Linda Crist is the evening shift supervisor in the Legal Response Department at the U.S. Small Business Administration, and is a former section editor at the Dallas Times Herald. She has a Journalism degree from The University of Texas at Austin, where she was awarded a scholarship position with the Lady Longhorns sports information office. She began writing while in preschool, drawing picture stories on the bulletin during church. Her foray into lesbian romance writing began when she wrote several volumes of alternative Xena fan fiction, for which she has won numerous on-line writing awards. She was on the Orlando BardCon staff during its four-year run, and wrote two episodes for the Xena Subtext Virtual Season.
Her first novel, The Bluest Eyes in Texas, made the Open Book's top ten best-selling list for 2002, and spent several months on the top twenty list at Libertas in the U.K. After Bluest Eyes, Linda went on to publish her second novel, Galveston 1900: Swept Away, which was named one of the top ten lesbian novels of 2005 in San Francisco's East Bay Voice, and was the July 2006 selection for the Dallas Border's Lesbian Book Club. She has contributed short stories to two charity anthologies, At First Blush, and Telltale Kisses. Her third novel, Borderline, the sequel to Bluest Eyes, is scheduled for publication in November 2006.
Linda was born and raised in Dallas, has also lived in Nacogdoches, Port Aransas, and Austin, and is back in Dallas, where she lives with two spoiled rotten cats. When she's not working her real job or writing, she enjoys scuba diving, hiking, camping, golf, sailing, snow skiing, biking, traveling, reading, sketching, photography, and making music videos. Her website can be found at: http://home.earthlink.net/~texbard and her e-mail address is
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What inspires you to write?
All kinds of things -- books, television, music. I simply love writing. Most of the time, I don't know exactly where stories come from - they just pop up from my very active imagination. I am constantly getting new ideas. I usually have at least three novel-length stories on the back burner of my brain. When I get in a groove, the stories practically write themselves, and I learned long ago that outlines are mostly useless.
Which authors have had the biggest influence on your own work?
I started to say Merriam-Webster. [laughing] I got my start writing lesbian romance in the world of Xena/Gabrielle fan fiction, and I am still involved in that fandom. My answer would honestly have to be Rob Tapert (Xena Executive Producer and Writer) and Steven Sears, along with many others who penned scripts for that television show. The characters of Xena and Gabrielle, as brought to life by Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor, were magical. If not for their inspiration, I would not be writing today.
What are you working on right now?
I have been in edits for Borderline off and on for most of 2006. I typically do not write one long book while editing another - my focus gets out of joint.
So, for the past year, I've been writing a non-publishable series for the Xena fans called "Between the Lines." It's a series of first-person stories that take place after each Xena television episode. They are short vignettes that explain what I think happened between the episodes. When the series is finished there will be around 134 stories.
I am also about to dive into a sci-fi romance I've tentatively titled The Scaphium Project. It's set 200 years in the future, and the environment on Earth has become uninhabitable. The two main characters are slated to embark on an expedition that will take them to a planet where a chosen group of Earthlings will start a new life. There are some fun things that will happen along the way, which I don't want to spoil.
Three of your books (The Bluest Eyes in Texas, Borderline, Galveston 1900: Swept Away) were recently acquired by Regal Crest Enterprises. How did that come about?
That is kind of a long story. The Bluest Eyes in Texas was originally courted by Jane Doe Press, back in 2001, before I had finished writing it, actually. It was under contract and almost ready for print, when Jane Doe folded. One of the Jane Doe owners re-grouped and formed Fortitude Press, and they ended up publishing the first edition of Bluest Eyes.
I had a very good experience with Fortitude, so when I finished Galveston 1900: Swept Away, they picked it up. Once again, we had gone through content edits and were waiting for a technical edit, when Fortitude shut down, and I thought, "here we go again." I was beginning to feel like the curse to publishers. [laughing] I was sad to see them close their doors - everything there was done well, from marketing, to distribution, to editing, to cover art.
Anyway - there I was with a finished book (Galveston), and once again without a publisher, plus, I was already partway into writing Borderline. When I began searching for a new publisher, I had a few things I wanted. Firstly, I wanted someone who was willing to take on a second edition of Bluest Eyes. I wanted that for my readers, both present and future, especially since I had the sequel in the works with Borderline.
Another criteria was this - I don't write short books. At 75,000 words, I am just getting started. I wanted to work with a publisher who would not chop up my books to fit a word count. I don't want my creativity stifled by a magic number or some formulaic approach to writing, plus, I didn't feel that would be fair to my online readers. They should not pay their hard-earned money for a book that is a watered-down version of what is posted online.
And that leads to a third criteria. I got my start writing and posting stories online. I wanted to work with a publisher who did not require me to remove the online version of stories from the web, once they are published. Now, understand that the published versions of my books are better and different from what's online. In the case of Borderline, significant changes have been made.
But there are readers who have been with me since 1999 - from the very first time I ever posted a story online. They are loyal and supportive, and if not for them, I would not be published. For me, removing my stories from the web would dishonor them - it would be like using them as a stepping stone to "bigger and better things." I have made wonderful friends and had amazing experiences, through the online community. Posting to the web is my way of giving a little something back.
After querying a few publishers, I found out Regal Crest was able to meet those three criteria, and so I signed on with them.
Tell us about your writing environment; what are the essentials?
I write mostly on my laptop, sitting in my comfy chair, in front of the television. I have two cats, and they are usually hanging nearby. And I usually have something to drink on hand - water, beer, Gatorade, whatever. That's really all I need.
What was the first piece you ever sold?
