THE STORYTELLER IN ME ~ Linda Siebold ~ Giveaway Offer

 The Storyteller in Me

Guest post and Book Spotlight from author Linda Siebold

My first stories were told to my granddad. I wasn’t in school yet, and I was his constant companion on the farm where we lived with my parents, brother, and sister. He listened. With his encouragement I kept on – even if it was what the rooster did that day.

As I grew older my words found their way to paper. I wrote when I wasn’t pouring over pages of books reading to my heart’s content. I wanted to be a writer – maybe illustrate my own children’s books too. The still, quiet voice of my high school English teacher made me see reason. It was really hard to support yourself as a writer. So I went on to college and became an elementary teacher.

As years passed and I married and had a family of my own, I kept storytelling – my children’s bedtime stories, children’s stories at church, and writing when I had the chance. My career changed many times over the years. I worked as a salesclerk, a keyboard operator, an office supervisor, a secretary, and other things.

The words and stories have kept coming. My kids are grown with families of their own. I had a thirst to read mystery/suspense books. And I began to write again. You guessed it – mystery/suspense with a little romance thrown in.

In 2015, I was on dialysis three days a week, three hours a treatment, forty-five minutes travel time each direction. My kidneys had failed from a combination of weakness from a genetic disorder called polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and painkillers used to treat intermittent extreme pain in my lower abdomen – then cause unknown. I didn’t know when the pain would hit and the severity increased with each event. I could no longer work outside the home. After a specialist in Wichita found the source of the pain and removed the four-inch piece of mesh inserted in my abdomen at the end of a previous surgery I could function again. I received a kidney transplant in 2017.

I learned how to lean on Christ, more than I ever had before. He gave me hope and a purpose with my writing. He also gave me time. So, I wrote and polished my craft.

After the site healed and the transplant occurred, I could travel without pain and dialysis arrangements. I talked my husband into going with me to Nashville to the ACFW Convention in 2018. I had six chapters finished on my work-in-progress. My first appointment of the three I could schedule at the conference (editor, agent, or mentor) was with Cynthia Hickey, editor with Winged Publications.

Cynthia put me at ease right away. We visited and found common ground. Then, I told her I wasn’t finished with my book, but I’d like to pitch it to her for the practice. To my delight and surprise she liked it. I was to email her what I had once I returned home. I did and the rest is history. The Contessa’s Necklace was published in November, 2018. It is the first of the Contessa of Montaire series. I liked my characters so well I had to write a series.

 Book Blurb

Louella Carmichael, Contessa of Montaire, and her entire family were assassinated in 1973. One witness survived and escaped with Montaire’s ruby succession necklace. In 2017 the necklace reappears in Kansas as current contessa, Sophia DePaul is close to death. When she dies the council will again name a new count or contessa to rule the principality and gain control of four international conglomerates and other industries, as well as jewelry and other riches.

Selena Simmons specializes in researching financial reports, background checks, and family histories for the Aegis Research Library. When a tragic hit-and-run accident makes her research personal she walks away from the agency. Someone from the past is targeting those close to her and binds her to the Carmichael assassination. She has to find the link before she becomes the next victim.

Sam Russell from R & S Retrieval Agency is hired to follow the two jewel thieves that have tracked the necklace to Kansas. They not only want the necklace, but control of the principality. They will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals, even murder. Selena Simmons is in their way, and Sam finds his skills and instincts tested to keep her safe.

 

Author Bio: Linda Siebold loves to read and write romantic suspense. She lives in north central Kansas with her husband and spoiled cat. She has a grown son and daughter and seven grandchildren. She has a degree in elementary education from Fort Hays State University.

Social media links:

Email: lsiebold70@gmail.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/lindasiebold

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linda.siebold.58

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lsiebold70

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18599024.Linda_Siebold

Giveaway offered: One copy of THE CONTESSA’S NECKLACE in print format. Leave your name and contact information below to be entered in the drawing. Giveaway ends one week from today on January 22, 2020 at midnight Central time and will be notified via email.