Interview Linda Lattimer

by

Phyllice Bradner

1) Let’s start with your book that is coming out in September, A Man For Mom, a Paranormal Encore L’Amour Romance. Your character is a woman haunted by the ghost of her late husband. Are you delving into the world of the paranormal in this novel? Have you had paranormal experiences of your own or is that an area that has interested you for some time?

It has a bit of paranormal to it, yes. I would have to say, yes, there are some things that I have felt and seen, especially after my dad died in 1991. Some people look at me like I am crazy but I know what I saw and felt. My children and I both have had some strange things happen since my husband’s passing, and, at times it is hard to stay in my house. That is why I usually stay at the lake and just compose stories. Honestly, it is hard explaining some of the things, although I am sure they have an explanation, but I know what I’ve felt and seen, if that makes sense. Even some of my aunts have seen and experienced unusual events in their lifetimes. Off the record, last September when I took the girls to Savannah, to try to get over Bob’s death, I chose an old historical hotel that used to be a funeral home because the girls, were like, hey mom, let’s stay there and see if it is really haunted. I must tell you, Suzanne and I shared the Mercer room, and it was an experience we will never forget.

2) In reading your biographical material I see that you lost your own beloved husband in 2005. (I am so sorry for your loss.) Was this book about a widow difficult for you to write? Or did you derive some comfort in writing about this painful topic?

It has been hard and everyone says it will get better with time, but I still wonder, when. Actually, this book really wasn’t that difficult because I had composed it back in the late eighties, so it was already done and only needed polishing. Yes, redoing it did seem to help in the comfort zone, a little. Actually, I think I have over 35 or more stories on disk that I have written in my lifetime.

3) Is there an underlying message in your new book, one that you could summarize in a few lines?

The only one that comes to mind is abuse. I believe if anyone is ever in a situation where abuse abounds, no matter how much love there is in a marriage, it is best to get out of any circumstance that could not be healthy for mind and soul.

4) Most of us authors who are “of a certain age” began writing well before the computer era. In fact, if you are like me and my sister, you probably started with a yellow wooden pencil and a sheet of lined notebook paper. At what point in your life did you begin to embrace the computer as a writing tool and the internet a possible venue for publishing?

Hmmm, I would have to say in the eighties, when my dad purchased a mobile home park and he made me his secretary. I got to go from legal pads to an old black typewriter--that I sort of miss--to a computer. I must say I am very happy with my laptop now, that is good, but things don’t seem to last like they use to.

5) During that ten year hiatus between 1992 and 2002, when you put the pursuit of publishing on hold because of problems at home, did you continue to write? Did you keep a journal or compose stories in your head?

I continued to write them all on those long legal pads, and then transferred them to disk. I have another diary-like journal in which I make little notes, and outline stories that I have not penned yet. Then I have many flooding through my head. I just need more time to put them all on paper.

6) Have any of your children followed in your footsteps and taken up writing as a career or pastime?

Yes, in fact all three of my children enjoy writing, maybe not as much as I do, but my middle one, Suzanne, has a book coming out with Wings in January. She and I worked on it together. It is a romantic suspense, entitled One Lane Bridge. The other two have written stories but I have not sent them off anywhere as of yet. They always write things and say, here Mom, help, finish it.

7) From which aspect of writing do you gain the most satisfaction: the character and plot development; the word-crafting and structuring of the book; the completion and publishing, seeing the finished product enjoyed by readers?

I think I would have to say all three. Yes, I am strange. The character and plot allow me to get into their head and almost make them come alive in my mind, almost like a part of the family. The word-crafting and structure allows me to experience what my characters endure. And the completion is like icing on the cake. It takes all of them, almost like adding eggs to the batter when you’re making a cake. Everything blends together beautifully.