Interview with Author Linda Weaver Clarke About Her New Book, Montezuma Intrigue

It is my pleasure to have as my guest on the blog today, author Linda Weaver Clarke.  Her newest G-rated adult/young adult book, Montezuma Intrigue, has just been released by American Book Publishing.

(NS)  Linda, what led you down the path of writing books?

(LC)  It all started when I began writing my own ancestor’s stories. After I finished, I couldn’t stop writing, so I turned to historical fiction. I write because I love to use my imagination and entertain people. I love to develop my characters and bring them to life and see them interact with one another. It’s fun to describe the scenery and see a new world open up, for everyone to imagine. That’s why I call my website “Make Believe.”

(NS)  Is there a certain way you arrange your day for writing?

(LC)  I write in the mornings and early afternoons. It’s important to write when my mind is fresh. I can’t write when it’s cluttered with worries or thoughts of duties I have to do. So, I try to arrange a schedule for myself. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t.

(NS)  I love the array of topics you use for your books. How did you come to your new book, Montezuma Intrigue, which is the third of your Intrigue books?

(LC)  Well, at the beginning, I got my ideas from a TV show called Hart to Hart, which featured a married couple investigating and solving crimes. It was one of my favorite weekly shows. You laughed at the humor, sat on the edge of your seat with suspense, and sighed at the romance. I wanted to create something similar. In this series, The Adventures of John and Julia Evans, Julia is a reporter for a daily newspaper and John is a professional knife maker. Because of her curiosity, Julia gets herself into a bunch of trouble. There is one more thing I add to my story. This couple has three daughters. I feel this makes the story have more appeal to a larger audience.

Not only that, I have always been interested in artifacts and the ancient American Indians and their way of life. The subject intrigues me. That’s why I call it my “Intrigue” series. We learn about the Anasazi Indians in Anasazi Intrigue and the Mayas in Mayan Intrigue. In Montezuma Intrigue, we learn about the Aztecs and Montezuma’s treasure. This is a mystery/adventure series. So, you’re probably wondering what this book is about.

Montezuma Intrigue is about the search for Montezuma's treasure, family secrets, and a good-looking rogue! Everyone loves s good rogue in a story. Right? While cleaning out the attic, the girls come upon a mysterious old chest. As they search through it, they find a leather parchment of a treasure map, which belonged to their great-grandfather Evans. As you can tell, the girls want to search for the treasure but their father is against it for some mysterious reason. With their mother’s help, the girls convince John to go on a treasure hunt. Now the adventure begins.

I have 2 plots developing in this story…something that makes the readers think. So…in the meantime, April, the oldest daughter, is gradually learning about her grandparents and why they have kept a certain “secret” all these years. As you know, I firmly believe in teaching our children about their heritage. So in this story, April gradually learns something from her grandfather that he had never told a soul. It’s a secret that helps April in her own life. To read sample chapters from each book, you can visit my website at www.lindaweaverclarke.com.

(NS)  You tour the US giving seminars on the importance of Family Legacy.  Tell us a bit about this aspect of your professional life and how it may dovetail into your writing.

(LC)  I believe it’s very important to teach our children their heritage. We are the people we are because of our ancestors. Our traits, our genes, our beliefs, our courage, our temperaments! Where did we get that red hair? Why am I so tall? Why is music part of my life? Did I inherit these traits from my grandparents? We must learn about their traditions. If they fought for a cause, then what was it about? Each of us has a story from our ancestors or even our own story to tell. It’s up to us to write these experiences down. Our children can learn from their ancestors’ experiences.

In my workshops, I teach people how to write their family history or their own autobiography. Leon Garfield said: “The historian, if honest, gives us a photograph; the storyteller gives us a painting.” What I’m teaching people to do is how to paint their story, to be the storyteller.

(NS)  Please tell us something pivotal about your life that you feel has made you the author you are today.

(LC)  If it weren’t for my husband’s support and love, I wouldn’t be the author I am today. It was his encouragement, his trust in my talents, and his devotion in helping me to get this far. He set up a beautiful website for me. He comes home from work and tells me about something new I can do to promote my books. When I feel discouraged or I’m stumped about something I’m writing, he listens and then helps me figure out what I should do. Yes, I’m the writer I am today because of my husband’s faith in me.

(NS)  What is next for your readers to expect? 

(LC)  I’m hoping to make this series into 4 books, where we can learn about Superstition Mountain and the great Thunder God that makes everyone stand up and notice with every thunderstorm that happens in Phoenix, Arizona. It’s a very intriguing subject. But first, I have to promote my first three books in this series. I need to get people to notice what John and Julia Evans are doing. A reviewer gave the first book in this series, Anasazi Intrigue, the “Socrates Great Book Alert Award.” I was excited about that. Every author know that it’s a slow road to getting people to notice an our books. We just have to work hard.

Thank you so much, Linda, for this interview.  You have a rich bibliography of books, and your new one looks like a winner.  I appreciate your taking the time to be here.

Linda Weaver Clarke

My Encounter with Crocodiles--and a Great Children's Book on Kenya

Linda Weaver Clarke posted an interview with me on her blog yesterday. In it, she asked the requisite questions about my bestselling children's book, One Pelican at a Time.  Then she asked a thought provoking question:

Lake Turkana, Kenya

"Now it’s time to tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget."

Something about the real me…hmmm. A tough one, but here goes. When I was in Kenya with my family, we were up in the Rift Valley at Lake Turkana. I try to run several times a week and wanted to run along the sandy shore. I noticed many crocodiles on the shore, sunning themselves.

Our friend, a native Kenyan, had flown us up there in his small plane. I asked him about the crocs, and he assured me they were well fed on Nile Perch in the lake and wouldn’t bother me. So I did it, and he was right. They simply slithered into the water as I ran. Would I do it again today? Probably not. But in the moment, with the sun shining and the birds calling…Well, I was in Africa, after all.

A lovely children's book on Kenya:

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A. Nivola

Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the Green Belt Movement, grew up in the highlands of Kenya.

When she returned home from college in the US, she found Kenya much changed.  She helped restore it, but how?

The book, by the way, is printed on recycled paper.