1. What was your first published work?

-Non-Fiction: 1983 Essence Magazine (Built to Last article)

-Poetry: 1994 two poems in Just Write magazine (Bard Wellington, Writing Magic; reprinted in “Animated Objects”)

-Fiction: 1998 Outer Darkness Magazine (Night of the Living and Dead; reprinted in “How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend”)

2. Is there a story inside that you have seeds of but can’t seem to connect that’s dying to get out?

A story bit that occurred to me in a scene that just came about a teenage girl complaining about the fact that her sister turned into some kind of divine being.

3. How do you handle a rejected story?

I use steps I learned a long time ago: make sure I have more than one market to send it to , if it comes back I check if I can make it better, if not, then send it back out quickly. 

4. What does literary success look like to you?

Literary success is more than one thing for me, but the first is the amazing feeling I got (and still get) the first time I saw my name in print in Essence Magazine on the magazine stands. I knew I wanted that feeling again and again. For me that means, writing as much as I can and filling my toolbox with information that increases the quality of my work.

Each of the awards I’ve received are wonder-filled surprises and I’m deeply honored to have them, but I’m also aware that getting awards can’t be controlled. There are many incredibly talented authors who haven’t received awards.

I’m humbled and filled with joy at the respect given to me after all the years of writing. This is part of what I consider literary success now and I still love seeing my name in print, LOL.

5. Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I sometimes read my book reviews (as I don’t search them out, but come across them in different ways) and take the good ones with a smile and the bad ones with a shrug. The truth I know is that each work I published, I have done the best I could to create them and I love them, but that doesn’t mean everyone will.

6. What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?

Balancing time between my writing and other work I do in the writing community. It’s so important for me to support others and initiatives that open the arena of writing for others, but I also have had to be more aware when I need time to write.

7. As in most times, the truth is stranger than fiction, what has been the hardest scene or chapter you’ve had to write, if you were channeling personal experience and what inspired your latest work?

Without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve written to date is a story, “The Tale of the Twin Stars, Born of Earth & Sea”, which I wrote for Bestiary of Blood anthology edited by Jamal Hodge, coming out later in 2024 from Crystal Lake Publishing. Each author could pick an animal, I chose dolphins. The fable I created is built around the Gemini constellation, twins and humans cruelty to children. I went into my deepest fearful memories of my first eighteen years on earth for this story. Then I did a research into the actual statistics about child abuse worldwide, as well as dolphins, and Gemini constellation. The whole process of writing the story was deeply painful. It took a lot longer to finish than I thought and actually was only completed with Jamal Hodge’s support and compassionate understanding.

9. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

 I would tell my younger self that one day you will see you work in print, LOL! I had a lot of uncertainty about getting published for a long time, while collecting years of rejections. That makes each acceptance so meaningful to me now.

10. Best advice you’ve gotten from a fellow writer?

The latest great advice that comes to mind is from James A. Moore, who passed away this year. I met him around 1996, but I knew of him and his work before that. On the first meeting he asked me what I was writing and that I should be writing, right then. LOL. Most of the advice I’ve received has been a driving force for many years: finish what you write / rewrite / submit / repeat…

11. What is your go-to comfort horror/Sci-Fi book?

I love new work by new authors, but books I don’t tire of re-reading: the Dune books by Frank Herbert and Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler.

Explore more of Linda’s work here!