Women Who Rock Wednesday: Linda Gerber!

Welcome to Women Who Rock Wednesday! Before we meet today's guest, last week's winner of Bad to the Bone by Jeri Smith-Ready is...WriterWannaB_NY from blogger. Please send your address to stephanie at stephaniekuehnert dot com to claim your prize!

This week we have the fabulous Linda Gerber here and she will talk about her new book, Death By Denim. Without further adieu, let's meet Linda!

Tell us all about the Death By series. How did you come up with the idea for it? Did you read a lot of mysteries/thrillers when you were growing up?

Linda: The series actually started out as something completely different that what it evolved into. The idea originally came from a short story I had written for a writing exercise and grew from there. I didn't start out thinking, this will be a mystery, but yes, I did (do) read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, so I think I just naturally threw those elements in there because that's what I like.


Death By Denim is the latest installment, what's Aphra up to this time?

Linda: When the book starts, Aphra and her mom have been hiding out in France, where Aphra's been attending an international school under an assumed name and getting just a little too complacent... until the bad guys catch up to them.

What are five songs you would put on the soundtrack to Death By Denim and how do they relate to the story or characters?

Come to Life by Alter Bridge
Not an Angel by City Sleeps
The Pretender by Foo Fighters
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by This Providence
Hero/Heroine by Boys Like Girls

The songs on this list deal with hiding, deception, betrayal, or escaping from the enemy - all things that Aphra and Seth have lived for three books now.

Since it's Women Who Rock Wednesday, we love to hear about the women who inspire you, particularly the ones who inspire your writing. Please tell us about them.

Linda: My grandma rocked. She also made me crazy sometimes, but she was stubborn and did what she wanted and was kind of a rebel for her time. My crit partners rock. We have been together for over seven years and they are always there with a word of wisdom or encouragement. Sarah Dessen rocks. Meg Cabot rocks. Stephanie Kuehnert definitely rocks.

Like your character Aphra, who is always visiting fun locations, you've traveled a lot. Can you tell us about your favorite place to visit and/or your biggest travel adventure?

Linda: How about my biggest travel mis-adventure? I have lots of those - like going to France with no luggage. (My husband forgot to load it into the car and we didn't realize it until we were at the airport. The upside is that I had to shop in Paris.) Or the time I left my passport in the Shunjuku train station and had to stay overnight in Narita because by the time I got it back, I had missed my flight. Or another missed flight when I got stuck on a train in London and got to the airport an hour late. Or...

Now for my standard WWRW questions. The first is a two-parter. What is the first album you bought and the first concert you attended?

Linda: My sister and I were a couple of the suckers who joined that Columbia Record Club years and years ago. Since our purchases came in groups, I don't actually remember which one came first, but I do remember lying on the old braided rug in our basement bedroom and listening to the Kansas Leftoverture album over and over again. The lyrics seemed to speak to whatever middle school drama I was going through at the moment. I still love the songs from that album.

The first concert I wanted to attend was KISS. My friends were all going, but my parents didn't approve, so I couldn't go. I didn't know who I was more angry with that night as I sat home alone - my mom and dad for saying no or my friends for going without me!

Please dish about your biggest rock star moment. It could be a big moment of success in your career, a time where you met someone famous and had the Wayne's World "I'm not worthy" experience, or where you got the total rock star treatment?

Linda: My rock star moments usually come in the form of, 'That was who?' I grew up near Robert Redford's Sundance resort, and from time to time 'Uncle Bob' would put in an appearance. The first time I saw him (and realized who he was) I was kind of bummed to see that he was much shorter in person than on the screen. When I lived in LA, I worked as a receptionist for a patent and trademark law firm. One day Olivia Newton John came in to meet with one of our attorneys about her Koala Blue venture and I had no clue who she was. I actually commented on her 'lovely accent' and asked her where she was from. Doh! Once I flew a couple rows back from Richard Kiel (Jaws in the old James Bond movies). That time I knew who he was, but the lady behind me told her husband, "Look! It's Andre the Giant!" But the most celebrity sightings I ever had was when I worked for the senate in Washington, D.C. All the political insiders, yes, but also the parade of Hollywood lobbyists. And you know what? They are all regular people, just like the rest of us!

Thanks for sharing all the fun stories, Linda, and for saying I rock! And thanks for agreeing to give away a copy of Death By Denim to one lucky winner chosen from random commentors. So comment away and I'll draw a winner in 2 weeks on June 10th. Next week WWRW will be on hiatus, but it will be back June 10th with a very, very cool guest... my lovely editor, Jennifer Heddle from Pocket Books. She's the woman who rocks behind a lot of women who rock that I've featured lately (Jeri Smith-Ready and Danielle Joseph) and those of you who love books are no doubt fascinated by what she does as an editor so be sure to check it out!