Hi there. Iām Linda, and Iām an author. Itās been a long, straight road since I wrote my first novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in 2004. That particular piece of *ahem* literature still hasnāt seen the light of day, mostly because of how much Iāve learned about writing since.
To back up a bit, my writing career began when I was four years old. I remember having one of my parents staple a stack of paper together so I could write a book. They encouraged me to just draw pictures, but I wasnāt having any of that. I wanted to tell a story. Unfortunately for them I could only spell the words āIā and ātheā at the time, so I bothered them unceasingly. Since then, Iāve been writing in my head if not on paper or the keyboard. I canāt not do it. Itās a part of me.
When Herman Anderson leaves home to make a better life for herself, she doesnāt expect to meet a tall, dark stranger with whom sheāll fall hopelessly in love.
Charming and mysterious, Stephen Dagmar is a stage magician seeking an assistant. The moment he sets eyes on Herman, he knows sheās the one. He brings her home to his Victorian mansion where they embark upon an extravagant romance. Yet a shadow hangs over their love. Will the curse on his family end Stephen and Hermanās happily ever after, before it really begins?
Amidst lace and leather, innocence and debauchery, The Magicianās Curse begins the Gothic tale of The Great Dagmaru. Magic and romance await.
Official release date: June 27, 2017! Pre-order your Kindle copy today here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721ZH2KN
Available soon on Kobo, and on June 27th in paperback on Amazon.
An excerpt from Chapter 2:
The moment Stephen stepped out the door, the foyer fell silent again. He didnāt have to look at any of the interviewees perched, alert upon burgundy velvet-covered benches against both sides of the room, to know their eyes were on him. They were drawn to him as though he were a human magnet, just as Herman had been. He passed the stairs, turned right, and stepped into the dining room where his agent, Margaret, waited for him to arrive.
āHey,ā she said without looking up. She sat poring over the applications that were strewn across the large antique dining room table. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, staring at the top of her dark mane of hair shining in the light of the chandelier above her head. Her long, graceful fingers, poised to turn a page, were an elegant extension of the rest of her lithe body. Finally, she looked up and took in his appearance with icy-green eyes. She was every bit as beautiful as any of the women outside.
āWhatās the matter with you?ā she asked. Being inseparable for five years, both as best friends and then co-workers, made it easy for her to tell when there was something different, however subtle, about him.
āI found her,ā Stephen said, his back still to the door.
āWho?ā
āShe has a perfect body and long, brown hair and the bluest eyes youāve ever seen. And her lips! Full and beautiful. And the way they move when she speaks ā¦ absolutely captivating.ā
Margaret narrowed her eyes. āYou hired someone on the train again, didnāt you?ā It was a statement more than a question.
Stephen nodded.
āOkay,ā she said, sitting back in her chair. āTell me more about her.ā
āI think sheās running away from home. She has a job to go to, but she agreed to come and check this one out. Sheās sweet and innocent and sheās almost eighteen.ā
Margaret crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes even more.
āNo, I didnāt audition her the same way I did the others,ā he said.
āSo you didnāt bang her in the limo on the way here.ā
āNo! Sheās not of age. And anyway, I knew from the second I saw her that sheās the one.ā
Margaret began to say something just as the door opened on the far side of the room to her left, and Nina came in from the kitchen. Both Stephen and Margaret glanced at the slight young woman and then at each other.
āShould I leave the two of you alone?ā Margaret asked.
Stephen shook his head almost imperceptibly and walked over to have a quiet word with the girl. After a few seconds she bowed and backed out of the room, and Stephen turned back to his friend.
āWell then,ā Margaret said, throwing her hands up and glaring down at the stacks of paper in front of her. āTell them all to go home.ā
āNo, I still want to interview them.ā
āWhat the hell for?ā
āHerman might not take the job.ā
Margaret raised her eyebrows. āHerman?ā
āYeah.ā
āOkay, let me get this straight. Youāre telling me sheās the one you want but that she might not stay. Iām confused.ā
He stood, silently pleading with his friend to understand what he had only begun to comprehend himself.
