Q&A With Rachel Linden 

Tonight I’m doing a Q&A with bestselling author Rachel Linden who wrote the novels “The Enlightenment of Bees,” “Ascension of Larks,” “Becoming the Talbot Sisters,” and her recent novel “The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.” 

Q: Out of all your novels you wrote if you had to choose, which ones were your favorite ones to write? 

A: Each novel feels like a child in a way, and I love each of them differently! But My second novel, Becoming the Talbot Sisters, was a love letter to Budapest and Central Europe where I lived for five years. That was a special one. And I absolutely adored writing The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie. I wrote it during the Covid lockdowns in Seattle in the spring of 2020 and it provided such a wonderful escape into a happy, normal feeling story world. And then I discovered I was using the story to process what I, and so many others, were experiencing at the time, the sense that we’d just been handed lemons in life and we had to figure out how to make lemonade in some very tough circumstances! 

Q: What advice do you have for those wanting to become writers like you? 

A: Read the best authors in the genres you love. Writers are almost always avid readers, and reading books by authors who are more adept at their craft than you are provides valuable inspiration and instruction. Also foster relationships with other authors in your genre and area. Writing can feel quite solitary and sometimes a bit like a rollercoaster. Having good relationships with other authors and industry professionals can encourage and sustain you during the hard and disappointing times and then they can celebrate with you during the happy wins! 

Q: Does Hollywood have the rights to any of your novels? 

A: Hallmark just bought the rights to The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie, so fingers crossed, it will be a film in a year or two! (Happy dance! I’m very excited!)

Q: What were your favorite novels you read this year?

A: I read A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman this year finally and LOVED it! And I read Angels of the Pacific by Elise Hooper this summer. I thought it was beautifully written and a riveting story based on a true story from WWII. 

Q: Are you writing a new novel right now? If so, can you spoil a little bit about what it’s about? 

A: Yes! I have finished writing book #5 and my editor is reading it right now. I love the premise of this new story. It’s really fun. Here’s a sneak peek in 3 phrases: A disgraced Parisian chef. Her long-lost mother. A special kind of island kitchen magic! 

This one will have all the usual elements of my novels – strong women facing big challenges, food, travel, second chances at love, and of course a touch of magical realism! Also a handsome, irksome oysterman in orange rubber overalls! 😉