Author Introduction - Welcome Author Linda McMaken to the Desert Breeze Family

STEPH: Where did you grow up?

LINDA: I am a Midwest girl. Although my family DNA is in the South, and my heart is in the West.

I live with an amazing husband who can fix anything. Seriously, I've never broken anything the man can't fix. We've been married for 28 years and have two awesome daughters. The youngest was just married in August. She is a firefighter/paramedic and her hubby is a firefighter. My older daughter is getting married in December. Whew, it's been a long, but fun year. She is studying to be an EMT and her soon-to-be hubby is an EMT/Firefighter. Well, now I've got someone to put out all those kitchen fires!!! LOL

I have two "pound puppies" Hailey and Diesel. Diesel is featured on my blog very often. He is the source of much amusement. Hailey is now 14 years old and she snores while I write.

STEPH: Who were some of your favorite authors growing up?

LINDA: I loved John Jakes. I met him at a local library when I was a teenager and fell in love. He was older, cool, and a writer!

Thanks to my mom, I read lots of Louis L’amour, Zane Grey, Max Brand, and great mysteries from Nancy Drew, Mickey Spillane, and Clive Cussler.

STEPH: What genre do you write?

LINDA: I write romantic comedy. Although I have a thriller I’ve been playing around with and hope to have finished next year.

I’ve also been a freelance magazine writer for a number of years, and I am a scriptwriter for COS Productions. They create booktrailers for writers.

STEPH: You have an upcoming release with Desert Breeze. Can you tell us when, the title, and let us know what it's about?

LINDA: The title is Baer Truth. It is scheduled for release in August 2011. I’ll just give you the “short” back cover version.


Abby Clark, a vegetarian, punk rock back-up singer and city-slicker gets kicked off the band tour bus in the middle of nowhere. Wyoming! Stuck with nothing but a talent for cooking and the singing voice of an angel, she manages to disturb a very cranky, cold-hearted bear, um, Baer. Joe Baer, a sexy Wyoming beef rancher. He has a nasty ex-girlfriend, killer blue eyes, a ranch mortgage that’s due, and a past that even he never suspected.
Just when it looks like beef might be what’s for dinner, the “Earl of Country Music” steps into the picture. He’s a sexy country singing legend with a killer smile and connections that could launch a stellar-career for Abby.
Baer Truth, is a contemporary romantic comedy, following the three Baer brothers and their heartwarming family saga in Wyoming ranch land; where the men are always hungry, the women are bossy, tractors are just booby-traps lying in wait for city-girls and true love is just a Baer cave away!


STEPH: Do you have an ebook reader? If so, which one?

LINDA: No. But a few of my friends do and oh, I covet them often!

STEPH: Do you have any other books that are available?

LINDA: Bear Truth will be my first published novel.

STEPH: Can you tell us a little about the state you live in?

LINDA: I live in the corn belt of Ohio. We have an awesome Great Lake, Erie; the country’s largest state fair, where butter sculptures are seriously a work of art. We are home to the United States Air Force Museum, which is an amazing place to visit. The Wright-B Flyer lives there as does Air Force One and everything in between. Oh, and we have the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland – Rock on!

STEPH: Just for fun: pick your favorite: Monet, Picasso, or Renoir?

LINDA: Monet, because I squint a lot, and need my glasses.

STEPH: Monet is my favorite, too! So, are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Have you done it in the past?

LINDA: No. As a working writer, with one of those annoying “real” world jobs, I have too many deadlines.

STEPH: Where can we find you on the web?

LINDA: I have a blog that right now acts as my webpage as well. www.makenwords.blogspot.com . I’m also at the usual places like Facebook, and Twitter.

STEPH: Thanks for popping in, LInda. Have a Happy Halloween everyone.