Meet Lovely Linda Laroque

I read When the Ocotillo Bloom in a record two days. Since I’m a slow reader—I generally read every word—this should tell you how much I enjoyed the story. If you’re looking for a light-hearted, uplifting, genuine contemporary romance, you will absolutely adore this one. The plot offers the added bonus of a unique setting—a dude ranch-turned-camp-for-troubled-teens in far Southwest Texas near the area of the Big Bend National Park. A lover of that area myself, I especially appreciated Linda’s correct descriptions. Yes, Linda, I know the location of Marathon, and I spent a night there just as your heroine Lynn does in the story! And…I have seen the glorious ocotillo bloom!

Linda has created “real” people.” I mean it. I think I know these characters! The heroine, Lynn, is a high school teacher, fortyish, slightly overweight and out of shape, and is a little insecure from a divorce. As the clueless victim of a ruse by her daughter and her friend, Lynn takes a summer job as a bread cook “to relax, get away from teenagers, and take advantage of the Spa-like ranch.” But is she in for a few surprises. You will love Lynn and the handsome owner of the ranch, Seth, and you’ll keep hoping they’ll get together soon.

Let’s talk to Linda:

When did you begin writing? I believe you’ve said you were a late-comer to the world of romance.

“First, thank you, Celia, for your kind words about When the Ocotillo Bloom. This was the book of my heart, the one I had to write. And thank you for having me on your blog. I’ve been reading your interviews and you do an awesome job. I’m honored to be your guest.
I’ve read all my life, but during the early 1990s while teaching in Presidio, TX, I experienced a bout of depression. Reading didn’t occupy my mind at night and I couldn’t sleep. I thought, I’ll write a book in my head and maybe that will help. It did. The story grew and I decided it was one I should put to paper.

One late Sunday afternoon as I drove from Alpine (my husband and son lived there and I drove home on the weekends), I topped the hill just South of Shafter and gasped at the view. The sun sank behind Lincoln’s Profile to the West and to the East lay a valley floor covered with ocotillo in bloom. The ground looked like a red sea. It was breath-taking. I stopped to look at my leisure and will always regret not having a camera, and though I’ve tried several times, I’ve never been able to view the site again. This was the inspiration for my title.

I’d like to add, it was fourteen years later and at least seven re-writes before When the Ocotillo Bloom was published.”

I know you grew up in Newfoundland. Why were you there, since you were born in Texas?

“I was born in Houston, Texas and have lived in Texas most of my life. My father was an Air Force Master Sergeant and we traveled some. In 1953 he was sent to Harmon AFB at Stephenville, Newfoundland. We were there for only two years but my brother and I loved it and didn’t want to leave. From that time on, I’ve lived in Texas, except for the ten months my husband and I lived in Aberdeen, MD when he was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground after returning from Vietnam.”


If you could live one portion of your life over, would it be your childhood, your teenage years, your college tears, your early marriage and babies period, or your career years? I know your first reaction will be: none, I like where I am today! And while I’d say the same thing, I’m just curious.

“I’m tempted to say I’d have stayed home while my children were in grade school, but then again, I know they benefited by the friendships they established at the sitter’s. We were fortunate to have an excellent sitter who kept children in her home. We adored her and visited her years later when the kids were teenagers.”

Will you name the books you now have published? And your “coming soon” novels?

When the Ocotillo Bloom, Champagne Books
My Heart Will Find Yours, Book One of The Turquoise Legacy, The Wild Rose Press
Investment of the Heart, Champagne Books
Forever Faithful, Champagne Books
Flames on the Sky, Book Two of the Turquoise Legacy, The Wild Rose Press, will be out October 23, 2009.

“I also have two short stories published with The Wild Rose Press – A Law of Her Own and Desires of the Heart.”

When the Ocotillo Bloom is so descriptive and vivid, I would easily believe you’ve lived this. Does the plot or characters reflect you, your life, or your family in any way?

“Yes, in several ways. Like Lynn, I’ve experienced the battle fatigue of being a teacher, but after a restful summer was eager to get back to school and the kids again. I also experienced depression and anxiety attacks. But that’s where the similarity ends. My husband and I will celebrate our forty-second wedding anniversary in December, and though the years of raising our children were far from perfect, our children turned out nicely. I’m quite proud of them.”

Where can we buy When the Ocotillo Bloom?
http://champagnebooks.com/

Blurb:
Lynn Devry takes a summer job at a spa in West Texas hoping to dispel the depression she's experienced since her divorce, only to discover the spa is really a ranch for problem children. Seth Williams, ranch owner and child psychologist still loves his glamorous ex-wife, but finds himself inexplicitly drawn to the needy but prickly school teacher. As this mismatched pair help their young charges improve their self-esteem and modify behavior, both learn it’s not the past that’s important, but the future. Set against the rugged splendor of Big Bend Country, two people meet and discover that all things are possible when the ocotillo bloom.

Excerpt:
At 6:15, she slid the first five pans out of the oven. Cookie started the waiting wranglers through the breakfast line. Though 15 minutes late, no one complained.

At the appearance of Seth’s commanding appearance in the food line, Lynn bristled. She waited for him to comment on their lateness, but he didn’t. He pinched a bite off the top of a flaky biscuit and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, a grin as big as Texas spread across his face.

“Excellent biscuits, ma’am. I see Art didn’t lie about your baking skills.”

Lynn snorted and turned her back on him. Arrogant man. She’d like to make a few special biscuits just for him. Wonder what he’d prefer, arsenic or hemlock? When she looked again, he was gone.

************
Seth watched his new bread cook. Her face flushed from the heat of the ovens and the hard work of rolling out biscuits. If she were tired now, she’d be dead when she finished kneading bread dough.

He leaned back in his chair, folded his arms across his chest, and looked around the room. It was going to be a good day. The wranglers were well fed and happy. Lynn’s face lit with pleasure at their compliments. She deserved every one. Her biscuits were some of the best he’d eaten. He considered going back for two more, but didn’t want to experience another glare like the one she’d shot him as he went through the line. Probably because of the big grin he
had on his face. Flour smeared her cheek, and a glob of dough clung to a strand of her bangs that had escaped the bandana she wore to hold her hair back. Damned if she didn’t look cute.

Again, thanks for having me as your guest today, Celia. Happy Reading and Writing to ya’ll out there in cyberspace.
Linda

Linda, I enjoyed having you here so much. And I do thank you for the compliment. Now, I need to read your other novel I have downloaded—My Heart Will find Yours. I’m really looking forward to that one, too. Celia

Linda LaRoque ~Western Romance with a Twist in Time~ A Law of Her Own, Desires of the Heart, My Heart Will Find Yours, Flames on the Sky10-9, Forever Faithful, Investment of the Heart, When the Ocotillo Bloom
www.lindalaroque.com/ http://wwww.lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/