I’m pleased to introduce Linda Yezak to my readers who don’t already know her. She’s another Texas gal, as you 
might guess from her books. Linda has just released the last book in her Circle Bar Ranch series. Book 1, Give the Lady a Ride, was a 2011 Grace award winner.
Linda, for those who haven’t yet read your books, give us a rundown of the story series.
The Circle Bar Ranch series is a meeting-to-wedding story of the romance between city-girl/socialite Patricia Talbert and bull-rider/rancher Talon Carlson. The first in the series, Give the Lady a Ride, was supposed to be a stand-alone, but I heard from some readers who wanted more. Between them and my husband’s encouragement, I decided to create a series based on the characters of that first book. I’m proud of the series, but that’s the last time I’m going to do a trilogy without tons of planning first!
And you can tell it was my first series by the numerous mistakes I made, one of the most obvious being the title of the second book, The Final Ride. This story is about Talon having to break a promise to give up bull riding, but it’s not the last book in the trilogy. This novel won 1st place in Christian fiction from the Texas Authors Assn. In 2017. I introduce Patricia’s aunt, Adele, and between Adele’s attempts to lure her back to New York and Talon’s inability to keep his promise, the question becomes who will take The Final Ride.
Now tell us about Ride to the Altar, the real final book in the series.
In Ride to the Altar, I throw overwhelming hurdles into Patricia and Talon’s path to wedlock. A past love, murdered years ago and now only a file in an unsolved case, returns to haunt Talon. A long-held grudge demands release, yet Patricia has no idea how very deep it runs until she confronts her mother. An attack against the Circle Bar Ranch itself leaves cattle dead and one of its hands injured.
Different from all the other novels in this series, Ride to the Altar forces the two to face their pasts individually before they can face the future together.
Sounds like an interesting dilemma! So, we know authors do a lot of research for their novels. Have you ever been involved with rodeos? Or ridden a bull? :-0
The former bull rider I met when I was researching Give the Lady a Ride wouldn’t allow me to ride one of his bulls, not even a little one. But when I went back to his ranch to watch him “buck the babies”—test young bullocks for their bucking abilities—I discovered why. The entire episode is in the first novel. It was as much fun to write as it was to witness.
Everything I’ve written that is rodeo/ranch related has been researched. Although Daddy and Billy were raised on farms and my mother’s family had a ranch, I was raised a city girl. My dream of living in the little house on the prairie will come true when Billy and I move back to his family’s farm.
How did you get started writing?
When Billy and I moved here from my hometown, my dad had cancer. I didn’t go back to work because I wanted to be available for him and, later, for Mom when she was a new widow. Then came my illness which took three years to diagnose and three more years’ worth of surgeries to bring under control. By the time I was healthy again and things had settled enough for me to find a job—some eight years after we’d moved—Mom and Billy were used to having me available. Neither wanted me to get a job.
But a girl’s gotta do something. There are only so many times a house can be cleaned and even fewer times that television has something to offer. I stopped using my computer for playing bridge on game sites and started writing again. I’d been dabbling with it off and on since we moved, even completed a mystery/suspense that a publisher rejected before I could blink. But that rejection and the time being otherwise “right” encouraged me to take writing seriously. Give the Lady a Ride took me 10 years, but I’ve been averaging a book a year since then.
What’s the hardest part of writing for you?
At this point, the hardest part isn’t with the writing itself, but the business end of this business. I really wish I’d studied more about marketing, promoting, pricing techniques, distribution channels, etc., when I first started.
For all your readers who are newbie writers: Learn from my mistake. It’ll save you a lot of frustration later on.
Do you have a favorite comment from a reader that really encouraged you?
There have been so many, but the best was from someone who’d read Give the Lady a Ride. There’s a scene where Talon explains to Patricia that God is always listening, always willing to answer our prayers. The reader told me that, during her time of trouble, she’d needed this reminder. Gave me a chance to rejoice over being used by God to touch someone.
What other things do you enjoy doing besides writing?
Everything. If I haven’t already done it, I’m willing to do it. I love getting together with the family, playing games, watching spectator sports—and participating in them whenever I can. Totally love to fish. Love cooking and food preservation. The list is too long.
Where can readers find you?
Website: http://lindawyezak.com
Newsletter: http://dld.bz/CoffeewithLinda
Facebook: Author Page
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lyezak/
Twitter: @LindaYezak
Amazon Page: http://dld.bz/LWYAmazonPage
Goodreads: Linda W Yezak
