Behind The Book -- The Countess and the Cowboy

Even while writing Under His Spell, I knew that Letitia needed her own book. Someone with the sass, incredible energy and more than a little snark more than deserved it. It didn’t take anything to convince my editor since she agreed Letitia should have her own happy ever after.

And what better character to be thrown totally out of her comfort zone than a socialite whose idea of roughing it is staying in a 4 star hotel.

From the beginning, Letitia was fun to write. She was funny. She was sassy. She loved her creature comforts, but she showed an ability to adapt.

Even in Under His Spell I knew I didn’t want a snobby sister who looked down her nose at her brother moving into a house with an interesting history and a licentious ghost who loved to spy on the ladies. She teased her brother, adored the woman he fell in love with and enjoyed being the wacky aunt willing to spoil two children who adored her back.

Even in moving to a falling down ranch in Wyoming didn’t dampen her spirits. She pulled up her lacy La Perla panties and looked for ways to make her new property turn a profit. She ignored chipped nail polish, sore muscles and did what was needed.

No wonder Tyler Barnes fell in love with her. What man wouldn’t?

I believe I created a fun heroine I’d hope the readers would enjoy.

I hope you feel the same.

Enjoy The Countess and the Cowboy and if you haven’t read it yet, please look for Under His Spell where Letitia makes her first appearance.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/537041

http://www.amazon.com/Countess-Cowboy-Linda-Wisdom-ebook/dp/B00WFL2H0S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1429653034&sr=8-2&keywords=countess+and+the+cowboy

The Countess and the Cowboy will be available for Nook, iBooks, etc. in a couple weeks. Under His Spell is now available in the other stores.

Linda

Behind the Book -- Under His Spell

Under His Spell was one of my first dips into the paranormal genre and what better way to start.

I was in what I called my crazy mode. Book ideas flowing through my imagination were all woo woo, ghosts, things that go bump in the night, on my!

I wrote up the three ideas and sent them to my agent at the time. Her response? “You’re killing me!” This was the late 80s and paranormal wasn’t as strong as it is now. Luckily, my editor loved the ideas and said one especially was perfect for Harlequin American Romance’s Calendar of Romance.

First was a psychic dreaming of a murder, but she dreamed of the murder in reverse allowing her not to see the killer until near the end of the book. That was In Her Dreams, which is out now.

Another was I felt was a fun book about a woman waking up after celebrating her 30^th birthday to find her parents returned from the dead and staying until she found the right man.  That was Free Spirits, which is out now.

Then there was a book about Caroline and Ryan, two young siblings in Salem, MA, who want a dad for Holly, their mom, so she’ll be happy again. And Ryan’s fervent wish for a puppy. Their wish is so strong they pay $3 to their mom’s best friend’s con artist son to cast a spell in a meadow at midnight during the Summer Solstice. Little do they expect to see a man in black walk out of the fog! Or for that man to be so intrigued when he hears their request that he follows up to find their mom, a descendant of one of the convicted witches of Olde Salem, just might be the perfect woman for him.

There’s a lot of gossip in Salem. Who is Jack, the man in black who the townfolk love to gossip about. What does he do for a living and what about the mysterious woman living with him who he says is his sister? A woman whose arrogant cat’s fur is the same color as her hair and always wears a collar the same color as her clothing, yet few have seen the two at the same time.

There’s Holly, a divorced mom dealing with a deadbeat ex, two kids she loves with all her heart, a job she loves but an overbearing boss who makes her life miserable, a best friend who wishes she could see Jack’s aura, but for some reason he doesn’t have one.

There’s Jack, who bought the haunted house on the outskirts of town, a popular horror author in Europe who’s looking to break into the US market.

And there’s love and magic. Kids doing what it takes to see their mom happy again.

Even casting a spell in a foggy meadow at midnight.

I wanted to write a book that had all the above and more. I’m so happy I accomplished it.  

I hope you enjoy Under His Spell and will look for Countess and the Cowboy, Jack’s sister’s story, that will be released on the 21^st.

http://www.amazon.com/Under-His-Spell-Linda-Wisdom-ebook/dp/B00VR3IQHS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428430179&sr=8-1&keywords=Linda+wisdom+Under+His+Spell

 Linda

Behind The Book -- A Man With Doubts

“I got one!” “Great kid, don’t get cocky.”

Who can forget those words from Star Wars when Luke announced he brought down a fighter and Han reminded him it’s not always good to think you’re great.

Words I learned to live by.

I was one of the lucky ones. I sold my first and second books right away. There weren’t mountains of manuscripts gathering dust in a closet and I felt pretty damn good. Then several months later, I sold my third book.

Wow! I was on a roll. The girl felt invincible. She saw her words as pure gold and writing was proving to be a lot easier than she expected. She had sold three books in about six months. Where else to go but further up.

All she had to do was type up a 200 plus page manuscript, send it off, and she got a contract in return.

Piece of cake, right?

On to book four. The idea was fun and what could be considered typical category romance fare at the time. A soap opera actress who played the evil cunning woman now killed off from her show, lost her money, and she’s in need of work. Trouble is, men think she’s an easy mark and women are convinced she’s the character she played on TV.

It was a fun book to write, words flowed, and I sent the manuscript off.

Then the call from my editor. “I liked the book, but I really feel the last part needs work.” Her idea of work meant rewriting the second half of the book. We discussed what she wanted to see and I sat down at my typewriter – yes, typewriter. An IBM Correcting Selectric that I purchased with part of my first advance.

After I rewrote the 100 odd pages, I sent the revised manuscript off and then worked on another book while waiting. Any writer worth his/her salt will tell you not to wait around waiting word. You get to work on something else.

Then my editor called me. “You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think the book worked better the original way. You need to put the other version back in.”

One good thing I did was keep those pages. Otherwise, I would have slit my wrists. She did ask for some minor revisions. I did them and sent the book off once again.

Now, each time meant a trip to a copy shop to have copies of the manuscript made. And each time I had nightmares of the copy shop burning down with my manuscript still there!

After a few months, I learned my editor had had surgery and was recovering at home, but she was working there. I talked to her, mentioned the book, and she said “I never got it.”

Insert scream here.

I sent her another copy – that copy shop was making good money off me! :} I also said if there were any more problems with the book to not say a word. By then, it would have been easy to kill off the main characters.

A couple months later, I got another call. “Linda, I love the book! In fact, no more revisions if we release it as a traditional romance, but we’d love to bring it out in our new line starting up next year. It’s called Special Edition.”

Naturally, I said yes. And my editor said “Great! All we need is 10,000 more words” and she hung up.

I screamed.

Since we’re still talking a typing job there were page numbers such as 59ZZ and so on. Luckily, no revisions and the book would be released the following June.

Christmas, 1981. My editor called, irritated with the Production Dept. That they were wrong. What were they thinking of. It went like this.

“We’ve got a problem with A Man With Doubts.”

“What problem?”

“We need ten more pages. I can’t believe they didn’t see this before!”

“Leslie, it’s Christmas. Parties, my anniversary.”

“And I need it early next week.”

Remember what I said? Typewriter and Internet hadn’t been invented.

“What am I supposed to do with them unless I send them out of town?” By now, I was wailing.

And that’s what I did. I actually ended up writing a full chapter, about 25 pages, and getting it to NYC in time.

When I saw the cover for A Man With Doubts, I knew I wanted the original and I have that hanging in my office.

It took over a year and a half to sell the book and it turned out to be my best seller in all the Special Editions I wrote and an excellent reminder to not get cocky.

Below is the new cover for A Man with Doubts and underneath is the original artwork. It keeps me honest. Well sort of.