Rogue’s
Hostage is
the book of my heart, or at least the one that bubbled up out of my gut. I
wrote it during one of the most traumatic periods of my life, after the sudden
death of my mother, and only after it was finished did I realize that the
heroine, Mara, was in many ways patterned after my mother.
This book is also
special because it’s set in the area I grew up in, Western Pennsylvania. I’m a
Pittsburgher, and I got the idea for the book while researching the history of
the city. The spark for the story was the fact that, during the French &
Indian War, the French officers at Fort Duquesne, many of whom were
aristocrats, would shed their uniforms and don loincloths and moccasins to lead
raiding parties on the English settlements. I thought that was in intriguing
idea for a romance hero, and the character of Jacques Corbeau was born.
Describe the genre
of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?
I helped my hubby research relatives who fought in that war. An interesting time in America's history. Did you have
several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out
yourself?
I had two manuscripts
finished before I sold, one of which was Rogue’s
Hostage, but it wasn’t the one that sold. That book was a contemporary
romance written with my friend, Anne Farrell. It was published by Zebra in
April 1998 as Private Affair by Lyn
O’Farrell, part of their Precious Gems line. We have since re-issued it in
e-book form under the title Worth The
Risk.
Rights reversions gives you that freedom to republish, and get your work in front of more readers! Do you have any
rejection stories to share?
Oh, yes. My favorite
rejection story is when I sent Rogue’s Hostage to a NY publisher. When I didn’t
hear back after about four months, I sent them an inquiry about the status of
the ms. Someone wrote back to say they never got it and could I resend it, so I
printed out another huge paper ms. and mailed it off. Another $20 or so down
the drain. About a month later, I
received a rejection. At the time, I had a sneaking suspicion that the
rejection was for the first manuscript. (When did NY ever turn anything around
that fast?) When I received another rejection from a different editor about a
month after that, I knew the first manuscript hadn’t been lost at all; they had
just lost track of it. At that point, all I could do was laugh.
What sort of promo
do you do? Do you have help?
I’m still learning in
the promo department. I do blog occasionally, though not with the kind of
regularity you do. I love Twitter, and use my account to promote other authors
more than myself. I’m a Facebook newbie, having joined only this year, and I’m
still learning there. The only help I get is from other authors who tweet and
share for each other. Someday, I’d like to be able to hire an assistant to help
with the blogging, since it’s so time consuming.
Yes, I’ve been a
member of Romance Writers of America and the local Orange County California
chapter for many years now. I’d never have become published without the help of
this organization. It’s amazing how much one can learn from chapter meetings
and workshops at the national conference. I recommend RWA to anyone who wants
to write romance fiction. In the last year and a half, I’ve gotten involved
with Indie Romance Ink and found, again, that romance authors are the most
generous and sharing souls in the writing world. This time the learning curve
has been more technical than craft-oriented, but I’ve found a huge amount of
information about self-publishing and promo.
This year, I
participated in two group projects: the Romance
Super Bundle, a boxed set of ten romance novels, and Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology by
Debra Holland and Friends. I contributed a holiday short story to the latter
called The Best Present, about a
ten-year-old girl experiencing a difficult Christmas. There are so many
opportunities for authors today. It’s an exciting time to be a writer!
Please Share
three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.1) I married for the first time at the age of 40, after a 9 ½ year courtship.
2) When I was a kid, we once ate Christmas dinner at White Castle in North Carolina.
3) In my twenties, I went to Australia where a friend talked me into a camping tour of Tasmania.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on a Western romance set in post-Civil War Texas.
BOOK
BLURB
His
hostage... In 1758 the Pennsylvania frontier is wild, primitive and dangerous, where safety often lies at the end of a gun. Mara Dupré's life crumbles when a French and Indian war party attacks her cabin, kills her husband, and takes her captive. Marching through the wilderness strengthens her resolve to flee, but she doesn't count on her captor teaching her the meaning of courage and the tempting call of desire.
Her destiny...
French lieutenant Jacques Corbeau's desire for his captive threatens what little honor he has left. But when Mara desperately offers herself to him in exchange for her freedom, he finds the strength to refuse and reclaims his lost self-respect. As the shadows of his past catch up to him, Jacques realizes that Mara, despite the odds, is the one true key to reclaiming his soul and banishing his past misdeeds forever.
Rogue’s Hostage is also part of the Romance Super Bundle, a boxed-set of ten full-length romance novels by ten authors, available at all major e-book retailers for one low price. You can find more information at my website: http://www.lindamclaughlin.com/RSB.html
An excerpt is available at my website: http://www.lindamclaughlin.com/rogue-excerpt.html
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Linda McLaughlin grew up with a love of history fostered by her paternal grandmother and an incurable case of wanderlust inherited from her father. She has traveled extensively within the United States and has visited Mexico, Canada, & Australia. A lifelong dream came true with a trip to England where she was able to combine sightseeing and theater with research for her novels. A native of Pittsburgh, she now lives in Southern California with her husband.
Her first book was Worth The Risk by Lyn O'Farrell. Now Linda writes historical and Regency romance. She loves transporting her readers into the past where her characters learn that, in the journey of life, love is the sweetest reward.
She also writes sexy to erotic romance under the name Lyndi Lamont.
How can my readers
buy your book?
Rogue’s Hostage is
available at
You can find more
information about
Linda and her book
Rogue’s
Hostage by visiting:
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