it take you to write a book? Do you have a process you follow? or do you just start at page one and see what happens?
Linda - 6 months to a year. My process is to write at least 5 mornings a week, with a goal of 2 or 3 pages. On good days I write 5 or more pages. I always plot ahead a little, so I know the basic scenes ahead. I plan the ending, too. But the middle scenes unfold with surprises along that way that make it fun (frustrating sometimes) for me.
Amber - I am sure that being an author has its ups and downs. What experiences have you had so far?
Linda - I've lost publishers several times and had to start over, submitting, getting rejections and submitting again. Having a good agent helps, and I have a good one. Still rejections comes, and sometimes they can be devastating. But I always keep writing and working on ideas to improve my career.
Linda - I like lots of pop music like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Train and many more. I'm into reality shows, too, like Survivor, Amazing Race and Big Brother--I never miss a season.
Amber - What books do you enjoy reading? Do you have any favourite authors/series?
Linda - Look me up on Goodreads. Every book I've given 5 stars to is amazing.
Amber - What is next? What are you working on at the moment?
Linda - I have a science fiction YA that's come close to selling but not yet. I'm writing a novella (only about 100 pages) that's a twist on a fairytale with romance and dogs. I may go back to REAPER and finish that sequel to BURIED if I get enough interest from SEER fans who will read it in ebook form.
Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature, what would you be and why?
Linda - A winged cat that can turn invisible if there's danger.
Amber - Thanks for visiting Amberkatze's Book Blog!
THE SEER Series
1. Don’t Die Dragonfly
2. Last Dance
3. Witch Ball
4. Sword Play
5. Fatal Charm
6. Magician’s Muse
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5 comments:
Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Vincent, Melissa Marr, Lauren Kate, Melissa De La Cruz and Rachel Caine to name just a few.
Thank you.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com
I read BORN WICKED by Jessica Spotswood & loved it.
I loved Shannon Duffy's SPECTRAL and Jessa Russo's EVER.
I love Rachel Caine's Morganville vampire series.
skk25@aol.com
I like "The House of Night" series by P.C. and Kristin Cast.
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