Guest Author: Linda Grimes

Linda GrimesI am excited to welcome author Linda Grimes, who will be celebrating the release of her first book, In a Fix, on September 4th.

Snagging a marriage proposal for her client while on an all-expenses-paid vacation should be a simple job for Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire. A kind of human chameleon, she’s able to take on her clients’ appearances and slip seamlessly into their lives, solving any sticky problems they don’t want to deal with themselves. No fuss, no muss. Big paycheck.

This particular assignment is pretty enjoyable… that is, until Ciel’s island resort bungalow is blown to smithereens and her client’s about-to-be-fiancé is snatched by modern-day Vikings. For some reason, Ciel begins to suspect that getting the ring is going to be a tad more difficult than originally anticipated.

Going from romance to rescue requires some serious gear-shifting, as well as a little backup. Her best friend, Billy, and Mark, the CIA agent she’s been crushing on for years — both skilled adaptors — step in to help, but their priority is, annoyingly, keeping her safe. Before long, Ciel is dedicating more energy to escaping their watchful eyes than she is to saving her client’s intended.

Suddenly, facing down a horde of Vikings feels like the least of her problems.

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away an ARC of In a Fix to a lucky reader.
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One of the best things about being a writer is that you don’t have to spend every darn moment of your life being one person. You get to try on different personas, and trot around as them as much as you want. You can have multiple personalities, and not even have to go into treatment for it! How cool is that?

Remember how much fun it was to dig into your mom’s (or your dad’s) closet when you were a kid, donning adulthood along with the grownup clothes, parading around in front of the mirror, sure that you could fool anyone who saw you? Or maybe just tying an old towel around your neck so you could be the superhero of your dreams? Writing is kind of like that for me. Only the virtual closet in my head is way bigger—and better stocked—than Mom’s ever was. Plus, I don’t flop around in the shoes as much.

I guess I’ve always been into pretending. When I was in high school and college, and even when I was teaching high school English for a living, I satisfied the itch through acting. School productions at first, and later local theater. Just being one person somehow never felt like enough to me, and acting was a fun and socially acceptable (well, mostly) way to branch out.

But after a while even the stage didn’t seem to do the trick entirely. I was limited by the characters I played, and the vision of the various directors. Sure, it allowed me to pretend to be other people—and the dress-up aspect was way cool—but I wanted the people to be of my own making.

(Control freak? Moi? Um…maybe just a tad.)

Since I’d always been a voracious reader, and loved diving into books even more than diving into other people’s closets, it finally occurred to me try writing my own characters.

*Cue the trumpets* Hallelujah!

I’d found the perfect outlet for my crazy pretending addiction. I could finally be whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I could fiddle and fuss, and change not only looks but personalities, too. And when I put down the pen (er, metaphorically speaking, of course; I compose my books on a laptop), I could go back to being myself without having to change clothes or wash off the stage make-up.

It should probably come as no great surprise that the main character of In a Fix (and the future books in the series) can change her aura to take on the appearance of anyone she chooses. She’s made a career out of being other people.

Huh. Wonder where she gets that from …

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Meet Linda Grimes!

Linda grew up in Texas, where she rode horses, embarrassed herself onstage a lot, and taught teenagers they’d have to learn the rules of English before they could get away with breaking them for creativity’s sake. She currently resides in Virginia with her husband, whom she snagged after he saw her in a musical number at the now defunct Melodrama Theater in San Antonio. (There’s nothing like a rousing chorus of “If You Wanna Catch a Fish You Gotta Wiggle Your Bait” to hook a man for a lifetime.)

Like her globetrotting main character, Linda has spent her fair share of time overseas, though fortunately under less stressful circumstances. Kidnapping and daring rescues are all well and good in fiction, but she prefers sanity in her real life.

LGrimes-In a FixContact Info
Website: website
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Want to purchase Linda’s novels?
In a Fix at Amazon | Book Depository
Quick Fix (July 2013)
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Contest Time!

Thank you Linda for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!

Linda is giving away an ARC of In a Fix. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: Do you like to try on the different personas of the various characters you read? Which character is your favorite to escape into? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered.

Even though I’m not giving the additional entries any more, you can still help support the author by sharing their article, and this contest, on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere you can. After all, the more people who are aware of this fabulous author ensures we get more fabulous stories.

The winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until August 31st at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the snazzy new plug-in I have.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

21 Comments

  1. I have so many authors that help me experience other people lives! Seanan McGuire, Molly Harper, Kat Richardson, Caitlin Kittredge, Robin D. Owens, Patricia Briggs, the list goes on and on. I was quite taken with an excerpt from In a Fix. I read it yesterday and was telling my mother about it. She is eager to try it as well. :)

  2. That’s awesome. I first became interested in theater when I was 5 and my mother was doing some community theater productions. Since then I’ve moved towards writing, for very similar reasons as Linda.

    I absolutely try on the personas of various characters as I read/write. My current favorite (especially since I’m re-reading the series right now) is Harry Dresden.

  3. That’s awesome. I first became interested in theater when I was 5 and my mother was doing some community theater productions. Since then I’ve moved towards writing, for very similar reasons as Linda.

    I absolutely try on the personas of various characters as I read/write. My current favorite, especially since I’m re-reading the series right now, is Harry Dresden.

  4. Thanks for hosting me here today, Jackie! You have a fantastic blog, and I’m so happy to be a small part of it now.

    Leslee, I hope you–and your mom–will enjoy a visti to Ciel’s world.

    David, I adore The Dresden Files books! I escape into those on a regular basis.

  5. Thanks for a fun post and giveaway! Congrats Linda on the newest release! I think of each book I read as an out of body experience. My hope is to be drawn completely into the story through the characters. Don’t particularly have a favorite type…

  6. This sounds like a different twist for a story. I don’t really try on the different personas as I read (other than a little wish fulfillment in the bedroom scenes, LOL), but I do tend to get fully immersed in the characters and their worlds. I guess that’s why I love to read so much.

  7. My favorite character to escape into is Rachel Morgan because I love Kim Harrison’s world-building in the Hollows Series.

  8. I wouldn’t say I try on any character’s personas; I really just escape into worlds. Although I can’t help but be a little jealous of these kick-ass girls (with hot love interests) sometimes!

  9. I am not particularly into personas or acting. I am who I am! :)

    I love Kate Daniels! I can lose myself in those novels no many how many times I’ve read the book!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  10. It is fun to try on different personas and find out how they’d act or react in different situations. My absolutely favorite character to sink into is Albus Dumbledore, from the Harry Potter series.

  11. I sometimes try to imagine myself as some of the characters in the books that I read, but since a lot of them are paranormal or urban fantasy, it’s a little hard to picture. :D I’d say Jennifer Estep’s Gin Blanco is a character that is my favorite escape – it’s interesting to put myself in her shoes.
    I have In a Fix on my wish list already, I’m dying to read it.

  12. I dont really imagine myself as the characters I read. I do completely visualize the scenes though so its like a movie running. But I never see myself in there.

  13. I can’t say I escape into particular personas but there are definitely worlds that I love to visit time and again, like the Kate Daniels series or Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling books.

  14. Reading is an escape in general but I don’t think it has much to do with particular personas….I will admit though that Harry Potter was the first series with a persona that I really related to because of Hermione.

  15. Can’t say I try on the personas of characters (since I usually read paranormal books I’m pretty sure I’d get locked up if I started going on about werewolves, zombies and vampires), but as far as escaping into books and empathizing with certain characters a lot, I definitely love doing that.

    Some of my favorites are the guys from the Cal Leandros series by Rob Thurman; Scarlet from A. C. Gaughen’s YA book of the same name; Kara Gillian from Diana Rowland’s series; and I really got into the two main characters, Puck and Sean, particularly because of their love of horses, in Maggie Stiefvater’s YA book The Scorpio Races.

  16. I definitely don’t take on the persona of any characters from books I read, though maybe if I did no one would invade my personal space on the subway.

    I’ve been into the Skinners series recently and I really like Cole, the main character. He’s a normal guy tossed into an anything but normal new life and I like how he reacts to everything and how he sometimes compares things that take place in his new life to video games (his job was as a video game designer).

  17. I’m really into urban fantasy right now, so most of the characters I read about have unenviable lives, but I do like the world of The Edge that Ann Aguirre has brought to life, as well as Kate Daniels’ world and Shia Waynest’s world in Jess Haines’ series.

  18. I don’t think I take on any character’s persona. I can relate to some of the feelings of some of the characters. I read a lot of urban fantasy. Right now I am really enjoying the Charlie Madigan series, can relate on some level with Charlie, being a single mom and all. Thanks for the chance.

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