I’m happy to be hosting a very talented author on the blog today. She’s Linda Poitevin and she writes dark urban fantasy books that have received a lot of critical acclaim. Recently, she’s made an interesting switch, which she’ll tell us about in her interview with us. Let’s find out what it is!
You were a civilian dispatcher for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, although your original goal was to be a police officer. How has that background influenced your writing?
In several ways, I think, because I tend to favor police storylines. I actually wanted to be a cop myself (but was turned down because of a faulty height measurement), so I tend to live vicariously through my heroine, Alex, in my Grigori Legacy series. Working as a dispatcher also gave me the chance to get to know a number of outstanding female police officers — little bits of whom have definitely made it into Alex as well — and having worked in the police environment has enabled me to give my setting a definite authenticity. And, of course, having married a cop has kept me ‘in the loop,’ so to speak. 🙂
Your first published novels were urban fantasy, with a homicide detective as the heroine. Why the switch to contemporary romance for your current book?
It’s not as much of a switch as you might think, because I started out writing romance and there is a definite romantic element to all of my stories. To be honest, my Grigori Legacy series was actually intended to be a paranormal romance single title — that whole dark side of me that emerged (and the series idea) was a complete surprise! Despite that, I’m still a firm believer in happy-ever-afters. 🙂
Tell us about Gwynneth Ever After.
Gwynneth Ever After is a contemporary romance that is best described as Notting Hill with a role reversal and kids thrown in. It was originally published by Wild Rose Press as A Fairy Tale for Gwyn and has been given a fresh edit (because I’ve learned SUCH a lot in the last couple of years!), a new cover, and of course, a new title. The story is about a single mom who is neither looking for nor interested in a relationship until she meets her very own Hollywood hero — who won’t take no for an answer!
What’s next in your writing life?
I’m currently waiting for edits from my editor on book 3 of the Grigori Legacy, Sins of the Lost, and I’ve begun work on book 4, Sins of the Warrior. The series will be complete after book 4. After that, I have a romantic suspense that I’m considering dusting off and polishing, and I have a new urban fantasy series in mind as well.
Thanks for being with us today, Linda! Readers, check out the blurb Gwynneth Ever After:
Gwyn Jacobs doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Ever since her ex-husband walked out four years before, leaving her with three small children, Gwyn has been mother, father, and bread-winner all rolled into one. Her own scarred heart aside, she refuses to open up her children’s lives to the possibility of another heartbreak — so she has an unbending policy of no dating and no unattached men in their lives.
Until her very own fairy tale falls into her lap…and the hero won’t take no for an answer.
You can read an excerpt from Gwynneth and Linda’s other books on her website!
