Awesome Romance Author Linda Tillis
~ Write What You Know~
Awesome romance author Linda Tillis is back with me today to share her newest Wild Rose Press release and what inspired it.
Take it alway, Linda!
The first eighteen years of my adult working life were spent in a sewing factory. Nine years in, my 
supervisor submitted my name for a new position, as assistant to the production manager. This meant that I would be managing a lot of transactions over the phone, with folks in places like New York, and Miami.
Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I have a deep southern drawl. So, my boss sent me to a Dale Carnegie speaking course. Sadly, it did not help the accent. But, I took something away that I use in my writing. They told me to speak about what I know.
My first book, A Heart Made For Love, was dedicated to strong, caring folks, who spend their lives helping victims of domestic violence.
The second one, A Man With A Pure Heart, is dedicated to the men, and women, who leave their families every day, to go out and face danger, protecting my family, and yours.
Before I went to work with my local police department, I’d had no contact with law enforcement. I had never given thought to the fact that they were normal folks, just like you and me. I was amazed to realize that they have children. They have financial problems. They have marital discord. They are, in fact, your neighbors, and the parents of your children’s friends.
While in the backs of our minds, we realize that we could be killed on the way to work each day, they kiss their families good-bye fully realizing the odds are rising every day that they will not come home.
I have been there when an officer was forced to deal with having taken another’s life. It is an unthinkable act, but a possibility that they must think about every day.
Samuel Hinton, the hero of A Man With A Pure Heart, was raised in a Christian home, so he values all human life. But, when the woman he loves is placed in danger, he realizes there is a fine line between right and wrong. Somewhere, along the journey of searching for a man who perpetrates violence to women, Samuel realizes he wants the man dead, and he is torn by this realization.
I hope you enjoy reading about Samuel’s personal journey as much as I enjoyed writing about it.
Excerpt from A Man With A Pure Heart
by Linda Tillis
“So, old man,” Samuel whispered, “you tried to warn him.”
Samuel gently closed Hamish’s clouded, green eyes. He hesitated, his palm resting on the old man’s forehead.
He whispered, “Hamish, Hamish, you should have told me. What can you tell me now?”
Samuel was completely motionless, staring into the dark corner. He closed his eyes and after a time he envisioned Nash, standing in a small clearing, his head thrown back, and his mouth wide open in a scream. There was a small building with one high window. Nash stepped to the doorway, and Samuel could see the inside of the one room cabin. There was a bed with a broken length of chain attached.
Ahh. So, the big man has lost something, or someone.
Samuel stood and looked down at Hamish one last time.
“I hope you knew the Lord, old man. I hope he is welcoming you now.”
Blurb
Samuel Hinton learned at the tender age of fifteen just how violent some men could be. But as a grown man, a detective with the police force in 1910, he must deal with the murder of a schoolteacher, and is shocked by the brutality.
Kathleen Campbell travels to rural Florida to seek justice for her sister’s death. What she finds is an instant and unexpected attraction to the handsome investigator who swears he will find the killer.
Another murder fills Samuel with a sense of urgency as he struggles with the depth of his feelings for Kathleen, knowing she could be the man’s next victim despite her independent spirit. And he must battle his desire to kill the man he seeks, a killing that would clash with his beliefs.
Buy Links
AMAZON Â | Â BARNES & NOBLE | Wild Rose Press
To learn more about Linda Tillis visit lindatillisauthor.com
If you have any questions or comments for Linda, please post them below, and she will get back to you.Â
Awesome, a fellow “support the blue” writer. I hope you enjoy the reading as much as I did the writing!
Enjoyed getting to know you more, Linda. I come from a family with strong ties to the police department. My father, mother, and brother-in-law were in law enforcement. I’m happy to say that my son has followed in their footsteps, too. I’ve added your new release to my TBR list. Wishing you all the best!
It is so true. Sometimes you forget that police are just human beings like the rest of us. Best wishes on your book!
I think, as the older generations pass on, it will become an increasingly difficult atmosphere for law enforcement officers. Thanks for the good wishes.
Thanks Judy, I’m grateful to have had such a varied work history. It gave me a wide range of story fodder!
Great excerpt, Linda. “Writing what you know” clearly lends confidence and authority to your writing.