Vote on a Story Title & Discover Why a Grade School Teacher is Writing Fiction

I’m working on my developmental edits for my novella, Christmas at Sonshine Barn, this weekend (working 10 hrs/3 days) tackling macro and then micro elements. Pray I’ll make significant headway since my goal is to send a revised draft to the editor for line-by-line edits by June.

And hopefully, I’ll have a mockup for the book cover by June or July as well (I’ll share that with you, then).

If you want to serve on my prayer, launch, or review team, let me know!

(Featured Image Courtesy: Photo by kayleigh harrington on Unsplash)

Vote On a Story Title!

I’m also working on a short story for a Christmas anthology with my fellow writing group, Lady Lits. I’ve been featuring one Lady Lit every month, so you’ll get acquainted with them before we release the anthology this fall.

I need your help! Currently, my title for this story is: “Lina’s Choice”, but I’m unsure if that’s catchy enough. Please vote on a title, and if you have a better one, let me know! The story’s premise is summarized in the voting poll.

Vote here!

(By the way, the image of the Rohlicky are the cookies Lina bakes in the story. Photo by Marc Markstein on Unsplash.)

Lady Lit Featured Author for May:

I’ve enjoyed reading Linda’s book series and learning from her vault of writing knowledge. She’s an excellent writer and an engaging person!

The Tale of Two Linda’s

I was one of those kids who knew, absolutely knew, what she wanted to be when she grew up. A teacher. I was four years old, and I never changed my mind.

But I loved to read, to immerse myself in a great story, to “be there” in someone else’s adventure. And I liked making up my own stories—naming characters and planning out the answers to my “what-ifs.” What if a mermaid fell in love with a deep-sea diver? What if an Indian princess led her people to safety in the mountains?

God has been good to allow me to fulfill both dreams. I look back and see how I was truly called by Him to teach. My years in the classroom contained so much joy and a sense of fulfillment when I realize not only did I challenge my students to aim high academically, but I guided them toward a more mature faith in Christ.

While I indulged in writing magazine articles while I was a stay-at-home mom, teaching was my identity. However, after decades in the classroom, God developed a passion in me to write and gradually drew teaching to a close. With three books published, and I’m working on a new series now, I enjoy the best of both worlds. I get to make up stories just like I did in childhood, and I get to visit schools and teach students—about writing!

Linda’s Bio:

Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids ages ten to fourteen. She has completed a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own experiences growing up with a deaf sister and is currently working on a women’s fiction series.

Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft.

A wife, mother of three, and grandmother to eight, Linda regales the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe one day those stories will be in picture books!