Patricia Talbert is a high-class social coordinator from New York.
Talon Carlson is a rugged bull rider from Texas.
He thinks she’s too polished.
She thinks he’s insane.
Opposites aren’t quick to attract when the lady who enters the cowboy’s world is on a mission to sell the ranch. But a box of letters changes her mission–letters of unshakable faith and a love deeper than anything she’s ever experienced.
Soon she finds his integrity appealing. Her spunk draws him in. He has the faith she craves; she may be the love he longs for. But faith and love aren’t achieved in a single weekend.
To buy time to explore the possibilities between them, she issues a challenge: “Teach me to ride bulls.”
From here on, they’re in for the ride of their lives.
*****
Linda, thank you for joining us today. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Give the Lady a Ride. Is this your first published novel?
Yes, and I’m glad you said “published.” My first novel—my first truly awful novel–is dry-rotting away in a drawer somewhere. Ride is my first novel worth reading.
What was your inspiration for the story?
A combination of a couple of TV shows on CMT: “Cowboy U,” where city folks learned ranching chores, including palpating cows and riding bulls, and “Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding,” which was what it says, an opportunity for celebrities to match their strength and stamina against that of a 1200-pound bull (but I suspect the bulls were no more than 700-800 for the rookies).
How did the idea evolve?
I just expanded what I saw on “Cowboy U.” It wasn’t only macho men on that show. Pretty little long-legged models with painted nails and perfect makeup joined business women with expensive suits and superiority complexes. The look on their faces when the show’s hosts took away their blow dryers and moisturizing cream was priceless!
How did you find your publisher?
Before she became a publisher, I met Chila Woychik on Christianwriters.com. I loved her poetry; she loved my writing. She also writes non-fiction, and we ran some projects past each other for critique. When she bought Port Yonder Press, I asked if she needed help. She did, and I became one of her editors. Then, when I finished Ride and found out it was a hard sale because it’s so short, I asked if she’d consider publishing it. She already liked it, so it was just a small step to for her to publish it.
Do you have a background in writing?
I have a degree in English, but I ignored my desire to write for years—anything of any length, that is. One of my professors tried to encourage me to pursue writing, and I should have then, but I had an interest in law at the time and became a paralegal instead (back when you had to go to grad school to do it).
Do you belong to a critique group or do you have a writing partner?
What I wouldn’t give for a critique group! But, even then, I believe I’d rely mostly on my writing partner. My critter, Katie Weiland, and I have been together since 2007. I don’t put anything major “out there” without running it past her first, and she’s the same way.
Were you raised on a ranch or have you had any rodeo experience?
Uhhhh—no. You don’t know how much it hurts to admit that. It’s so unfair! My dad was raised in the country. Mom’s parents owned a ranch. My husband’s family raised cattle. Me? I’m a city girl. If I were answering this on Twitter, I’d type “#ampouting” after an abbreviated version of my response.
If a movie were made, based on Give the Lady a Ride, who do you envision playing your main characters?
Okay, I don’t know the new stars that well. If we were in the ’90s, I’d answer Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid. Today, I’d lean toward Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.
Are you a “Plotter” or a “Pantser?” Do you outline first or do you write as you go?
At the time I wrote Ride, I was a pure pantser—which means I had lots of rewrites. Now I’m a hybrid. My outlines are excruciatingly loose, and are usually formed as I go. I’ll write a scene, then my brain will kick in with “then this happens, then that,” and I have to get it down or lose it forever. I revert to my old ways occasionally, though, and toss out the outline.
What kind of marketing are you doing?
My family is enduring some trying times right now, so marketing is lax at best. Currently, however, personal appearances have been far more successful than cyber-techniques, and the off-beat stores have sold more than the bookstores. I’ve sold out twice at a pharmacy and twice more at a hair salon. Only one bookstore has come close to selling out. My secret weapons are my husband and my mother. Mom sold two copies while getting a blood transfusion, and three more after surgery.
Linda Yezak resides in the state of Texas, where tall tales abound and exaggeration is an art form. She lives in the heart of a forest with her husband, three cats, four ducks, and a pond full of fish.
Aside from being a member of Women Writing the West (WWW) and The Christian PEN, she is a proud member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Her debut novel, Give the Lady a Ride, was a finalist in the 2009 ACFW Genesis contest, and her work-in-progress, The Cat Lady’s Secret, was a finalist in 2010.
A self-described nut, she says, “I keep both feet candy-coated, because there’s no telling when one or both will land in my mouth.”
Candy flavor of choice? “Peppermint. Chocolate melts too fast.”
Linda is also an editor with Port Yonder Press, a traditional publishing company that caters to family-friendly authors, and she writes Christian chic lit and romantic comedies. Along with serving as a category coordinator for WWW’s Willa Award, Linda has served as a judge for several ACFW Genesis Contests as well as other, smaller contests. She is becoming a popular speaker and is available for engagements in the quad states: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma (anywhere in driving distance!).
Website: http://lindayezak.com
Website: http://authorculture.blogspot.com
Also on Facebook and Twitter, among other social sites.
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