Hmmmm. I'm not really sure. I published a few magazine articles back in high school and college, but I can't remember if there was monetary compensation involved. Bluest Eyes may very well have been the first.
How long did it take you to write your first novel-length book?
I believe it was about eight months, for Bluest Eyes. For March the 16th, my first novel-length Xena/Gabrielle (and the very first novel-length story I ever wrote), I think it took about four months - that writing bug bit hard when it first hit, and I lost a lot of sleep back then. I've since learned I can stop to play golf, do laundry, and eat, and the story will still be there the next day.
What's the most demanding part for you personally about being a writer?
Editing. I HATE editing. It's not fun and it takes away from writing. It's a necessary evil, but I just loathe it. When I complete a story, I want to move on to the next one, not re-visit a finished one.
What do you consider to be your best and worst attributes?
I think my best attributes are intelligence, empathy, flexibility, and creativity. I can be trusted to keep a confidence. Once you earn my loyalty, you usually have it for life. When angered, I quickly get over it, and I don't easily hold grudges. I live mostly in the here and now, and don't worry too much about the future, or dwell too much on the past.
As for worst, I can be lazy. Fun will nearly always win out over chores. I have been told I'm hard to get to know. I have a wide circle of friends, but a small circle of confidants. I am not very disciplined. Once I get on a soapbox, sometimes you have to slap me off of it.
I'm sure my friends could come up with more, in both categories. [smile]
How do you think mainstream publishers relate to queer writers? Is there still a hesitancy to publish stories with GLBT characters?
I don't think there is so much hesitancy anymore. There are many mainstream books out there that portray gay characters, at least as secondary ones. One of my favorite writers, Nevada Barr, features a lesbian secondary character in one of her books - I believe it was in Ill Wind. She even has her main character, Anna Pigeon, question her own sexual orientation in that book. And there are books like Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes, in which the two main characters are women, obviously in love with one another.
The BBC made a mini-series out of Sarah Waters' Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith. Television shows, such as Will & Grace, and movies, such as Brokeback Mountain, seem to be going a long way toward paving a path of public acceptance of gay characters in our mainstream entertainment media.
If you were a book, what would its title be?
Possibly "Work in Progress." One of the amazing things about the human experience, is you never have to stop growing, learning, and changing, if you don't want to.
What's the one thing that is always in your fridge?
Cat food. The fur kids would be most unhappy if we ever ran out.
Tell us something about Linda Crist no-one knows...
Hmmmm. Never done any illicit drugs, but some knew that. I've raced on the America's Cup Vessel, the Stars & Stripes, but some knew that. Okay - I always wanted to see the Southern Cross, and I finally saw it for the very first time, at Bethell's Beach in New Zealand - it was one of the most awesome moments of my life.
Do you ever suffer from writer's block and if so, how do find is the best way to deal with it?
I have never really suffered from writer's block. What I have suffered from is lack of time to write.
What has been some of your favorite books of 2006 so far?
I'm not sure I've read anything that was published in 2006. Here's my reading list for the year, so far:
Books Read in 2006:
On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington series) - David Weber
The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington series) - David Weber
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
High Country (Anna Pigeon series) - Nevada Barr
Camber the Heretic (Legends of Camber of Culdi) - Katherine Kurtz
A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
Malicious Pursuit - KG MacGregor
A Pirate Looks at Fifty - Jimmy Buffett
Books Currently Reading:
Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramhansa Yogananda
The Dragonriders of Pern trilogy - Anne McCaffrey
Up Next:
Imperial Spain - J.H. Elliott
Tarzan of the Apes - Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Short Victorious War (Honor Harrington series) - David Weber
I'm hard-pressed to pick favorites from that list. The Pern trilogy is very engaging and it may end up on top. Jimmy Buffett had many nuggets of wisdom in his autobiography -- that man knows how to live life.
Do you try to keep to a strict writing routine or do you find that it stifles your creativity?
Oh, gosh, no routine whatsoever. I love to write. My obstacle is finding long chunks of time in which to do it. My job is the main thing stifling me these days - I work from 55-60 hours per week processing loans for victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. It's gratifying work, but it leaves little free time.
How do you handle rejection slips?
Fortunately, I've never received a rejection slip, but in fairness, I've never really gone through a formal submission process.
Do you have a favorite amongst all the books you've written so far?
I believe Galveston 1900 is my best work, but Bluest Eyes is my sentimental favorite - Kennedy and Carson are nearly always with me and surface at the darndest times. Then again, my favorite is usually whatever I'm working on presently. [smile]
How do you think you are still improving yourself as a writer?
One of the best things that came out of my relationship with Fortitude Press was working with Cindy Cresap and Medora MacDougal. Any writer who has worked with Cindy understands what I'm talking about. She is an outstanding content editor, and her suggestions are always dead-on. Her comments are made with humor, and she is never, ever condescending toward the writers she works with. Each time I work with her, I learn something new that I try to carry forward to the next book. Cindy makes excellent books out of merely good books. As for MacD, she is the goddess of tech editing. I trusted her abilities to the point that once we were done with content edits and handed a manuscript over to her for tech edits, I didn't need or want to see it again. I had that much faith in her editing skills.
Writing the "Between the Lines" series has also helped improve my writing. I've not done much writing in the first person, and it's a wonderful way to get to know and develop a character from the inside, out. It is also a great way to learn to stay focused on one point of view.
A happy writer is...
One who doesn't take herself or her writing too seriously - one who does not write with profit, fame, or awards in mind, but for the sheer joy of the creative process.
