Interview with an Author: Linda Ling

Linda is the author of 6 published books, including a children's book, written under the name Tina Ong, and a fantasy series. She has no idea how she juggles writing, publishing, and marketing with her full-time job and family life. She suspects she has a clone who helps her, but it could be all in her head.

What got you into writing your own stories?

I started writing as a teen to try my hand at it. I've loved reading since I was a child and really got into vampire literature (Anne Rice, mostly) as a teen. But at some point, I started to feel that most vampires books lacked people who looked like me and had my cultural experiences. That became the beginnings of the book, A Midflight Vampire's Tale, which I'll talk about later in this interview.

What comes more easily, plot or characters?

Plot, definitely! Characters was something I've had to learn to grapple with and flesh out more thoroughly to make my story feel richer.

Do you cross over genres or do you only stick to one?

I have crossed genres, for sure. My first published book was a children's book, though I doubt I'll ever cross over there again. I also wrote a romance book at one time, and I hope to re-query it eventually. But My primary genre still remains fantasy (and vampires).

What would be the greatest achievement for you to aim for as a writer if anything were possible?

There's a local radio show featuring these two DJs that I enjoy listening to. I'd love to be on their show someday to talk about my books.

What are you most grateful for as a writer?

I'm grateful for every book that I manage to publish and put out there for people to read. I'm also grateful for the community I've found which makes me feel a lot more connected, a lot less isolated, than I felt in the past.

Do you have a day job? What is it?

My day-time secret identity is that I'm a psychiatrist. I practice under a different name. Or rather, Linda's a pen name.

Do you read the same genre you write? Why, or why not?

The primary reason why I write about vampires and fantasy is because those are my favorite genres/creatures to read. However, now that I'm really heavy into writing, I find that reading a lighter genre (like romantic comedy or even the occasional thriller) gives me a mental break from worldbuilding.

Do you read fellow indie authors' works? Why or why not?

I love indie books, and I love supporting fellow indie authors. There are so many hidden gems out there!

Give us three fun facts about yourself.

• I'm left handed

• My college degree bears the signature of a movie star who happened to be a US governor at the time (guess who that might be). I think it might be worth more because of that, but who knows.

• I played the guitar in high school, but alas, no more.

Connect with Linda Ling here.

Featured Book: A Midflight Vampire's Tale

This is my latest release, and I'm really pleased with the fact that this managed to be published at all. It contains some of the earliest scenes and characters that came to my mind when I started writing as a teen, and is actually my response to the vampire literature I was reading at the time, which really lacked the representation I was looking for, namely, my ethnicity and heritage. But because this was one of my earliest works, I didn't dare to let it see the light of day (pun intended) for a long time, not until I felt confident enough to tear everything down and rebuild the plot and characters from scratch while retaining the heart of the story.

Who was your favorite character to write and why?

I wouldn't say he's my favorite character, but I had a lot of fun writing my 10 year old, Julian. Now, he sounds older than 10, but that's because I modeled his speech and mannerism after a super-smart kid called Parker from the Disney show Liv & Maddie. See any resemblance?

What was your favorite scene to write and why?

I love every piece of dialogue and interaction between Henry and Cheng on the plane. Cheng is absolutely reluctant, but somehow she responds to Henry's coaxing, despite all her misgivings, and tells him her story.

Oh, Henry. You are the vampire hot sauce.

What's the message you worked into this book?

This relates to what I've alluded to. I found something missing in the favorite things I enjoyed reading. So I wrote the book I would have wanted to read as a teen, and now, as an adult.