Linda Yezak: One-Word/One-Line Interview

 

Today I’m super excited to have my favorite redhead (next to Lucy–okay, ahead of Lucy) visit to share some of her deepest, darkest secrets. Linda Yezak is the author of Give the Lady a Ride, her debut novel. You can find my review here.

I don’t know when I first “met” Linda or how–except that it was online, but I can’t wait to meet her in person. She exudes warmth and humor, and I can hear her giggle all the way from Texas to Michigan.

Linda is also an editor with Port Yonder Press. Her bio there reads, “Linda lives in Texas, where ego is hereditary and exaggeration is an art form. She has a degree in English and teaches a creative writing class to a small group of women. Christian Romance Magazine has published several of her writing tips and articles. Linda also has served as a freelance editor for both published and unpublished authors. Her first novel, Give the Lady a Ride, was a finalist in the 2008 ACFW’s Genesis Contest.

Linda and her husband live in an empty nest with three cats and a pond full of ducks.”

And so, without further ado, heeeeere’s Linda!

Linda Yezak in One Word

1.  Vacation time! Which state will you visit?

Michigan (to see you, but that’s more than one word.)

2.  Flip flops, bare feet, or [tennis] shoes?

Bare.

3.  What is your favorite summer vegetable?

Corn (that’s the hardest one-word answer. I love ’em all.)

4.  [Banana] split, [hot fudge] sundae, or Popsicle?

Sundae.

5.  You’re planted in the shade on a steamy summer day. You’re sipping [iced] tea, lemonade, or water?

Lemonade.

6.  A severe thunderstorm is on its way. Are you excited, apprehensive, or [downright] scared?

Exciprehensive.

7.  Company’s coming. Cookout, restaurant, gourmet [by Chef Linda], or [make-your-own] tacos?

Gourmout.

8.  You’re going for a walk. Are you alone, with your husband, with a girlfriend, or with your dog?

Girlfriend.

9.  Is this an early morning, high noon, or early evening walk? Remember, it’s summer.

Morning.

10. Who is your favorite character in Give the Lady a Ride?

Frank.

Linda Yezak in One Line

1.  Choose one question above. Give us the “why.”

#7–gourmout. Whenever we have company, MSB likes to barbecue, but I love to cook, so it’s a toss-up as to who will win the menu planning.

2.  What would Frank say is your greatest strength?

My daring. I would’ve ridden a bull if the owner hadn’t thought I was too old. (He’s probably right.)

3.  What writer (classic or contemporary) has had the biggest influence on you?

Seriously difficult to answer. K. M. Weiland, of course, because she’s my critique partner, but I learn from every writer I read.

4. When did you first know you wanted to write?

I discovered I wanted to write professionally in 2006.

5.  How would Consuela rate your kitchen skills?

She’d be jealous because I can stuff a poblano pepper better than she can.

6.  If you could live in any other part of the country, where would it be and why?

The Texas Hill Country–still in Texas, yes, but the Hill Country is as different from Deep East Texas as Southern California is from Charlotte, Michigan.

7.  Do you identify more with Pat, Marie, or Katie and why?

Katie because she grew up where I wish I had, doing things I wish I could’ve done.

8.  If Talon told you to “Get ‘er done,” what would you be doing?

Writing, or housecleaning–the two things I have difficulty convincing myself to finish.

9.  What would Patricia admire most about you?

My creativity (I invented her, didn’t I?!)

10. What is a favorite childhood memory?

My favorite memory is of Daddy, Mama, and me at the kitchen table, singing every song we knew.

Linda Yezak on One Thing

What one thing would you like to say to your readers or future readers?

Thank you!

What one thing would you like to say to your fellow writers or aspiring writers?

Never assume you’ve learned all there is to know about writing.

 

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Thanks so much, my friend, for such a fun interview! Who knows? I might make it to Texas before you make it to Michigan.

You can get to know Linda better by catching her around cyberspace.

Linda’s Website

Linda on Facebook

Linda on Twitter

And now that you know a little about her,

here’s a little about Give the Lady A Ride:

“She’s no bigger than a newborn heifer,” is Talon Carlson’s first impression of Patricia Talbert when he discovers the ranch he’d hoped to inherit now belongs her. Part-time bull rider, full-time ranch foreman, he realizes his entire future rests in the hands of a tiny woman who doesn’t know beans about either.

The lure of living someplace where no one knows her or cares that her father is a senator sends Patricia into the waves of indecision. New York is home; it’s familiar. But on the Circle Bar Ranch, no one will use her as the gateway to the senator. Maybe on the ranch, she can separate herself from her father and develop an identity of her own.

Inside a small wooden box, Patricia finds letters her aunt had written to her uncle, both deceased. The love her aunt had expressed was deeper than anything Patricia had ever experienced in her own failed marriage. But it is the faith shining from page after page that brings her to tears. Had she known this wise woman, maybe she would have learned to trust the Lord, too.

One last letter in the box, to Patricia from her uncle, turns her waves of indecision into a tsunami. He wanted her to stay at the ranch. The temptation is strong, but she has responsibilities in New York. She’s torn, and her growing attraction to Talon isn’t helping.

The same letter throws Talon’s life into chaos also, because if Patricia decides to leave the ranch, she is to give it to him. All Talon ever wanted was to own a ranch, this ranch. And now, his dreams are just one small woman away. Using as evidence the loss of everyone he’d ever loved, Talon is convinced God wants him single. But his growing appreciation of this spunky little lady is shaking that conviction–to the point he questions whether he wants the ranch more than he wants her.

Time is slipping away, and Patricia needs to decide what to do. But she can’t. To buy time for faith and love to grow, she issues Talon a challenge: “Teach me to ride bulls.”

From here on, they’re in for the ride of their lives.