Interview with an author: Linda Seed
Linda Seed is the beloved author of twelve romance titles, five of which are in audiobook form. I asked her questions about her writing and her experience getting into audiobooks.
Your bio says that you made a conscious choice to stop writing "angsty" and bring more joy to the world. Why did you choose the romance genre?
I'll tell you why romance: I tried to write a literary novel, and it just went nowhere. I worked on that thing for years, and I could not breathe life into it. Finally, I got to the point where I couldn't write at all. Total block. This went on for years. So I thought, I'm going to write something that's pure fun, pure enjoyment, just as an exercise to see if it'll help me write again. I had some favorite Nora Roberts romances, books that I turned to whenever I just needed to feel good. I thought, I'm going to write in that style and see what happens. It totally unblocked me. That first romance (Moonstone Beach) poured out of me.
Now, I get emails from readers telling me that my books make them happy and help them to forget their problems. One reader told me that she’s bedridden with a chronic illness, and my books make her laugh. They make her feel better. I can’t aspire to anything more meaningful and profound than that. That’s the pinnacle.
When did you write your first book/what got you into writing?
I’ve always been a writer. I wrote my first full-length novel in high school, I wrote two more in college, and then another two while working as a journalist at a daily newspaper. (None of these are published—nor should they be.) I’ve always loved escaping into fictional worlds. Writing was a refuge for me when I felt lonely or sad, or when my life wasn't working out as planned. I just don’t feel like myself when I’m not writing regularly.
Your characters absolutely jump off the page fully formed, and I want to be friends with them all! Tell us about how you create your characters? Do they follow you around forever, continuing to live the lives you've set in motion for them?
I don’t put a lot of planning into my books before I begin writing them. Usually I have the general outlines of the characters in mind: what they do, how they look, and what they're lacking in their lives. Then I let them reveal themselves to me as I write. If all goes well, they begin to feel like living, breathing people to me by the time I’m halfway through the book. If things go really well, the characters will begin to behave in ways that surprise me but that feel absolutely true to them. That’s when I know I've got a viable character—when they begin to make their own decisions independently of me.
As for whether they follow me around, I do think about them often. I imagine what they'd be doing now, how they're getting along. I think they’re all happy. At least, I like to think so.
Friendship and family are powerful forces in your books. Do you have a group of friends like these girls and guys have?
Actually, I’ve always had a hard time making friends, and that’s one of the reasons I write about close friendships in my books. I tend to write the world the way I wish it could be rather than how it is. In my fictional world, there’s always someone to listen to you when you need to talk, always someone whose presence makes you feel better. I hope that makes my books a place readers can escape to when things are hard.
Cambria is a real place in California, but you've built a whole fictional world there - three series with intersecting characters. Why Cambria/what's your connection to Cambria, and have you found unexpected help or limitations from choosing to base your fiction in a real place?
I’ve loved Cambria for a long time, since I started vacationing there more than twenty years ago. Recently, my family and I were able to move there full-time. I find it to be the perfect setting for small-town romances. The town only has about six thousand residents, and it’s nestled in a pine forest on the Central Coast. It’s breathtakingly beautiful—rugged coastline, Monterey pines, deer grazing in the front yard, traffic stopping for flocks of wild turkeys—and the sense of community is strong. It inspires me, and that’s been a big key to my writing.
I’ve found that setting my books in a real community has helped me a lot. The books have been discovered by local residents who want to read about their hometown, and also by people who have visited here. I’ve heard from a lot of readers who were thrilled to discover that there are books based on this place where they’ve spent their anniversaries or other special occasions. I think there’s a lot of magic in Cambria, and I hope that’s come through in my books.
What is your process of writing like?
I always write in the morning. I've tried doing it at other times of day, but it just doesn't seem to work for me. I get up early, get my kids off to school, then settle in to write, either at my desk at home or at a local coffee house. I find that I’m much more productive when I go out somewhere, probably because I’m not distracted by things like laundry or the dust bunnies under the bed. My husband is a writer, too, so we often work side by side.
As for rituals, I have a very specific routine. I like to use an app on my laptop called Winston—it simulates an old-fashioned typewriter, but without the inconvenience. You get the clunky typewriter sound, the blotchy font, even a simulation of crumpled typewriter paper. Something about that clacky-clacky sound is positive feedback for me. The sound signals to me that it’s work time. I put in my ear buds, set a timer for 15 minutes, and I just go. After fifteen minutes, I take a short break, then do it again.
Have you had surprises along your career as a writer?
The biggest surprise is that people want to read my work. As a self-published author, I went into this knowing there was a very real possibility they wouldn’t. People sometimes write to tell me I’m their favorite author, and I have to tell you, that surprises the hell out of me.
I know why I like your books - the women are smart, ambitious, witty, and relatable; the plots are plausible; the crises complex and OH so funny despite the tension. There's downright hilarity even in the serious parts. What do you think makes your writing special?
My books are about the family and friendships at least as much as they’re about the romances. I think people lack those close ties today, largely because of social media, though I doubt that’s the only factor. I think people crave that. I know I do. So, I think people react positively to that.
What do you think is the next challenge for you?
I’m thinking of branching out into women’s fiction. Of course, romance and women’s fiction go hand in hand. They’re so closely related. No doubt, my women's fiction will have strong romantic elements, but I’d like to explore other issues important in women’s lives in more depth.