I want to welcome Linda Foster on my blog today. Linda was born and raised in
Colorado, where she still lives with her (very patient) husband, two (very
spoiled) ferrets and (equally spoiled) dog. Linda became an avid reading
enthusiast the moment she picked up her first book, and has grown steadily
worse. By the time she was fifteen years old, her library had become too big
for her shelves, and she was forced to donate all her books to the local
school, just to make room for new ones. She started writing short novellas for
her friends in middle school, and expanded into full-length novels several
years later.
The Realm of the Claimed novellas are
her first published work.
JET: Please,
describe yourself in three words and tell us a bit about yourself!
LINDA: Wow, three words. Dreamer, Overthinker, and Passionate. I
live in Colorado with my wonderful husband, two loveable ferrets and the cutest
dog in the world. I work at a middle school, where I fit in quite nicely
because I’m still a kid at heart. I love to do anything artistic and creative.
Painting and writing are my favorites. When I’m not working or writing I really
just enjoy hanging out with my family and friends.
JET: “Unnatural Soul” is a prequel to
your forthcoming series “The Realm of the Claimed” with “Soul Bound” releasing
early 2017. Please, could you introduce us to the world of the protagonists
Kali and Ash?
LINDA: Ash was just another high school
student, intent on living life to the fullest, winning his next lacrosse game,
and making it to this weekend’s party in time. Until he was forced to sell his
soul to a demon to save his sister’s life. Kali is a demon who fought in the
first war in Heaven against – the now King of Hell – Adrian who dragged her
down with him when he was cast out. Now she is trying to earn redemption and
get back home by working with the angels, and making up for the sins she’s
committed while in Hell.
Unnatural Soul is the story of
Grace, Ash’s sister. She is just trying to save her brothers soul before the
demon he sold it to comes to collect. She ends up being unwittingly responsible
for forcing these two to work together in Soul Bound where they are tied
together in a desperate fight for freedom, and an angel revolution that could
lead to salvation … or the end of the world.
JET: Do you have a favorite genre to write? Or do you write
any genre, depending on the ideas you get?
LINDA: YA is my favorite. There is so much you can do with Young
Adult books, and so many ideas yet to be written for this market who is always
thirsty for something new and exciting. Which pushes me, as a writer, to come
up with something unlike anything else out there. As far as my sub-genre I like
to believe I nicely mix drama, mystery, fantasy, paranormal, and romance
together in one nice little package.
JET: Have you always wanted to become an author and how did
you become an author?
LINDA: I have always, always, always wanted to write a book. I
honestly started writing for myself, for the simple fun of it and because I had
a story in my head that I wanted to read. I honestly never even thought I would
someday become a published author. Once I finished the Manuscript I thought,
why not try and get a publisher. With each rejection I grew a little more
determined to actually make it happen. I just want to share my stories with the
world, and hope that I bring some of the joy to readers that’s I’ve gotten from
other authors over the years. I got very lucky when submitted to Carrie
White-Parish and Glass House Press. She saw something in my writing and signed
me. The rest is history.
JET: How is your writing
process? Are you a pantser or a plotter? And how well do you plan your
characters and story before you start writing?
LINDA: I think writing is always a little bit of both of these. I
find freewriting to be especially helpful when I have writers block, but my
publisher has taught me it is always good to have a solid outline to keep a
sense of where I am going next. I do basic plot outlines, character
descriptions and settings, but having an outline doesn’t mean some things don’t
change as I’m actually writing the story. It’s a roadmap and sometimes, when
I’m lost in the creative world of writing, I like to take detours.
JET: Do you happen to have a playlist you use while writing?
LINDA: I have an entire list of Spotify of over 50 songs that make
up my Realm of the Claimed playlist so I’ll give you my top ten.
- A demons fate - Within Temptation
- Monster – Skillet
- Truth – Seether
- Comatose – Skillet
- Light ‘em up – Fall Out Boy
- I don’t care – Apoctalyptica
- Leave out all the rest – Linkin Park
- Always – Saliva
- The Successions Studios Playlist
- I’m not Okay – My Chemical Romance
JET: Thank you for answering my questions! Good luck for the future!
LINDA: Thank you for having me!
