#MeetTheAuthor : Lynda R. Young

Welcome to a week-long Meet The Author fest! We're focusing on the six lovely ladies of the Make Believe Anthology from J. Taylor Publishing that released December 3rd!

Today we're meeting with a lovely lady from down under. 

Lynda R. Young

Writer & Dreamer

Tell us why we should read your story.

Birthright has all the edible story bites of mystery, danger, and romance. It's about Christa who has denied her birthright, and therefore denied who she really is. When she comes to a small town in Florida she's too busy running from everything, even her grief, to realize she should be running for her life.

What is the first thing you thought of upon seeing the picture prompt for the Make Believe Anthology?

I love the image. I love that cold desolate feeling it portrays and the powerful contrast of the woman in red in the foreground. However, I'm an Aussie who has only seen real snow twice in my life, so my first thought was, 'How am I supposed to write a story with snow in it?' I ended up cheating a little, which you'll see when you read the story. I don't want to give too much away.

Which came first: The story or the character?

Definitely the character came first. I wrote up a whole profile for her and slowly the story developed around her.

How did you choose your setting?

My story is set in a fictitious town in Florida. I wanted to choose a place with a strong contrast to a snowy setting. I visited Florida once. It was in the middle of summer so the things that most stuck in my mind about the place was the humidity, the powerful heat, and key lime icecream. Yum. I love Florida.

 Is there a moral behind your story?

While most fairy tales have a moral to their stories, my one doesn't. It's simply meant to be enjoyed.

What was your favorite food when you were a child?

Chocolate. It still is. The darker the better.

What is your least favorite form of exercise?

Star jumps. It's hard on the knees … and everything else.

If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

Somewhere in my late twenties. Old enough not to be ruled by my emotions, young enough and spritely enough to do anything I want … like star jumps ;)

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

Open a bottle of champagne. After that, I'd likely give a sizeable chunk to my parents since they supported me and my crazy writing dreams for so long. Then I'd book a trip to somewhere awesome overseas. Maybe I might buy a chocolate factory…

What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

I was a good girl! I never got into trouble! Okay, lying was one of the things that got me into trouble since I was never any good at it ;)

What is something you learned in school that you think is useless to you today?

Algebra

What is your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

See, in Oz, holiday means vacation. My favourite holiday is cruising and I celebrate it by drinking cocktails! But I'll admit that I love Christmas—the family dinners, the Christmas lights, the celebrations. Love it.

If you had to spend a day not using any technology, what would you do?

After I finished running around in a panic, I'd pull out the old books I have on my shelves and read.

Lovely Link List For Ms. Young

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Meet the other ladies of Make Believe:  J. Keller Ford, Jennifer M. Eaton, Kelly Said, J.A. Belfield

Make Believe Cover Reveal!!!

Here it is, folks - my name on the cover of a book. *major dork dance* It's my first anthology publication with the great

Let's go ahead & let that SQUEEEEEEEEEEE out, shall we? hehe

And yes, I DID re-do my blog & website to match. It's that OCD thingy that sometimes rears its silly head.

So what is this anthology about???

Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski

An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place.
With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.

The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford
There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.
After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.

Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.

Petrified by Kelly Said
A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow.  Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either.
The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton
Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.
The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.

Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield
From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.
Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.

So are you excited? Gunna gobble this one up on December  3rd or what!??? Can't order one yet, but add it to your Goodreads shelf by clicking HERE.

F: FREAKIN' AWESOME NEWS!!!

So. It's official. Sacrificial Oath is contracted with J. Taylor Publishing !!! 

Squeeeeeeeeeee! Here's the link to MY PAGE on their website.

*insert another squeeeeeeeee here*

Here's part of the press release: 

Make Believe Anthology authors revealed!

Five authors to be featured with J.A. Belfield in Make Believe Anthology from J. Taylor Publishing.

On December 3, 2012, J. Taylor Publishing will release Make Believe, an anthology of six short stories, ranging from contemporary romance to fantasy, written based on a photo prompt with a wintery setting and a woman in red.

The anthology will open with Terri Rochenski’s Sacrificial Oath, a story of self sacrifice. J. Keller Ford’s The Amulet of Ormisez will follow—a story of success in failure. From there, Birthright by Australian author Lynda R. Young will delve into secrets revealed. Kelly Said returns to this anthology with Petrified, taking the reader on a journey of finding one’s purpose. Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton finds us in a post-apocalyptic world where not all is as it seems. Rounding out the anthology, is our headline author, J.A. Belfield, author of Darkness & Light and the to-be-released Blue Moon, with Escort to Insanity. 

 December is a LONG ways away, so I'll leave you with one last SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!