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Linda Warren's love of Texas shows
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Linda Warren began her writing career after falling in love with Harlequin romance novels. Today she not only gets rave reviews for her Texas-set novels, but she is a RITA finalist for her book Texas Heir.
Linda, please tell us why you set your books in Texas. I’ve lived here all my life and it’s what I know and love.
What started you on the road to writing romance? Reading.
What books or writers have most influenced your life? In high school I enjoyed Louisa May Alcott’s books, especially Little Women and The Inheritance. When I first started reading Harlequin books, I read Presents and Harlequin Romances. Penny Jordan, Carol Mortimer comes to mind, but there were numerous others. I loved the happy endings and I wanted to write books like that.
Have you noticed any common theme in your books? Texas, cowboys and ranches.
How long does it take you to write a book—from first inkling to final draft? About six months. The first book took about four years, so I’ve gotten faster.
Do you focus on one story at a time or do you juggle? I juggle. Right now I’m juggling three books and it’s a strain on my poor brain.
Please tell us a little about Texas Heir. I heard on the news a few years ago about a couple who survived a plane crash. They waited and waited for help, but it never came so they started walking to save themselves.
This man and woman were strangers, but I thought it would make a great story if they had a past or present relationship. I’m a romance writer so I wanted the story to have a happy, romantic ending. In the real story the couple was saved and returned to their respective families.
In the fictional story I plotted and plotted, but I couldn’t make the story work. So I put it aside for awhile. Then in 2004 I wrote The Christmas Cradle and I received a lot of mail about the minor characters Reed Preston and Cari Michaels. Readers wanted to know their story. Reed’s family owned a chain of department stores in Texas and Cari worked for the company. They were constantly flying to visit the stores. Ah, finally I knew I could use the plane crash and I did. The hero and heroine thought they knew each other, but they didn’t until they had to survive together. And, of course, along the way they fall in love.
And now please tease us with something about your upcoming release The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas. The Sheriff of Horseshoe, Texas is a fun book. One evening my husband and I were returning home and a highway patrolman had a blonde in a red convertible sports car pulled over. His arm rested on the top of the windshield as he leaned in talking to her with a smile as big as Texas. I told my husband she wouldn’t be getting a ticket. The scene captured my imagination and I started creating characters. The blonde became a wealthy socialite and the patrolman became a sheriff. Think Paris Hilton meets a young Clint Eastwood. She’s speeding through his town, and he’s not smiling when he stops her.
Wyatt, the hero, thinks Peyton, the heroine, is just another fun-loving party girl, but she intends to show the straitlaced sheriff what she’s really made of. And while she’s at it, put some fun back into the widowed lawman’s life.
The book is in stores now.
Do you have any advice for other writers? Never give up. Learn your craft. Attend workshops. And read, read, read.
What would you like to say to your readers? Thank you! Thank you for buying my books. Thank you for your letters. Thank you for keeping me writing.
For more info:
Linda Warren: http://www.lindawarren.net
Northwest Houston RWA: http://www.nwhrwa.com
West Houston RWA: http://www.whrwa.com
Houston Bay Area RWA: http://hbarwa.com
Romance Writers of America: http://www.rwanational.org
Read about more wonderful romance novelists at
http://www.examiner.com/x-5288-Salt-Lake-City-Romance-Novels-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-2533-Romance-Novel-Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-4981-Romance-Novel-Examiner
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