OLDS — Local author Linda Ford has no plans to stop now after having published 100 books in 25 years, all while raising 14 children.
About 20 friends and family members gathered in the Olds Municipal Library to celebrate that accomplishment April 1 in the Olds Municipal Library. Town of Olds Mayor Judy Dahl gave Ford a certificate in honour of the milestone.
“To Linda Ford for the outstanding achievement of 100 published books,” it said.
The celebration was held in a casual sitting area. Ford’s books were arrayed along a ledge on a wall. Her genre is historical western fiction.
Ford started writing her novels about 25 years ago, when the family was living in Chinook, east of Hanna, after having written stories for a local newspaper and grain industry publication.
“I think what got me started was doing human interest stories,” Ford said. “I thought, ‘oh, there’s more to this story than just what they’ve told me.’ So then I had to do their stories.”
She gleaned time to write here and there while looking after the kids, but really got going when they were in high school.
The family moved to Olds from Chinook in 1995.
Dahl said she and Ford have been friends for years.
“I will honestly say how amazed I am and overwhelmed when I found out it was a hundred books. I had no idea you were that busy,” Dahl said.
For about 20 minutes, friends and family asked Ford questions about her career.
“What’s your next goal,” she was asked.
"To keep writing,” Ford replied.
"Are you going to get to 200,” someone asked, sparking a bit of laughter.
“If I live long enough," Ford said.
“My goal is to write until they pry the pen out of my cold, dead hands,” she said, sparking yet more laughter.
"I guess I never thought I’d do a hundred books, but I just keep writing. And now that I self-publish, it’s easier to get them out,” Ford added.
“I can escape into my writing. So yeah, it’s been a good journey, shared with many of you.”
She was asked how she gets the inspiration for each book.
She said that sometimes comes in the middle of the night, but sometimes it just occurs by being “very deliberate about what you’re looking for.
“And I think creativity is a must. The more you use it, the stronger it gets.”
Ford’s books are self-published. She contracts people to edit them (after she's had a go at that), create book covers and do publicity for them. They’re available on Amazon.
Ford said a big key for successful publishing and sales is to do lots of research, which is much easier now with the advent of the internet.
She writes ideas down, but does most of her work on a computer and spends about 45 hours a week writing.
“I don’t wait for inspiration anymore, I do it,” she said. “Sometimes I set the timer and say, ‘OK, just do it for 15 minutes.’ By the time 15 minutes is up, I’m into it.”
Ford said it usually takes six to eight weeks to hammer of the first draft of the story.
Ford said a key to good sales is to make sure a heroine or hero – or sometimes both – are on the cover.
A big must is that the hero is wearing a cowboy hat – that's part of the appeal of the genre.
Ford was asked why she writes historical fiction. She said that’s because it’s what she likes.
“I like the research, I like the way that they lived,” she said. “They lived a simpler life.”
However, not everyone agrees with that.
Ford said she got a letter from one reader who said life was much harder back then.
She admitted that friends and family members can become characters in her novels but said she disguises them “really well.”
Her favourite book is one she told from a man’s point of view, although it hasn’t been a best-seller for her.
It was pointed out that while Ford’s stories are fantasies, the characters in them often have to struggle to solve some tough problems.
Therein lies the appeal for readers, Ford agreed.
“I think it helps my readers sort out maybe the steps they have to take for their own resolution sometimes.”
But overall, it’s the fantasy, the chance to escape from day-to-day life back into an idealized world.
“For them it portrays a simple style of life that they wish they could emulate. They can’t, but same with the cowboys. It takes you away from reality, it's fantasy,” Ford said.
“It’s not a bad thing. In fact, that is my goal. Ever since COVID, I purposely avoid anything that’s really – stressful, if that’s the way to say it.”
So far, Ford has not been asked to sell film rights for any of her books, but Dahl said she’s confident that will happen one day.
Ford gave some advice for those who might want to write for a living.
“Learn the craft, write,” she said. “And be willing to fail. I wrote I don’t know how many books that did not sell.”
Ford said the biggest mistake many writers make is spending too much time trying fix a novel that’s been rejected. She cited the case of one woman she said has been trying to “fix” her novel for about five years.
Ford was asked how long it took her to get used to receiving rejection letters from potential publishers.
“You don’t get used to it,” she said, sparking loud laughter. “You just say, ‘I’m going to write anyway.’”
