I’m delighted to be able to interview my agent and friend Linda Glaz. Linda is not only an agent for Hartline Literary Agency, she is an experienced editor, reviewer, and author of several books.

Please tell us something about yourself, Linda. I’m gray, which, I guess means, I’m older than dirt. But with that comes a multitude of experiences and ideas to put into my work.

You served in the armed forces. Please give us some of that history also. I’ll tell an awesome story. I was the dorm chief (whoopee) of my flight, and a newbie came running up to me and said, “Airman Mapes, Airman Mapes! Come see the cute little shampooers they put in the restrooms just for us girls!!!” Well, we were in an old condemned but refurbished men’s barracks. And they hadn’t taken out the urinals. Yup. Right, where she was shampooing her hair. Oh, boy!

How did you get started writing professionally? I’ve always written. Since my first story in eighth grade that was cheesy and ridiculous, but it hooked me. Then, as I rounded 42, I wrote my first full-length novel based on an experience with my youngest daughter. And that is the story finally releasing in December of this year.

You have written a number of contemporary and historical romances. Do you enjoy writing in a variety of genres or is this a progression? I love writing in different genres, but there’s no doubt, suspense is my fave. Scare me, scare me, scare me. I love it.

What do you find most rewarding and challenging about being a writer? (research, plotting or organizing a story, marketing, or something else)Def plotting. I love the twists and turns of intricate plots. When I don’t see something coming and then BAM! It hits me between the eyes, I’m in heaven.

Ok, now the story:

Imagine your five-year-old at a birthday sleepover. Imagine all the girls disappear.

As five-year-old girls disappear from birthday parties year after year across the U.S., the sister of victim number one is thrown into the kidnappers’ path when she moves to the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan ten years after her sister is kidnapped. There, she finds it’s not only candles that light up the trusting, rural community.

When ten-year-old Brandy Barrett and her mother, Rachel, hurry to the large colonial where Brandy’s five-year-old sister, Victoria, spent the night, Brandy prays Torey is ready. The girls have been promised a movie by their mother if there’s time after shopping.

Brandy stares. The house looks empty. No birthday balloons, no cake. And no little sister waiting with stories about the birthday sleepover.

Was it her fault because she rushed her mother to leave the night before?

She and her father, Joe, both harbor guilt that they hadn’t been there to foresee what could happen with a five-year-old staying alone all night.

Brandy’s mother can’t deal with her role in allowing Victoria to go to the sleepover, and she eventually commits suicide, adding, even more, guilt to Joe and Brandy.

Ten years later, after Brandy graduates from Oakland University, she takes a teaching position in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. After meeting the single, female superintendent, she convinces her father to retire from the military and follow along. She has plans to play matchmaker.

Three other families move to Iron Cove. Neither Joe nor Brandy can imagine what awaits them when one of those families has plans to kidnap once again.

BLOW OUT THE CANDLES AND SAY GOODBYE sounds like every parent’s worst nightmare. Please tell us about the story and how you came up with its premise.  Over twenty years ago, I dropped my youngest off at a birthday sleepover. Half an hour later, during what was practically a blizzard, she called to have me drop off her favorite pillow. As I drove up, my bizarre imagination kicked in, and I wondered: what would happen if I knocked on the door only to discover the house was empty? Yes, my mind just works that way. I’m a worrier of the worst kind. While she was gone over the weekend, the summary for Blow Out was born. I’m not sure how to describe the fear of a child gone missing, but that’s simply the way my over-active mind works.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? Just to trust our inner voices. When that small, quiet voice tells us that something isn’t right, act on it. Don’t allow something to go awry when we’ve had the internal warning.

God often teaches us something through our writing. What did you learn about life, faith, or yourself in the process of writing this book? To NEVER give up. Whether it’s our writing, praying for a loved one or friend, or just for the situation to turn around. PERSEVERANCE!!! Never ever, no not ever, give up.

Where can readers find your books? Check them all out on Amazon. You can find them at Harlequin or Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas sites, but on Amazon, they offer great deals!

Thank you so much, Linda, for being my guest. You are probably going to keep readers up nights with BLOW OUT THE CANDLES … and say goodbye. That’s my goal. Scare me in the safety of my home! Ah-hahahahahahaha…

Book Giveaway

To enter the giveaway for a free e-copy or paperback copy of BLOW OUT THE CANDLES … and say goodbye, please leave a comment along with your email address. The winner will be selected on December 6.

Linda’s BLOW OUT THE CANDLES AND SAY GOODBYE Facebook RELEASE PARTY is December 7  ~ 6-10PM EST        https://www.facebook.com/events/497763037239680/

Linda is an author and agent with Hartline Literary Agency.

She’s married with three children and three grandchildren.

Having served in the Air Force at a time when it wasn’t exactly politically correct for a woman, she blazed many firsts for women in the military. She has taught karate and self-defense for thirty years and was a National instructor and referee for the largest soccer youth group in the US for twenty-five years. She isn’t afraid to try something new.

Before joining Hartline, Linda was a reviewer for online romance sites, a final proofreader for a publisher, and organized and ran two separate writers’ groups. She worked for two years as an editorial assistant to Terry Burns at Hartline.

Linda has two novellas, six short novels, one romantic suspense published, and one to release in 2017. Five more are burning a hole in her hopeful pocket.

She’s a member of ACFW, AWSA, and numerous other writers’ groups. She presents nationally each year at conferences, teas, churches, workshops, and various other venues. She’s also active on social media.

Linda loves to laugh and make other people laugh. There is definitely healing and joy in laughter.

She’s forever on the lookout for ideas that will turn into a suspenseful novel, and as an agent is always looking for that next great blockbuster novel.