Linda S. Glaz: Our True Walk In LIfe

Everyone's Story gives a warm welcome to Linda S. Glaz, author, literary agent, and a most lovely woman. I'm proud to say Linda's my agent and I had the privilege of meeting her a couple of weeks ago at the Maranatha Writers Conference in Michigan--one extraordinary opportunity, let alone wonderful conference. Please enjoy Linda's uplifting words below and check out her BookGiveaway offer and the blurb on her new suspense release that you won't want to miss. Both Linda and I look forward to hearing from you!

BookGiveaway:

Linda is offering 1 copy of her novel, FEAR IS LOUDER THAN WORDS, to 1 randomly chosen commenter. The winner will be announced here on Friday, November 13th between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment (you may choose to use the Contact Me form to privately send me your email address--the form is in the right-hand sidebar on the blog's main page, toward the bottom).

Blurb of FEAR IS LOUDER THAN WORDS:

Rochelle Cassidy has the perfect life as a radio talk show host in the Detroit market, but her celebrity status doesn’t stop an angry listener from wanting her…dead.

Ed McGrath’s ideal life as a pro-hockey player doesn’t include a damsel in distress until the night he discovers Rochelle being attacked in a deserted parking structure.

Circumstances throw them together in more ways than one when Rochelle’s producer plays matchmaker. A sick boy, a corrupt politician, and questionable medical practices put more than merely Rochelle in danger, and still, her attacker shadows her every step.

Will Ed be able to break through her trust issues in order to protect her, or will she continue to see him as Detroit’s bad boy athlete? Her life AND his depend on it.

Putting In The Effort by Linda S. Glaz

Well, I’ll just be honest here. I thought for fifteen years that my writing was the next best thing to ice cream and hot fudge…it wasn’t. I hadn’t learned to hone my craft. I hadn’t learned to put in the work required for the expected result.

And we can all relate. Whether it’s trying to lose weight, get healthier, write a book, learn to play an instrument, or how to cook like a gourmet chef, we have to put in the effort. None of these things happen on their own.

So I walked the writer’s journey for years before I got serious. And I tended to whine and question God. Why am I not being published? You know, I’m so very glad He didn’t answer. It would probably have included a LOT of laughing about how horrible my writing was. So I kept plugging away until I finally got serious enough to do it the right way. I studied. I studied my own poor writing, the writing of others, and I got into a lot of writing classes and books on the craft. Finally, when I thought I had it all down pat, I sent a sample off to a giant in the industry to do a short evaluation.

Do I hear God laughing again? Yup!

So I studied some more. Read more. Worked at the art of writing more. Joined writing organizations and attended conferences.

You see, there are no shortcuts if you want to excel at something, or even do a fair job at it. No shortcuts whatsoever. It doesn’t mean you need a PhD in literature to write, but you do have to study even if you do that on your own.

Was God getting me ready to be an author? Probably not. Although, I did, after eighteen years finally have my first novella published. Whew! All the mistakes I had made contacting agents and editors. All the mistakes I had made in my writing. What use would that ever be to anyone?

At a conference in Denver, I connected with my agent. Well, my soon-to-be agent. And we hit it off. Long story short, I eventually became an agent myself. And all of the hard learned lessons were put to use helping other writers do everything right that I had done wrong. I think God was preparing me more for that walk more than the one as a writer. Thought things fell into place shortly thereafter, and I am now multi-published.

Why do I bother to tell others this? Because we don’t always know why we don’t get what we want when we want it. First and foremost, we have to work hard at anything we desire. It won’t be dumped into our laps. We have to let God lead us…might save us eighteen years of struggles.

We have to look around and see who we might help with our abilities.

Life has a funny way of pushing us in directions we never thought possible. Would I ever have figured I’d be an agent today? Not on your life. I made every mistake possible as a writer when it came to agents, but I grew because of it.

None of us are better than ice cream and hot fudge, even when we are at the pinnacle of what we perceive as success. Our walk in this life is to help others. Be there when others fall, stumble, or merely need a hand up. So many folks along my path offered help. Offered encouragement. Offered to be there when times were tough and I thought of quitting.

One judge from a contest actually called me personally and told me she felt led to let me know I should always persevere even if I wasn’t quite ready yet as a writer. I’ll never forget that call. That was the day I wanted to stop writing!

Linda's Ah-hahs To Tweet: 

Everyone’s Story: Meet author/agent @LindaGlaz & see why you need to persevere. (Tweet This)

Like #InspirationalSuspense? Check out @LindaGlaz’s #BookGiveaway for her newest release! (Tweet This)

@LindaGlaz asks: Do you really think your #writing is better than ice cream & hot fudge? (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:

Linda is a wife, mother, and grandmother who draws most of her stories from life experiences and lifelong fears. Nothing like fear to weasel out a great suspense idea. Many of her story ideas come from her eclectic background. Linda is also a literary agent, so she stays on top of what the industry is looking for. Join her as she runs her characters through dark alleys, hospital morgues, and maybe a funhouse or two when she brings you heart-pounding Suspense Sealed With a Kiss.

Places to connect withLinda:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Amazon

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Please note:

--I have a title change for my novel coming soon from Elk Lake Publishing: Always With You.

--I will soon launch a specially designed website that will incorporate Eveyone's Story blog. I hope you will follow me on this new site. When it goes live, I'll make the announcement!