BookLife Talks with Linda Griffin
A sponsored Q&A with the author of 'The Rebound Effect'

Former librarian Griffin has written a work of romantic suspense with The Rebound Effect, but she’s no stranger to indie publishing. The author has written multiple books in different genres. Not to be defined by a single category, Griffin prefers to just tell a good story rather than write to a specific audience.   

Your bio states that you love all types of fiction. Why did you choose to write romance?

I have never made a choice to write in any particular genre. I write the story that wants to be told without considering how it might be categorized. My published novels have all fit somewhere in the romantic suspense genre, but I have also written literary fiction, mysteries, and science fiction.

The Rebound Effect was classified as romantic suspense by the publisher, but some reviewers have said that it isn’t a romance at all. It does have a happily-ever-after ending, but not the one the reader might expect.

What will readers discover in The Rebound Effect that they won’t get in other romance titles?

It is a cautionary tale of love and betrayal, a domestic psychological thriller, and a murder mystery as well. In addition to the suspenseful story, reviewers have described it as an accurate portrayal of the subtler forms of abuse and a lesson for women everywhere: be careful who you trust. Kirkus called it “a love story that skillfully shows that abusers don’t need to use physical violence to control their victims” and found the final confrontation “legitimately frightening.” I hope it also carries a message of forgiveness.

What kind of research did you do to insure authenticity when writing about a deaf child?

I have been very interested in sign language and deaf culture most of my life, so the issues were not new to me, and I also worked with deaf patrons as a librarian. I did do research on the details of cochlear implants and made sure that every word the characters sign is in Martin L.A. Sternberg’s American Sign Language Dictionary.

Do you feel like your background as a librarian has helped you as an author?

It definitely has. The skills I learned as a reference librarian certainly help when doing research. I was also in charge of maintaining and developing the large fiction collection at the San Diego Central Library and initiating order lists for the entire system, so reading book reviews was a major part of my job. I’m sure that influenced my thinking about what makes a good novel.

What are you working on now?

A police procedural/interracial romance called Guilty Knowledge. It’s the story of a witness who may be lying and a cop whose ability to do his job is compromised by his attraction to her. It’s told from the point of view of the black male detective, and since I am none of the three, I hope readers will feel that I’ve met the challenge. I also have short stories forthcoming in the Avalon Literary Review, Louisiana Literature, and Thema Literary Journal in the near future.