Please help me welcome a natural storyteller turned author, Lynda Rees! She’s a woman with a mission but I’ll let her fill you in on the details. Right after we take a look at her bio, that is!
Lynda Rees is an award-winning story teller from Kentucky. Born in the Appalachian Mountains the daughter of a coal miner and part-Cherokee Indian, Lynda grew up in Northern Kentucky when Newport prospered under the Cleveland Mob as a gambling, prostitution and sin mecca. Fascination with history’s effect on today works its way into her written pages.
Having traveled the world working with heads of industry, foreign governments and business managers during a corporate marketing and global transportation career, this free spirited adventurer with workaholic tendencies, followed her passion for writing.
Both debut novels are award winners.Gold Lust Conspiracy is her historical novel debut and a RITA Finalist. Lynda’s debut romantic suspense, Parsley, Sage, Rose, Mary & Wine of The Bloodline Series; is set in Kentucky horse country. The Bloodline Series now consists of 10 books. Lynda’s Middle-Grade Children’s Mysteries, Freckle Face & Blondieand The Thinking Tree, are co-authored with twelve-year-old granddaughter Harley Nelson of California, Kentucky.
Lynda hopes you enjoy her stories and you become life-long friends.
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Betty: When did you become a writer?
Lynda: I’ve been writing since I could spell and put pen to paper. I had a 36-year corporate career with P&G in Marketing and Global Transportation. I wrote everything from business proposals, system design, employee classes, advertising copy and training manuals. I’ve been published for the last six years and have twenty-one books in publication in ebook, print and audio. Many of them are published in six languages.
Betty: How long did you work on your writing skills before you became published?
Lynda: Once I determined to publish my work, it took three years to understand the industry, learn the business of publishing and what publishers want in a manuscript. I studied craft and the industry. At the same time, I researched for my first book, a romantic historical novel about a woman’s struggle to survive during the 1890s Alaskan Gold Rush. Then I started selling the book, until I made connection with a publisher, and Gold Lust Conspiracy was born.
Betty: What authors or stories do you feel influenced your writing style?
Lynda: I write a mix of Janet Evanovich’s comedy with a dash of Robyn Carr’s small town appeal, a tad of Adelaide Forrest’s mobster mystery and a bit of Lucy Score’s billionaires. Most of my books are set in Sweetwater, Kentucky, a melting pot of souls of all kinds. The community is loaded with billionaire racing moguls, political influence, FBI agents, U.S. Marshals, a silver-haired sheriff, gay attorneys, professional and amateur females determined to protect their own. If the reader likes fresh-start stories, mobster history, enemies-to-lovers, quirky characters, female sleuths, a hint of comedy with suspense and romance, they’ll want to read my books.
Betty: What prompted you to start writing?
Lynda: An internal need to tell stories—I can’t shut the voices in my head up. They’re screaming to get out.
Betty: What type of writing did you start with?
Lynda: My first novel was Award-Winning Historical Novel Gold Lust Conspiracy. My second launch was Award-Winning Contemporary Mystery Parsley, Sage, Rose, Mary & Wine, Book 1 of The Bloodline Series, set in horse country of Kentucky.
Betty: What do you most enjoy writing? Why?
Lynda: I can’t get through the day without putting words onto the screen. It’s part of who I am.
Betty: How did you learn to write? A mentor, classes, conferences, craft books, or something else?
Lynda: I joined Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death, Mystery Writers of America, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Sisters In Crime. These professional organizations are the lifeblood of authors.
Betty: What do you wish you knew before you started writing/publishing?
Lynda: Writing for publication is more than simply telling a story. There’s magic in drawing a reader into the lives, minds, and hearts of characters, into a world outside of their daily existence.
Betty: What other authors inspired you (either directly or through their writing) to try your hand at writing?
Lynda: Louisa May Alcott wrote my favorite children’s book, Eight Cousins. I learned to read with my grandfather and the Bible. Danielle Steele is an all-time favorite, as are Debbie Macomber and Janet Evanovich.
Betty: What inspired you to write the book you’re sharing with us today?
Lynda: Hart’s Girls is my attempt to use entertainment to bring awareness to the public about a despicable, growing trend. Human trafficking is a highly profitable, major industry of epidemic proportions, and it happens right under our noses. Many don’t realize their young ones are being preyed upon. Awareness is the key to combatting the frightening, growing trend. Hart’s Girls is in ebook, print and soon to be in audio format.
Human trafficking puts innocent children at risk in all neighborhoods. FBI Special Agent Reggie Casse and U. S. Marshal Shae Montgomery resent each other’s intrusion, when they must join forces to stop abductions around Sweetwater, Kentucky. Antagonism turns to attraction they can’t act on without putting lives in danger. Shae thinks Reggie is planning her wedding with another. Shae’s ex wants her man back. Investigation leads to powerful players. Shots are fired. Will they get past their differences and have each other’s backs?
Buy links: Amazon
I think you’re right about bringing awareness to the human trafficking. I admire your willingness to take on this important subject, Lynda! I once wrote a novel with white slavery/human trafficking as a theme but that story will never see the light of day because it was written a long, long time ago… I hope many people will read your book and perhaps learn more about the reality in our country.
As the holidays quickly approach, I hope and pray you’ll be safe and well! Happy reading!
Betty Bolte
Best-selling Author of Historical Fiction with Heart, and Haunting, Bewitching Love Stories
Visit www.bettybolte.com for a complete list of my books and appearances.
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