Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Linda Kozar. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Linda, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
The best way to find your purpose is to discover your passion, what you love doing the most. For me, it was always writing. From an early age I read voraciously in multiple genres and age ranges, but often didn’t like the way some books ended. So, I wrote alternate endings and they were always satisfying to me. Not the sort of endings that leave you wondering what happened to the characters you’d come to know and love. The ending always had to be happy. I needed to know I’d left those characters content in their world. Though I wrote personal interest articles for various newspapers over the years, the idea of writing a book seemed more like a pipe dream than an attainable goal. I had no idea where to begin until I began to connect with other writers and writing organizations. The learning process gave me purpose and my confidence began to grow. The more I would write and rewrite after helpful critique from others, I began to realize that writing a book could actually happen. Of course, I never ever thought about writing anything beyond one book. My goal was to write one book and somehow get that book published, which is how most would-be authors think. The call every writer dreams about came on a rainy afternoon in 2007 from a cozy mystery editor who told me to check my inbox for a contract. That was a glass slipper moment for me.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
BIO Linda Kozar is an award-winning multi-published author of traditional and indie-published fiction and nonfiction books with a Southern flair. Linda and her husband Michael live in The Woodlands, Texas and enjoy spending time with their two grown daughters, their wonderful son-in-law, two grands Eden and Wesley, and Gypsy their rascally Jack Russell Terrier.
I like to compare my writing life to a Frosted Mini-Wheat. On the frosted fiction side, I write everything from cozy mysteries to women’s contemporary books, historical fiction, and speculative fiction. On the nonfiction side, I write devotional books. I have been successful with both fiction and nonfiction. I’ve been told through the years that an author has to choose a side, but I declined that advice. Writing is my passion and I have successfully turned it into a profession (with God’s help).
My latest book is a devotional with BroadStreet Publishing called, Gimme Some Sugar, which releases on April 2nd of this year. And next year, a second devotional book, Sweet Tea & Thee will follow. Next week, (February 22nd, 2024), I’m scheduled for a string of promotional interviews in the press room at the NRB (National Religious Broadcasters) Convention in Nashville.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Be curious. Curiosity stimulates critical thinking, creativity, and process skills. Be inquisitive about how things work in this world and ask yourself how you can apply what you learn to your life or attaining your goals. As an author, I enjoyed sitting down with established authors over coffee or lunch and asking them how they got started. Later, my podcasts with NYT bestselling authors focused on these questions, which I knew most of my listeners would be interested in as well.
2. Be inquisitive. Ask questions. Express an interest in other people. Get to know them. Instead of talking about yourself, focus on others. People can be a wealth of information and knowledge. Whether you are a creative, or seeking a more traditional career, learn from those who are already walking in the career path you would like to walk. In the process, you will bond with people, gain some solid friendships and perhaps mentors. Creatives love to talk about themselves. However, if you truly want to learn, sometimes you have to train yourself to keep your mouth shut and your ears open. Other people lead incredibly fascinating lives,
3. Be thankful. Never forget the people who helped get you where you are today. Many people make the mistake of attributing their success to themselves, the ultimate stroke of the ego. However, no one gets to their goal without a lot of other people helping them along the way. Don’t go blank when you achieve success. Extend warm gratitude to everyone who assisted or mentored you in any way.
And be sure to thank God for all your successes. Thank Him for your failures as well because without those rejections or book ideas that didn’t catch on, you wouldn’t be where you are today. Every failure is a stepping stone to either achieve you goal, or move on to another project.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I always feel overwhelmed when faced with a writing deadline. Doesn’t matter if it’s six or nine months away. The idea of a deadline looming over me feels overwhelming. To combat that anxiety, I apply the elephant approach. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I set a daily writing goal and stick to it. If I know I’m going to be out all day or out of town, I make sure I write enough to cover those days as well. Setting a small daily goal to achieve a larger goal is a way to build the project to completion without stress or worry. That said, I have to say that some of my writer friends seem to thrive in that setting. Deadlines are their superpower, and they will work round the clock to achieve in days or weeks what it takes me six months to write, rewrite, and refine. But that’s what works for me.
Contact Info:
- Website:www.lindakozar.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindakozar/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linda.kozar
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaKozar
Image Credits
The Christmas picture with the “Published” ornament is of me and my agent, Stephanie Alton of the Blythe Daniel Literary Agency, Christmas, 2023. The picture of me signing my Sweet Tea For The Soul books at Barnes & Noble is from 2019. The group photo is from a Writers On The Storm meeting of The Woodlands Chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers (www:acfw.com). I am the current president and founder of the chapter in 2008. The picture of me is in my home library where I write. The banner is what I set up at book signings or conferences and illustrates most of my books, but not the two most recent.
