Linda Nixon Fulkerson: Thursday’s Featured Author

Linda Fulkerson didn’t start off with a goal of writing fiction, but that’s where her writing journey led her. Linda’s first mystery novel, Dead Broke, was published in 2016. Today she shares her writing journey with us.

My Writing Journey – by Linda Fulkerson

There’s an article on my website titled, “My Writing Journey,” and I state that my journey began with a song. (You can read it here – https://lindafulkerson.com/my-writing-journey.) But it really began before that. It began in a portable building on the edge of my high school’s campus. It began with Miss Stotts.

I can still hear her strident voice, see her wagging finger. A white-haired woman nearing retirement age. My tenth-grade typing teacher. She’d never married and lived with her elderly mother and two siblings, who also had never married. Small-town rumors abounded about the Stottses.

We started on manual typewriters. Students who excelled during the first semester would move into “Advanced Typing” and be allowed to use electric models. We could see the electric typewriter room through a series of large windows. That was my goal. I wanted to be in that room.

After weeks of fiddling with twisted ink ribbons, willing Wite-Out to dry quickly, and flipping the carriage release lever, I hit the 50 words-per-minute average required to move beyond the windows. I’d made it!

Rumors aside, Miss Stotts taught me one of the most useful skills I’ve learned in life. She pushed me, nagged me, even. Forced me to be better. And typing has been the bread-and-butter of much of my career.

Before I set my sights on writing fiction, I ran the gamut of writing-related positions. Starting as a lowly typesetter in the back room of a weekly newspaper office, I mentioned to the managing editor that I could probably write better than some of the words we were working up. She let me write ad copy. Then some news articles.

Ultimately, I was allowed a byline for a guest editorial in her coveted corner of Page 2. A few more years in newspaperland found me moving up the chain to sports writer and finally, online editor for a busy mid-Texas daily.

As much as I loved the exciting career of working with newspapers, I longed to write. Books. That’s what “real” writers wrote. Right? Not just any books (I had already written a couple of nonfiction works by this point in life), but novels. Great American Novels.

That’s where I am today. Pecking on a keyboard, plugging away at a plot. Hoping to provide readers a memorable escape from their worlds, at least for a few hours.

My favorite fiction genre is mystery, and my first mystery novel, Dead Broke, was published in 2016.

I hope Miss Stotts would be proud.

A little more about Linda Fulkerson:

Linda Fulkerson became interested in writing while working as a copy-editor and typesetter at a small-town weekly newspaper. She has since been published in several magazines and newspapers, including a two-year stint as a sports writer. Linda is the author of two novels and seven non-fiction books, four of which are coloring books for writers.

Her first book, The Prodigal Daughter (Petit Jean Press), was published in 2003. At that time, Linda was introduced to the world of book marketing and blogging. She soon became a blog coach and marketing consultant, launching the popular instructional blog, On Blogging Well.

While living in Texas, Linda was the online editor of the Killeen Daily Herald and director of digital services for the largest media group in Central Texas. Soon after returning to her home state of Arkansas in 2013, she started her own digital services company, which focuses on helping authors, speakers, and small business owners develop an effective online presence.

She and her husband, Don, live on a ten-acre plot in central Arkansas. They have four adult children and eight grandchildren. When she’s not writing, Linda enjoys photography, travel, and spoiling her two dachshunds.

Linda speaks to small business owners and writers’ groups on a variety of marketing-related topics, such as blogging, social media management, and website development. To learn more about Linda, visit her website at LindaFulkerson.com.

Connect with Linda: Linda’s Facebook Page, Linda’s Podcast, Linda’s Newsletter (subscribe and get a free gift – Video Course, “15 Must-Haves for Author Websites).