Sunday, October 17, 2010

Crossroads Blog Tour Day 2: Linda Joy Singleton



Welcome to day 2 of The Crossroads Blog Tour! If you're not familiar with how the tour works, you can check out my kick off post here, and then be sure to visit The Crossroads Tour main page for a full list of participating authors and bloggers as well as details on prizes, giveaways, and collecting the mystery clues!

Today I'm excited to have Linda Joy Singleton stop by and answer a few questions!




If you could live in any of the worlds you’ve created, which one would you choose?

In my middlegrade series, STRANGE ENCOUNTERS, the 2nd book SHAMROCKED takes place in Mt. Shasta – literally underneath the mountain in a magical world where imagination creates reality. Mt. Shasta has many legends and one of them is about little people living inside the mountain. I spent some time there for research and it’s such a beautiful mountain community. I love it and go back whenever I can.

Suppose you were a Temp Lifer, whose body would you temporarily want to possess?


J. K. Rowling. I admire her and think her books are genuinely magic. She’s so private that little is known about her. I think it would be wonderful to learn about her from the inside. Also it would be interesting to know the good and bad parts of fame and fortune. My goal is to be a bestselling author, and while I want this passionately, I know there’s always a price for dreams, so it would be fascinating to experience it as a Temp Lifer.

Are you a problem solver like Amber, or more of a problem creator?

More of a problem sympathizer. I would love to solve problems but the worst ones are too big for anything except compassion. I’m peaceful and avoid trouble at all costs. And I worry about family and friends with problems, wishing I could solve them all so everyone could be happy.

Name one book you would describe as “unputdownable”.

HUNGER GAMES. The trilogy was amazing, heart-breaking and hopeful. I’m very honored to be one of the authors who have written essays on this trilogy for an anthology coming out in April called GIRL ON FIRE. My topic was weaponry.

If you could be gifted with one paranormal trait (i.e. vampirism, shapeshifting, seeing ghosts, etc.) what would it be? Why?

I’d love to fly. My office is upstairs so I’m often looking at treetops and rolling hills. But I have a terrible fear of heights, so just getting on an airplane freaks me out a little. But if I could fly on my own with no fear of falling, it would be amazing.

Describe your most memorable moment as an author.

For over a decade, I’ve been doing a writing contest at a local elementary school. I judge the short stories and another author judges picture books. At the end of the contest, there’s a big assembly with booksigning afterwards to celebrate the young writers. Well when the contest was new, I went into the library to pick up the 100+ entries. When I walked in and the kids found out who I was, they got super excited, crowding around me and begging for autographs. They wanted me to sign their stories, scraps of paper, backpacks, hats and one kid wanted me to write on his arm (I offered a signed bookmark instead). This was such an “author” moment and I felt very honored by these kids—glad to see them so excited about books.

Thank you so much Linda Joy for stopping by! You can find out more about her below, and her newest book, Magician's Muse, is available now from Flux.

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9 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to read Magician's Muse...it sounds brilliant! Excellent interview and feature, Jenny! :)

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  2. I'd want the ability to read minds but flying would be sweet too! :D

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  3. Great interview. I am very impressed with her continuing involvement with school children in an effort to promote reading and writing. She will leave a lasting impression on those kids.

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  4. Fabulous interview! Ah, flying would definitely make life easier ;)

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  5. Melissa - Thank you:)

    Mollie - Can I have both? That'd be really nice!

    Brandi - Wouldn't it? I could run errands so much faster;)

    Cathy - Thank you, I agree:)

    Lea - Yes, yest it would!

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  6. Thanks for the fun interview . . . awesome "author" moment for Linda!

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  7. Thanks for all the great comments! I love sharing my love of books with kids (and adults!). I recently had a letter from a Mom who wanted to tell me my comments on his writing entry gave him confidence and now he's working in the screenwriting world. That was so cool to hear!
    Whenever I judge contests for kids, I always remind myself that each kid deserves everything I can give him/her, so I always try hard to be kind and encouraging.

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  8. Thanks for the great interview. Interviews are one of my favorite things about book blogs.

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