āWhat the hell is wrong with you, Stephen? Iāve never seen you undone like this before ā¦ā
Margaret put her hand up to her mouth, realization dawning on her face. āOh my God,ā she said quietly.
He closed his eyes as he spoke. āIt doesnāt matter whether or not sheāll be my assistant, Margaret.ā He opened his eyes and swallowed hard. āSheās the girl Iām going to marry.ā
Friday is here, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s been an exhausting week. My mother had a fall that’s bad enough to put her in the hospital for a couple of months. I thought about postponing the release of my book, but are things going to get better? Likely not. Onwards and upwards. In the meantime, here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “sign.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
It’s Friday and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. Sorry for the late post. I’ve been busy formatting my novel and time slipped away from me. Also, I’m sick with a cold; I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus. Ah well. Here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “admit.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Friday has come around again, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve been busy getting my manuscript all scrubbed and polished for publication. The cover is finalized and it’s gone out to a few readers, hopefully for advance reviews. Fingers crossed, you should have it in your hands before the end of the month! So that’s why I’ve been so absent the last few days. How are all of you?
Here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “whether/weather.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you start and end your post with one (or each) of them. Enjoy!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Friday’s here and with it, your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’ve been in a mad dash to get a project finished this week. Wrapped it up a couple of hours ago, so I’m free for the weekend. Relatively free, that is. I still have my little monster lovely son to look after. Here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “smell.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
It’s Friday, and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m spending the day with my youngest son, as he has a day off from school. It’s been loud, it’s been distracting, and there have been tickles. All in all, not too bad.
Here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “all or nothing.” Use one, use both, use them any way you’d like. Bonus points if you start and end your post with one (or each) of them. Enjoy!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
Gah! I’m late again. But it’s still Friday, and that means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. It’s been a busy week for me, editing, proofreading, and finishing up yet another course. I’ve been totally immersed. So guess what? Here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “language.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
“In the interim” is when boredom happens. Between exciting times, when there’s nothing special going on and all you can think about is how much you wish something would drop in your lap: love, money, a new job, or the opportunity for a vacation, for instance. It’s the time where, when nothing is going on, you do something crazy like buy a cat or get addicted to a new game.
“In the interim” might be when creativity happens. Nothing to do but daydream… suddenly an idea pops up. Time to redecorate the house, take some pictures, paint, or write a book.
I haven’t been in the interim between books since 2011. I’ve been writing the same one — or the same series — for five-and-a-half years. I wonder what it would be like to be between books. Totally between them. Just thinking about it conjures thoughts of freedom. Running through meadows of wildflowers, climbing trees, swimming in rivers, and jumping on a trampoline. Time to allow my mind to wander, and not stress over how long it’s going to take to get something ready for publication.
I see authors handing their manuscripts to editors and I envy them. I imagine them bent over their keyboards and notepads, writing their next epic tale, unworried for a while what might be happening with their finished manuscript. I’d love to be able to write non-stop. With no interim.
Wait… wasn’t that what I just said I didn’t have? Gotta get writing.
It’s the first Friday in May and time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. I’m excited today, because I’ve finally come up with a name for my new freelance editing business. As soon as the site is verified and I have it looking pretty, I’ll write a post to announce it. Onward and upward!
Here’s your prompt for this week:
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “inter-” Use the prefix “inter-” any way you’d like. Enjoy!
After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!
To make your post more visible, use our SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!
Here are the rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what youāre going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence ā one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry ā it doesnāt matter. Just let the words carry you along until youāre ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say āWrite about dogsā; the prompt will be more like, āMake your first sentence a question,ā āBegin with the word āTheā,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! Itās important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.Ā Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If youāre self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other personās blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If youāre the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, āStream of Consciousness Saturday,ā which youāll find right below the āLikeā button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if youād like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers youāll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
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