SALT LAKE CITY UT May 10, 2017
“What is the story that haunts you; that you don’t know how to tell?” This was the question presented to Linda González at a writing retreat. “My gut balked,” González recalled, “but I wrote down my father’s story of leaving one family to start another.
“While I listed other possibilities for the assignment, this story had the scent my nose wanted to follow. It held decisive truths about my current life — my wish to grow up-and-beyond my past and stop the chain reaction of secrets.”
While Linda is always writing, this assignment – this family secret – compelled her to pour her heart and soul into a new project: seek healing by telling the truth of her family in a memoir.
After finishing her manuscript, and feeling ready to publish, González found WiDo Publishing ™ through a referral from a good writer friend. She states, “I appreciated [WiDo’s] mission, diversity of genres, and individual approach to working with authors.”
When González’s manuscript was reviewed by E.L. Marker’s submissions editor, Joseph Jones, and then the managing editor, Karen Gowen, they fell in love with her clear and poetic writing style and her intriguing story.
With her Latinx heritage, González finds herself reading mostly works by people of color since they more closely reflect her cultural experience.
“I read a mix of novels, creative nonfiction (memoir, essays) with a sprinkle of poetry. Latest reads are Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, and The Gods of Tango by Carolina de Roberti.”
Linda is an avid singles and doubles tennis player, she likes to knit and dance salsa, and loves living in a small cottage amid the redwoods. She writes every week. Being self-employed, she plots her writing time based on her work. González is a member of two Toastmasters clubs and giving speeches in English and Spanish is a structure she uses to help organize her writing skills.
Joseph Jones, the WiDo/E.L. Marker submissions editor, has this to say about the compelling and well-written memoir by Linda González: “Linda’s story is personal and beautiful, and we’re excited to publish it. She has the perspective and insight of a Southern Californian Latina, coming to terms with her rich heritage in this memoir. We are proud to be a part of bringing her very strong and unique voice to readers.”
Linda González has published essays in literary journals and anthologies, is a storyteller in the San Francisco Bay Area, and received her MFA at Goddard College. She has a thriving practice as a life coach, assisting writers and others committed to discover and reach their full-hearted goals. Linda was born in Los Angeles, the city where her parents—a Mexicano and a Colombiana— met in 1955, and has made the San Francisco bay area her home for over 25 years. She is still raising and being raised by her beloved 21 year old twins Gina and Teotli. Visit her website at www.lindagonzalez.net