INTERVIEW with author Linda Lee Greene

Allbooks Reviews INTERVIEW: posted on site Please state your name and location. (City and State or Province, Country) Linda Lee Greene, Columbus, Ohio, USA Tell us the title and publisher of your book: GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS, published by Saga Books Tell us about yourself: I am the divorced mother of Frank and Elizabeth, as well as grandmother of Alixander and Noah. I work for a firm in Columbus as an interior designer. I am also an award-winning artist, and a best-selling author. Much of my artwork can be viewed at www.gallery-llgreene.com. In early 1992, I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease and because of it, I was often bedridden for months at a time. Five months prior to the surgery in January, 2001 that saved my life and put the disease in remission, while homebound again with the illness, I wrote the original draft of my first book, the historical/suspense novel, Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams, a book that ultimately was a co-authorship with Debra Shiveley Welch. Although in the distant past both Debra and I had done some work-related public relations and newspaper writing, at the time that I approached Debra about working with me on Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams we could only have been characterized as possessing intuitive, yet inexperienced, writing talent. Both of us worked very hard at honing our craft during our four-year collaboration on the manuscript, and as a result we produced not only the first book that either Debra or I had ever written, but also an Amazon best-seller upon its release in 2006. While Debra continued to pursue a literary career, I was dealing with a diagnosis of macular degeneration, a situation that made it necessary for me to concentrate on my art career while my eyesight was still able to withstand an energetic painting schedule. Consequently, I devoted myself to executing enough artwork to support my agenda of yearly art shows, as well as my art web site and the print sales it generates. When taking breathers from the painting, I conducted the extensive research required for GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS and its sequel that will be published in the future, and wrote the first draft of both of them, as well as my two sequels to Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams. However, I withheld submitting any of my manuscripts to my publisher until I was able to allocate the necessary time to promoting my books. In February, 2011, I made the transition to full-time writer and occasional painter. It was then that I sent GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS to my publisher. Since the day that I wrote the opening sentence of Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams, my greatest, and most precious dream, has been to be an author whose books are anticipated and loved by innumerable readers. I knew that I was taking a tremendous risk in never realizing my dream when I put my literary career on hold for so long, but my heart told me that in so doing I was on the right side of my fate, and that somehow, and in some way, it would prove beneficial for me. This year I will reach my 69th birthday. There could not a better birthday gift for me than to have GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS bring joy to a multitude of readers this year, and for countless years to come. When was the book released?: GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS was released in May, 2012. Give us an overview of your book. Through faith in God, love for one another and inherent optimism, in this novel that “will truly exhaust your heart and play with your feelings,” as described by a reviewer, two American families find joy and purpose in living despite the personal tragedies and limited opportunities that beset them during the Great Depression and World War II. Inspired by a true story and interwoven with descriptive and heartwarming authentic personal letters written to one another by the book’s characters, GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS is said by a reviewer to be like “discovering an old chest in an attic, filled with the treasured pieces of a family’s history.” A reviewer also states that “…the walk through the years in the old letters and Greene’s superb and powerful depiction of historical events of the 1930s and 1940s make this book an engaging historical treasure.” What inspired you to write this book? The book is based on the colorful and captivating overlapping oral and written histories of my maternal and paternal families of origin. However, I wrote it as fiction to accomplish a broader range of characterizations and topics than is to be found in the family record. My parents grew up during the Great Depression, and I was born during the Second World War, therefore I have always been drawn to the histories of those eras. How is your book different from other books in this genre? Threaded among the pages of the book are transcriptions of authentic letters dating from 1936 to 1941 that were written to one another by the book’s characters, “immediately making the novel more intriguing and private to read,” states a reviewer. In many ways this book carries on the tradition of Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation and Tim Russert’s Wisdom of Our Fathers in that it is replete with authentic stories and documents of the times. GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS is different in that its storyline and the old letters included in it are seamlessly drawn together to create a cohesive unit. Although it is mainly categorized as Historical Fiction, I am told that it is also such a captivating Family Saga that people forget they are reading history. In addition, the entire cover of the book is executed from my painting of a grove of trees in Southern Ohio where the story takes place. Great Ohio woodlands of the type are an important ingredient of the story. GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS is the perfect gift for lovers of tender and delightful family stories as well as for history buffs. Through the pages of this book, our grandparents, parents and others who experienced firsthand the momentous years of the Great Depression and World War II will be transported back to those times, as well. Where can people buy your book? Paperback and eBooks versions are available at www.amazon.com. Paperbacks can be purchased at www.barnes&noble.com, www.SagaBooks.com and at other online booksellers. Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published? I am currently working on the sequel to GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS, a book of non-fiction to be released in 2014. The title of the book is “I Received Your Letter…” and it comprises authentic letters written by members of my family for the duration of World War II. Woven among the letters is my chronological commentary on the war, as well as old photos and other historical documents amassed by my family during that era. I have recently penned a small book for young readers titled Bussy Gaffin and His Champion Roosters. It is a story inspired by an excerpt from GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS. Integral to the story will be several illustrations. At this point, its publication date depends on the efficient execution of the artwork. I have written two sequels to Jesus Gandhi Oma Mae Adams under my own signature. The manuscripts are currently in queue with my publisher and scheduled for release sometime in 2013. The titles of the books are “My ‘Aumakua” [In Hawaiian, “A Guardian Spirit”] which is a murder mystery, and Garden of the Spirits of the Pots, a book about an expat-American who finds new meaning in life, as well as love, during a spiritual odyssey in Australia. Information about my current and future books, as well as excerpts from them, can be read at my web site: booksbylindaleegreene.gallery-llgreene.com. If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers? Although self publishing is growing in popularity among writers, I doubt that I will ever try it. I am not good at multi-tasking, and it seems to me that one must possess this quality in abundance to be successful at self publishing. If published traditionally, tell us how you benefited: I find the business side of being a successful author to be troublesome, as well as detrimental to my creative processes. I prefer to focus on the writing and to delegate as much of the business side of it as possible. Traditional publishing helps me in this regard. Can you share one of your marketing successes with us? Even though GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS has only been available for three months, it is inspiring a dynamic word-of-mouth following. A daily web presence in as many places as possible is essential. How did you find Allbooks Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us? I found Allbooks Reviews through Saga Books publishers and I am tremendously happy with the wonderful review that Iris Park of Allbooks Reviews did for GUARDIANS AND OTHER ANGELS. I am so impressed with the organization that I am preparing to sign on for one of its affordable advertising campaigns. Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbooks Reviews to offer writers? The low cost is definitely a relief to my pocketbook. I am a new consumer of these kinds of products, but I am grateful to have found Allbooks Reviews for I am confident it will open up new worlds to me in the art of bookselling. Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book. Your good wishes are greatly appreciated. Thank you for this opportunity. I also want to express my deep gratitude to the readers who embrace my stories. I will try my best to continue to earn, and to justify, their loyalty to me. Reader comments are extremely important to me and they can be submitted at lindaleegreene.author.artist@gmail.com. I can also be reached at the same email address to make arrangements for interviews, talks with book clubs and other organizations, as well as participation in book fairs, book signings and special events. In addition, people can check in with me at my blog: http://Ingoodcompanyohio.blogspot.com