Today we have author Lauren Linwood! Her latest release, Outlaw Muse, is a western romance with great reviews on Amazon. I love historicals and westerns, so this is definitely on my to-read list! She's also very funny and loves bacon. Check out the interview and enjoy the excerpt from Outlaw Muse!
~Mia
Lauren Linwood Interview questions… .
~Mia
Lauren Linwood Interview questions… .
Quick
round:
Coffee, tea or…what’s your vice?
I’m a huge tea drinker, hot or cold. I love sampling
different herbal flavors. Right now some of my favorites are blueberry, apple
cinnamon, peach, and pomegranate. Tea’s not vice . . . it’s a necessity in life
. . . as is wine and dark chocolate, the darker the better.
Favorite Movie:
The
Usual Suspects is my favorite movie. It’s quirky,
features a yummy Gabriel Byrne in his prime, and has a killer twist of an
ending that stays with you long after the credits roll.
Favorite Color:
I was a blue girl all my life until I found myself
pregnant and wildly attracted to a vibrant red. That passion for red has never
gone away (although purple is clamoring for the top spot these days).
Favorite book/author:
To
Kill a Mockingbird is a book I read every year. It just
speaks to my soul. My favorite author is Harlan Coben. Pick up any book of his
and you’re guaranteed immersion in a thrill ride.
How do you feel about bacon?
Bacon should be a food group unto itself. I
practically worship at the altar of bacon, especially if it’s center-cut. And
while I’ve given turkey bacon a fighting chance, it just didn’t cut the mustard
for me.
The
REAL questions…
Tell
us a little about yourself.
Growing up, I always wanted to wear a cast on my
broken arm and have people sign it. So what did I go break? My collarbone. Try
having people sign an Ace bandage wrapped around you as if you were a mummy. So
not cool.
I was a drill team officer and could perform any
routine where I was taught where to be on what count. Put me on a dance floor
and turn me loose? I look worse than Elaine Benes trying to dance on Seinfeld!
I always name the car I buy. My favorite name was
the Mazda Miata convertible I bought located on a dealership at Carl Road. He
became Karl Convertible (KC for short). I’ve also drive Sid Civic and currently
zip around town in Silverado.
What’s
under your bed?
Storage! It’s the coolest thing to have 4 drawers
and NO dust bunnies or lost shoes or a cat hiding smack in the middle just
before a vet trip. I get 2 drawers (1 with my T-shirts and 1 with yoga and
workout pants). Who knows what’s on my hubby’s side of the bed?
What
comes first, plot or characters?
The name of my hero and heroine. Until I hit on the
right name, nothing moves forward. After the name, I start seeing a physical
person in my head, then the personality and characteristics emerge.
Pantser,
plotter, or hybrid? Tell us about your writing process.
I’ve written books all 3 ways! What seems to work
best for me is a single page outline with phrases. For Outlaw Muse some of the phrases were: Serena ride Orphan train /
Daman come to American West / Daman interrupt Serena’s execution / Take off!
That gives me a broad picture to work with. I can
play with the how and what as I write and the plot becomes
more specific. It also gives my characters a lot of room to venture off. And
believe me, they do that kind of thing all the time!
Oddest
thing on your desk?
A Mickey Mouse music box from Disney World.
What’s
your most interesting writing quirk?
I really like to chew gum when I write. And I don’t
mean chew … I mean CHOMP! As the action picks up or the love scene gets hot, I
chew harder and faster.
What’s
your favorite thing about the genre you write in?
I like the ‘happily ever after’ aspect to romance. I
believe in the power of love, and I enjoy creating characters who, no matter
what obstacles are placed in their way, will do anything to be with the person
they love. That happy ending where they’ve beaten the odds and come together as
soul mates is the big payoff.
What
is the hardest thing about being an author?
Plotting. Sometimes it flows and sometimes the
riverbed runs dry.
What’s
the easiest thing about being an author?
Getting to pull the people from my head and bring
them to life on the page for others to enjoy.
Tell us about your latest release!
Outlaw Muse is a story of two strangers on the run. Schoolmarm Serena Sullivan is set to hang for murder when English playwright Daman Rutledge rescues her. They flee with a crooked sheriff in hot pursuit. Along the way, Daman finds the missing muse he’s searched for while Serena discovers her missing twin brother she was separated from during the Orphan Train selection process years ago. And naturally, they have to fall in love and prove Serena’s innocence by the end.
~*~
Blurb for Outlaw Muse...
Separated from her twin during the Orphan Train selection, schoolmarm Serena Sullivan searched for her brother Bill over fifteen years. Just as she gets a lead on his whereabouts, she is railroaded by a crooked sheriff and set to hang for the murder of the sheriff’s best friend.
English playwright Daman Rutledge has come to the American West on business for his brother when he witnesses a woman about to be executed. On impulse he rescues the beautiful stranger and goes on the run with her across the Kansas prairie. Along the way Daman finds the muse he’s been missing and loses his heart to the raven-haired beauty with haunting amber eyes.
As they try to escape the long arm of the law, Daman seeks to prove Serena’s innocence before it’s too late. They find love—and the truth—on a journey that changes their lives.
An excerpt from Outlaw Muse...
“I’ll give you money to purchase a ticket. The agent needs to remember you, so flirt a little for good measure.”
Serena grimaced. “Just because I purchase a ticket doesn’t mean I set foot on a train. Sheriff Parker may be mule-headed, Mr. Rutledge, but he’s not stupid. He would find out I’m not on it.”
Daman’s smile gave her pause. “Oh, you’ll get on the train, Miss Sullivan. You’ll just get off it before it goes very far.”
“And I suppose I would simply jump off?” Serena said in an off-hand manner, but the look in Daman’s eyes took her aback. “You can’t be serious! You actually want me to leap? Off a moving train?”
Daman frowned. “Leap might be too strong a word. If you’ll ease over the gate and step down as you let go of the railing, you’ll be right as rain. I’ve seen fellows run and jump onto a train. Getting off shouldn’t be nearly as difficult.”
“Have you ever done it yourself?” she demanded.
“Not yet. Besides, if you do fall and skin a knee?” Mischief blanketed his features. “You are a little worse for the wear. I shouldn’t think a tumble would hurt your appearance much.”
“And once I’m off the train, with my knees possibly scraped, what then?”
Daman nodded reassuringly. “Why, I’ll be waiting there, Miss Sullivan.”
Outlaw Muse is available at:
~*~
Lauren Linwood Author Bio and Links
As a child, Lauren Linwood gathered her neighborhood friends together and made up stories for them to act out, her first venture into creating memorable characters. Following her passion for history and love of learning, she became a teacher who began writing on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of teenage hormones.
Lauren’s novels focus on two of her favorite eras, medieval times and the American Old West. History is the backdrop that places her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire and yearning for one another grows 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.
As a child, Lauren Linwood gathered her neighborhood friends together and made up stories for them to act out, her first venture into creating memorable characters. Following her passion for history and love of learning, she became a teacher who began writing on the side to maintain her sanity in a sea of teenage hormones.
Lauren’s novels focus on two of her favorite eras, medieval times and the American Old West. History is the backdrop that places her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire and yearning for one another grows 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.
Find Lauren Linwood out on the Web!
1 comment:
Thanks for hosting me today, Mia. So nice to find a fellow bacon-lover!
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