A prolific writer promotes her 46th book.

Please, introduce yourself. Tell us about your personal life, family, education.

I’m Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, and I write paranormal romance, Romantasy, and Fantasy for several publishers like Kensington Publishing, HarperCollins, Harlequin Nocturne, Amazon Montlake, and GothicScapes.

I live in the country and am happily married to the best guy ever. I got a Masters Degree. I taught at a major University for 30 years and have just retired from that so that I can write more.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I like hiking. I do several miles or more a week. And I am a Pilates fanatic. I teach that too.

Describe your work or business activities in which you are presently active.

I teach writing classes for County library programs and lecture on writing at various conferences around the States and at venues like Comic-Con International, Southern California Writers Conference, Romance Writers of America, Tucson Festival of Books, etc. After Covid I trimmed that back and will start up again next year.

If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?

I read everything I can get my hands on in almost every genre. I am a true avid reader. I really love audio books these days and listen to writers I wouldn’t have otherwise picked up. Score!

Inspiration

What inspired you to write your first book?

I wrote my first book at age eight and still have that book. It was inspired by the old movie Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Ha. So of course, my little story was about tiny Leprechauns. I got serious about being published in 2002 with a book called Café Heaven, a fantasy written for my deceased Dad, which came out with a University Press that year.

How do you decide on the title of a book?

I always have the title first, before I start writing. Words are powerful for me… although I’ve had publishers that want to mess with my titles at times. Hence my Christmas book for Harlequin… they changed the title from mine (Undercover Christmas) to this: The Boss’s Mistletoe Maneuvers! After that, I pretty much insisted on my own titles, though they had some guidelines. And that little Christmas book was and is still really popular. It sells every year: one of my best-selling books ever.

Moonstone is my latest title that was released in January. Moonstones are magical stones. I wanted to add a bit more magic to my story this time, though I often include fantasy elements in my books, whether they are paranormal romance or not.

Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?

My favorite writer is J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. I taught a class for a college on him and his works and thus began my love for fantasy stories. I think I’ve re-read those books 10 times. Tolkien wrote deeply emotional plots and characters that sometimes have made me cry. I react strongly to his prose.

If you could not write, how would you express what you wish to convey through any stories?

I studied contemporary dance in College and taught dance for a number of years at colleges in my area. This is why I have a rhythm when I write, I think. It’s my defining style.

New Writer Advice

When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?

Finish. Finsh. Finish. Then edit, edit, edit. You can do it! Have faith in the process and make sure you study the art of writing. Usually this is not a case where winging-it works. Information is everywhere. Just do the work.

How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?

I have a descent backlist, (45 books to date) and a loyal group of fans. I love that they love my work and look for me everywhere books are sold. Having good fans who help me through word of mouth is a blessing I will never take for granted. I do work at keeping my readers happy though and involve them as much as I can. I want readers to happily read other books I write because they like the ones they’ve read. That’s what’s important to me – doing a good job.