Interview with Linda Shelley Whiting on 5-14-03

Marsha: I'd like to welcome my guest for this interview, Linda Shelley Whiting, whose wonderful biography, David W. Patten, Apostle and Martyr, was released this month by Cedar Fort. Linda, how long have you been writing, and when did you know you were a writer?

Linda: When I was about 10, I read a romance where the heroine lived in a French Chateau. I found the story ridiculous and implausible. I knew with my vivid imagination, I could do better just putting a blanket over my head and making up a story. It occurred to me, thinking about this, that I could be a writer, and I started writing my stories down. At age 11, I wrote a paper for school on my future career. It was titled "Why I Want to be a Writer".

Marsha: You were 11? That's intriguing. How did you follow up on that insight and actually become a writer?

Linda: Even though I got a BA in Journalism and have taken a number of classes on different aspects of writing, I learned how to write by writing. Having my work critiqued by good writers, and learning from their suggestions, has also been invaluable. It's a hard reality, but in truth I learned by experience, by writing, submitting, and having my work rejected. In this process I found a niche, Mormon History, where my work was repeatedly accepted and I seemed to excel. So I decided to accept the obvious, to stop writing fiction and instead concentrate on Mormon History, and I have become a successful, published author at that.

Marsha: Some writers I know just write for their families or church, or they keep extensive journals. They don't want to be published. What led you to write for publication?

Linda: To me, being a writer has always meant being a published author. I took a break from submitting for publication when my children were young. About 15 years ago, I joined American Night Writers Association, and began once again to write seriously and submit for publication.

Marsha: So many of us take that same period of time off. I'm glad you came back to writing, though. What was your first published work? When and where was it published?

Linda: My first national publication was a magazine article "A Call from the Prophet," which appeared in "The New Era" magazine in June, 1973. It was a historical feature on George Goddard and his rag mission. Actually "The New Era" is an international publication, and the article was translated for foreign editions. I have a copy of the article in German.

Marsha: I understand you had a number of other articles published in historical magazines. You've even written song lyrics. Now you've tackled a much longer work on someone who is virtually unknown today. Why did you write a biography of David W. Patten?

Linda: I had written an article for "Mormon Heritage Magazine" on Patten and the Battle of Crooked River. After it was published I was in the Brigham Young University library doing research on my next article, on the LDS painter Minerva Teichert. In the process of doing this, I had a spiritual experience concerning David W. Patten. I pondered on the event for about six months, and came to the conclusion that I was to write a biography of this great apostle's life.

Marsha: I guess God wanted him brought out of obscurity. How long did it take?

Linda: The research took ten years, and the writing 18 months.

Marsha: That's a very long time for researching and writing a book! I guess you're glad it's over. Well, it's not really over. Not everyone realizes that authors have to do a lot of marketing and publicity to help their books achieve success. What kind of publicity do you do to attract readers?

Linda: I have done direct mail, newspaper interviews, books signings, passing out fliers at events, and had a web site set up.

Marsha: Those are good things to do. I'm looking forward to seeing your book sell well. By the way, I'm glad you mentioned the web site, because I'm rather pleased with it! (I designed it for Linda.) Okay, enough of that stuff. On to my last question: What is your next project?

Linda: I am working on four books at the moment. I am doing research on a history of the Mormon settlement of Central Arizona, and research for a biography of the painter Minerva Teichert, and I am collecting and writing up pioneer stories for a book. I also plan to self publish a book of my poetry.

Marsha: You have a lot of work lined up for the future, but I know you can make them all come to pass. Linda, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Very good luck with all your projects!

Linda: You're welcome. It was my pleasure.