Linda Huber’s Writing Journey Continued
Welcome to Linda Huber’s Writing Journey Continued, another in the occasional series of guest posts by authors who reveal their journey to getting published. As the title suggests, this is a return visit for Linda. She appeared on the blog in 2022 to talk about how she first got published. She’s back now to talk about how her writing journey since then led her to feel-good fiction as well as her brand-new suspense novel, Missing… Rose Malone.
She explains all in our interview here:
· What is your latest book about?
Missing… Rose Malone isn’t so much about Rose who goes missing, but about her friend Josiane, who spends the book trying to find out what has happened. I remember my own panic about losing my backpacking friend for several hours in Athens, and expanded on this feeling, drawing it out from initial puzzlement to suspicion to fear to helplessness and finally to realisation… What do you do when your best friend goes missing? You contact friends, family, work colleagues, the police – and then?
(My friend was fine, btw – we just lost each other in a mobile phone-free decade)
· What has been the early feedback?
Good, thankfully. My amazing editor, Debi Alper, read it first and gave me several ideas on where to tighten the story and mould it into shape. Beta readers gave me additional feedback, and editing continued. When the final proofread came back I sent the book to a few ARC readers, who to my relief were all positive about Missing… Rose Malone. – including the ending, which was the hardest scene to write.
· It’s great to see another suspense novel from you; it’s been a while. Was it a conscious decision to pause working on the genre?
It was, mostly because I wanted some time to work in the other genre I write in – feel-good fiction, and partly because I was unsure how to end Missing… Rose Malone. The book was also influenced by current events around health care in the UK (Rose is a carer), and I was waiting too for politics to come to a decision. This hasn’t happened yet, but over time, I realised what Rose’s final scene in the book would be. I feel strongly that there’s no point in rushing a book. Time is a great editor…
· Although I know you as a commercially published author, I see that you’ve gone down the indy route for Missing… Rose Malone. What are the benefits of self-publishing?
The control. The independence. The freedom. Although all my published books bar this one have been with various publishers for at least one edition, all but three have now reverted to me and been self-published. Self- and traditional publishing each have their own set of pros and cons; it’s a matter of balancing what we as writers want, and what is actually possible for each book at any time.
· How does the writing style differ between your thrillers and your feel-good fiction?
The feel-good books have little or no swearing… and they have lighter storylines. No one is murdered, for instance. They’re definitely happier books to write, though every story needs some kind of conflict, or the reader would go to sleep. My current feel-good wip is written in the first person, something I haven’t done before in full length fiction. It’s an interesting experience, and I find it easier to bring the main character closer to the reader, if that makes sense.
· Do you set about plotting in the same way?
Yes. First comes the idea for the book, whether it’s a thriller about a woman who goes missing, or a romance about a family starting a hotel. I need a basic beginning, middle, end structure in my head first. Then I work out who the characters are, and this is always fascinating. Then comes the writing: I make short chapter plans for the first three chapters, then start writing, adding additional chapter plans as I go. The plans always change during the writing process, so there’s no point in setting out the whole book before I start.
· How does having two pen names affect your social media profile and how you engage?
I have one profile on the platforms where I’m active. On Bluesky, for instance, I’m Linda/Melinda Huber. I engage as me, the writer, and that seems to work. I did have two Twitter profiles back in the day, one each for Linda and Melinda, but the logistics beat me. Linda-Melinda is a bit of a mouthful, but she’s easier to keep tabs on!
Website: linda huber – author
· What’s next – another thriller or more feel-good stories or both?
Never say never, but I’m afraid it’ll be a long time before another thriller comes out. The state of the publishing world at the moment means that a series is easier to promote, and thrillers tend to be standalones. So while I have more ideas for the genre, I don’t know if they’ll ever see the light of the Amazon store…
As Melinda, I’m planning to self-publish a cosy romance series about dog walkers. As every dog owner knows, dogs have an inbuilt ability to bring people together, and create both fun and chaos…
Missing… Rose Malone by Linda Huber is out now.
Missing. Vanished. Gone?
Josiane Kent is worried. Her friend Rose has posted zero photos on social media all week, despite being on holiday in Edinburgh, the most photogenic city ever. Not only that, she isn’t answering her phone. Something isn’t right. Josiane, along with Rose’s on-off boyfriend Matt and Val, Rose’s boss, starts investigating.
Meanwhile, lone wolf Eddie is mourning his grandad. Grandad always made sure Eddie kept his demons under control, but now, no one is helping and the demons are out.
Rose’s friends continue their search, but it isn’t until human remains are found in Grandad’s old garden that they realise what could have happened to Rose…
More Publication Journeys
I hope you enjoyed Linda Huber’s Writing Journey Continued. Here are links to other authors who share their Publication Journey stories on this blog: