Bookshelf: Interview with Linda Gerber

Linda Gerber is the author of Death by Bikini, Now and Zen, The Finnish Line and coming in September 2008, Death by Latte. She has lived everywhere from Utah to Finland and hates bell peppers.

INN: Where did you get the idea for Death by Bikini?

LG: The nugget of the idea came from a short-story exercise I did for a writers’ forum. I was having fun with it so it grew from there.

INN: What's your favorite thing to do on a beach?

LG: Read! I seriously cannot go to a beach without a book. I also love to swim and dive the waves. I tried surfing once, but I was not coordinated enough!

INN: What are the best summer reads right now?

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LG: Well… Death by Bikini comes to mind…

Seriously, we are lucky this summer to have some truly fantastic reads on the shelves. It’s hard to name just a few without leaving out a lot so I’ll just tell you the books I’ve read most recently which to me were fabulous summer reads… A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels and A Great Far Thing by Libba Bray, Wake and Fade by Lisa McMann, Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr, Cross my Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter and The Book Thief by Markus Zusack.

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INN: What can you tell us about Death by Latte?
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LG: Death by Latte continues where Death by Bikini left off - Aphra Connolly heads off to Seattle in search of her mom and lands herself right in the middle of an undercover operation gone wrong.

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INN: If your characters were in a television cartoon (Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo, Sponge Bob, etc.), which one would they star in and why would they pick that one?

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LG: Well, that’s an original question! Aphra would probably choose to be Kim Possible because she’s a take charge kind of girl…

INN: Any advice for teen writers?

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LG: Years ago I came across this bit of advice from Diana Gabaldon: Read. Write. Don’t stop. It’s simplistic, but to the point. If you want to write, you should read, read, read. It helps if you choose good books to learn from. Then discipline yourself to write every day. It doesn’t have to be a specific amount of time or a word count if that kind of goal doesn’t work for you. Just do it. Finally, don’t let anything or anybody stop you from writing.

I’ll add to that – learn the rules of good writing. If you want to break them, fine, but know them first. And develop a thick skin. Writing isn’t for wimps. Take criticism with a grain of salt – learn what you can from it and forget the rest. That includes self-criticism. If it isn’t helpful, let it go.

Thanks so much, Linda!

Visit Linda at her website http://www.lindagerber.com/, and her blog http://www.lindagerber.blogspot.com/, which will be added to the Bookshelf Blogroll.

You can buy Death by Bikini through Amazon by clicking http://www.amazon.com/Death-Bikini-Linda-Gerber/dp/0142411175.