About Linda K. Hopkins:
Linda K. Hopkins lives in Calgary, Canada, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, with her husband and two daughters, but originally hails from South Africa, and also spent a few years living in England. Linda loves reading, dark chocolate, coffee and travel. Sometimes she even tinkers on the piano, but sadly, her twelve year old daughter is the better musician!
What inspires you to write?
I have always enjoyed stories. As a child I was shy, a bit of a loner, and I would spend hours, lost in my own imagination, spinning tales to keep myself entertained. I would return to the story day after day, adding details and refining characters. As an adult, I continued to create stories in my mind, and I first started recording them so I could remember them. Bound by a Dragon is the first story I offered to the world, and the response from my readers encouraged me to keep going! Writing has become the means of taking what I love – stories – and legitimately spending my daylight hours spinning out more!
Tell us about your writing process.
When I start a new book, I usually have an idea in my mind of where the book is going, and what the ultimate goal will be, but will not always know how I am going to get there! I find that I may have one idea in mind, but as I write, it just flows out as something else. As for characters, they often surprise me by revealing traits that I wasn’t even aware of! It is an exciting process of discovery!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I definitely listen to my characters! Sometimes they push themselves forward when I had thought they were a supporting character, and sometimes they say and do things I hadn’t expected!
What advice would you give other writers?
I think the most important thing is just to do it! When you sit in front of the screen, all out of ideas, start writing about something completely random – a childhood memory, perhaps – but write something. Getting words on the page will open the floodgates.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to self-publish, because it gave me greater flexibility over my work and the process. At some stage I would like to try traditional publishing, but at the moment, self-publishing is what works for me, and I have no regrets going this route. However, if someone is thinking of self-publishing their book, they still need to be as thorough and professional as if they are planning to traditionally publish – hire an editor, find beta readers, hire a cover designer!
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think ebooks are here to stay, but it will be a long time before we see the demise of paper books. For myself, I far prefer reading non-fiction or reference books in paper form.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer, Beta Readers
What genres do you write?: Romance, historical, fantasy
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Linda K. Hopkins Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
