Linda Rooks’ Perseverance Leads to Success

I’m visiting today with author Linda Rooks who writes books for adults and children. Linda has a lot to share, so we’ll dive right in.

Linda, give us a bit of background on yourself.

My writing journey began when I was in 6th grade. My teacher gave a writing assignment to the class. She liked what I wrote, had me read it to the class, and everyone laughed at the right places. I also read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott that year and loved it. I identified with Jo’s love of writing. At the end of the school year, when my teacher wrote in my autograph book that one day I would be a famous author, it clinched my life goal of wanting to be a writer.

My actual writing career didn’t begin until the 1980s when I was an assistant editor of a local magazine. Then in the late 1990s I began publishing articles in national magazines. My first book, Broken Heart on Hold, was published in 2006 by David C. Cook and is still doing very well. In fact, it continually does better and better. I learned from that experience that you need to work hard at marketing your book and continue to persevere in the process until it creates enough of a buzz to develop a life of its own.

My children’s book, The Bunny Side of Easter, is actually the first book I ever thought about. While still in school, I was assigned to write a feature story about Easter traditions. In doing some research, I came across an article in an old encyclopedia which told of an Indian legend about four animals who went into the forest to live a solitary religious life and the honor Budha paid to one of those animals—a rabbit.

I wrote the feature article for the newspaper, but instead of that being the end of it, I found myself thoroughly intrigued by the coincidences existing between the Easter tradition and the Indian legend.  Too many coincidences persisted for the story to be ignored.

However, as a Christian, I needed to find a different way to tell the story so that it was more in line with what I believed as a Christian. So I translated it into more of a Christian context and first began writing it after my graduation from college. I worked at ABC TV at the time, and was able to offer it to some movie producers. One actually made up a budget for it to produce it in animation.

But shortly afterward I got married, moved away, and kind of put the whole project on the back burner. Every now and then I took it out and made some changes to it and put it back in my filing cabinet. Then a few years ago, when I had grandchildren, I felt inspired to work on it again. I love children’s books. I took it to some critique groups and writing conferences, and ended up scrapping whole sections of it and adding new ones to turn it into the story it is today.

What have you done in marketing Broken Heart on Hold that it creates enough of a buzz to develop a life of its own? How much of that marketing strategy are you applying to The Bunny Side of Easter?

To start with, I passionately believed in how my book, Broken Heart on Hold could help people in marital crisis. And this passion drove me to do whatever I could to get it (the book) into the hands of those who needed it. I created an interactive website with tools that ministered to people even if they didn’t buy my book. I networked with others who had a similar ministry. I spoke at marriage conferences. I answered the emails I got from readers. My husband and I began a ministry in our church to those in marital crisis. I worked hard to get radio and TV interviews and at one point hired a publicist to help me achieve more. I started writing a newsletter that I send out to the people who email me and developed a Facebook page geared to these readers. Broken Heart on Hold was published in 2006, and I persevered for several years to give the book a life of its own. The book is now in its fourth printing with a new cover and continues to sell even better than before so now I’m able to shift a lot of my attention to The Bunny Side of Easter.

As for The Bunny Side of Easter, again I passionately believe in the book and feel that it is a very fun way for children to come to a better understanding of what Easter is really about. Although there are other children’s books for Easter, I think an exciting story that truly engages a child’s heart can sometimes communicate the Easter message even more successfully. We learn through stories. Jesus used stories to teach his disciples. A good story can be a great learning tool.

Wow, that is amazing. Of course that didn’t all happen over night, I’m sure, but as you say hard work and perseverance really paid off. Having started with a book for adults what led you to writing children’s books?

I love children and children’s books. My five young grandchildren have completely captured my heart, and as I look at the complicated world they are growing up in, I want to give children something to help them navigate this life successfully. And that something, of course, is Jesus. So in my effort to point children to Jesus, I have also developed an interactive website with articles and tools that minister to children, including articles that can lead a child to invite Jesus into his or her heart as well as fun tools by which they can upload their own pictures onto my site. I’m also planning some media interviews and various events for the book. It’s a lot of hard work to promote a book, but if you believe in it passionately, you take the time to persevere and do it.

One of the things I truly want to help writers do is to unite their passion in life to their writing. You have obviously done that through your books and your blog Heart Talk. You’ve stated you have always wanted to be a writer, but when did you connect your love for God and reaching others to what you wrote and blogged about? Did it seem to come naturally or was it a result of seeking God’s will in your life?

I guess you could say it was when God hit me over the head with a crisis in my life that my writing grew deeper. As I searched for answers for myself, God gave me answers that were not only for me, but for others as well. My husband and I were separated for three years back in the ’90s. It was a devastating time in my life and I didn’t know where to turn. So as a Christian, I turned to God, and as a writer, I sought God through writing. As I searched for answers, I sat at my computer and laid my heart out to God by writing about whatever was troubling me until God brought me to a place of peace. I did this over and over during those three years. When my husband and I got back together, we looked at what I had written and realized it could help someone else. This was the beginning of my book, Broken Heart on Hold.

For The Bunny Side of Easter, the original story simmered in my mind for many years, but I think I was able to make it more meaningful because of my deeper walk with the Lord after my husband’s and my crisis. In a society that is so challenging to children, I wanted the story to inspire children to be loving heroes of faith and help them understand more about what Jesus did for us at Easter . . . because, really, He’s the biggest hero of all.

Linda, thank you so much for visiting with me today. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you better and discovering the impetus behind your books. Congratulations on your success with Broken Heart on Hold, and I pray The Bunny Side of Easter will see great success as well. With your perseverance I have no doubt it will.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Linda W. Rooks published her first adult book, Broken Heart on Hold, with David C. Cook in 2006. Now she takes her life-long love of children’s books and uses it to tell a winsome, but exciting adventure that points children to the real meaning of Easter. A graduate in creative writing from San Francisco State University and now a grandmother of five, Linda’s writing has appeared in a number of national publications, including Chicken Soup for the Beach Lover’s Soul, Focus on the Family, Today’s Christian Woman and HomeLife. She has appeared as a guest many times on TV and radio talk shows across the North American continent.

ABOUT THE BUNNY SIDE OF EASTER

An exciting adventure about an ordinary rabbit who became the Easter bunny and went to the moon. Lost in a forest on Easter eve, a mischievous rabbit, a plucky duck, and a playful monkey face a fearsome tiger. Can they save themselves and the little angel who was kind to them? Will the angel discover the truth about her power? A tale of fears faced and friendships gained.
See more about The Bunny Side of Easter at http://bunnysideofeaster.com
Available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon