Interview with romance author Linda Nightingale

Romance author Linda Nightingale is here today to talk about writing, and her new novel, Love for Sale.

During her virtual book tour, Linda will be awarding a sterling silver and genuine turquoise earrings valued at $45 as well as author-signed swag (US/Canada ONLY, an international winner will receive a choice of one digital book of Linda's) to a lucky, randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Something of a gypsy (actually nothing quite so romantic!) born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, and Houston. She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years.

Linda has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award. She is the mother of two wonderful sons, a retired legal assistant, member of the Houston Symphony League and enjoys events with her car club. Among her favorite things are her snazzy black convertible and her parlor grand piano. She loves to dress up and host formal dinner parties.

Welcome, Linda. Please tell us a little bit about this book.
Love for Sale is a sci-fi romance that began as a short story. The short story won its category in the Houston Writers Guild contest. Then languished in my computer for years before an author friend encouraged me to make it into a book.

What inspired you to write this book?

I begin any book with one character—typically the hero. He starts the story then other characters enter to tell their tale. I am definitely a punster.


Excerpt from Love for Sale:
“Inane? I find you with another woman in the bedroom, and this conversation is silly? Oh, no, Christian. Did you invite her here?” Why couldn’t she stop hurting herself and let him go, lock the door and email Mayfair for a courier pickup?

Folding his arms across his chest, he leaned against the door. “She knocked. I answered and kept her outside until it started to rain. She was talking about the club and telling me, again, that I’d be a success as a male dancer. Being a success at something would be a bloody miracle. At any rate, half-jokingly, I asked her to teach me to dance. The End.”

“Not quite. Why did you slip her out behind my back?”

“I wished to avoid a scene like this.” His voice shaded deeper, darker. “And I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“There, it’s said. You can come back in now and stop pretending you’re leaving.” She waved a hand, half-heartedly beckoning. “You’ve got nowhere to go.”

He inhaled sharply as if she had punched him in the stomach. “I’m quite aware of that fact. I do not like seeing you this upset. Please call Mayfair tomorrow. I’ll voluntarily deactivate. They will dispatch a FedEx pickup for me.”

She raked a hand through her hair. “Oh, my God, what have you done and why? What have I done? Paradise Lost.”

“Why can’t you trust me?” His sad expression pierced her heart.

Nearly human. Though he didn’t have a heart, his emotions could be damaged.

“Because I don’t trust men.” An angry sob caught in her throat. When she could again speak, she croaked, “In general. Well, almost. I learned that lesson at my mother’s knee.”

“I’m not even almost any man.” He lifted his hands in a pleading gesture. “Return me to Mayfair for reprogramming. I don’t care. I only want to stay with you.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” she said in a lethal whisper, her voice then rising in outrage. “If I’d been earlier or later, would I have found you bucking in bed?”

Looking stricken, he stood silent and straight, a bare-chested god with ice blue eyes.

What exciting story are you working on next?

My next book is way out of my paranormal realm. But I raised, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years. I LOVE horses. Gambler’s Choice is about the equestrian set. A wealthy socialite goes to England in search of the perfect horse. Instead she meets the perfect man—a baron with the manor house, the title, but not the money. He is darkly handsome and mysterious, but danger surrounds him. Could Becca lose her heart as well as her life? Available soon from The Wild Rose Press.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When my first book was published in 2012. Because of its controversial nature, I never expected Gemini Rising to be published.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I retired from a career as a Legal Assistant in February last year to write full-time. I write in the mornings, generally, or late at night. I’m now a Content Strategist for an advertising agency, working contract, part-time.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I write by the seat of my pants. I like to drink Pellegrino while I’m writing.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer. Or a brain surgeon. Maybe a rocket scientist. Hum. Maybe a street cleaner or garbage collector. Well, perhaps, a wife and mother—achieved that!!! Hum. There are so many choices. A race car driver.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I love them. Like all authors, readers are paramount. My dearest wish is to transport them, immerse them, in the worlds of my imagination. I’d like for them to love the characters chattering in my head. Am I schizophrenic? No, just a writer.

Links:

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