Monthly Author Spotlight: Linda Howard.

Posted April 1, 2008 by Rowena in Features | 27 Comments

Here at Book Binge, we have decided to try our hand at spotlighting different authors every month and in addition to spotlighting an author every month, we’ll be doing an author poll of the spotlighted author and then a hero showdown of the all of the author’s heroes from her books.

We think that it will be a good way to liven up this joint over here so be on the look out for more Author Spotlights as the months go on.

Our first author spotlight goes to Linda Howard.

Bio:

Linda S. Howington (b. August 3, 1950 in Alabama, U.S.A.) is an Americanromance/suspense author. Under her pseudonym Linda Howard best-selling author. Before she became a writer she was an avid reader herself and was fond of is a New York TimesMargaret Mitchell novels. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication, which was very successful. She currently lives in Alabama with her husband and two golden retrievers.

She began to write at nine years old, and wrote for twenty years for her own enjoyment. She worked at a trucking company, where she met her husband, and then decided to try and get her work published in 1980. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, joining in 1981 shortly after it was formed. She currently serves as Region 3 Director (until 31 October 2008).

Her husband is a professional bass tournament fisherman, and she travels with him to some very unglamorous locations where she works on her laptop. Linda and her husband live in a big house on a farm in Alabama, where they raise cattle and have two dogs.

Her friends include the authors: Catherine Coulter, Iris Johansen and Kay Hooper.

Linda Howard is one of our favorite authors. She has made us happy, book after book that we’ve read of hers. From Mr. Perfect to Heart of Fire she has not disappointed. Her ability to weave a story with fantastic characters and in your face storylines makes it impossible for you to not fall in love with all of her sexy heroes because Linda Howard can write a sexy hero.

Let’s get to that poll:

1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard?
2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard?
3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard?
4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write?
5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard?
6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero?
7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle?
8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight?
9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it)
10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written?


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27 responses to “Monthly Author Spotlight: Linda Howard.

  1. Oooh, fun! Love Linda Howard.

    1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard? Mr. Perfect
    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard? Sam Donovan
    3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard? Neima Burdock
    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write? Hard one to answer
    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard?Heartbreaker
    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero? Hero from Heartbreaker, something Rafferty
    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle? Heroine from Heartbreaker (can you tell I really didn’t like that book?)
    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? Have yet to read SOT
    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) Still haven’t read Heart of Fire I need to revisit my LH shelf.
    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? The spitting image of Sam Donovan

  2. I so love Linda Howard. She’s one of my favorite authors to re-read.

    1. Do I really have to pick just one? It would probably have to be Mackenzie’s Mountain. I can never re-read this book enough. I love her category romances.

    2. John Medina from All the Queen’s Men.

    3. Rachel Jones from Diamond Bay.

    4. Nicole Mackenzie.

    5. Killing Time.

    6. Rhy Baines from Independent Wife.

    7. Jessica Stanton from All that Glitters.

    8. Who likes incest really? I think in this case that it “fit” in the book.

    9. I really need to re-read Heart of Fire. I barely remember Ben Lewis.

    10. John Medina.

  3. azteclady

    I can’t answer these questions… Well, okay, there’re a couple I can, but it’s almost impossible for me to choose favorites among Linda Howards’ books.

    1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard? A many-way tie.
    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard? Same as above
    3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard? Again a many-way tie
    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write?
    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard? All the Glitters, closely followed by the two books in first voice.
    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero? whatshisface from All That Glitters
    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle? whatsherface from All That Glitters–and the aforementioned heroine from the first person narrative books.
    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? Like it? Hell, no. I do think it fit the story, and provided insight into Jessie’s character, and explained why her grandmother did what she did.
    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) *laughing* Sorry, but he’s not on the top of the list.
    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? Diaz from Cry No More.

  4. 1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard? Toughie. Gonna have to go with either All The Queen’s Men or Diamond Bay or Heart of Fire. Oh wait ALL the Mackenzie stories!! No it’s gotta be Son of the Morning …

    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard? Kell Sabin or John Medina, followed closely by Ben Lewis & Niall- Oh wait ALL the Mackenzie men!!

    3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard? Faith from After the Night

    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write? Well she already sorta did with Ben Starrett from Lady of the West- can’t think of anyone else right now. Hmm maybe I’d have to go with Nicole Mackenzie as well!

    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard? Cover of night or An Independent Wife

    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero? Prolly one from her earliest ones.

    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle? That Malory one in her latest books.

    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? Where as I can’t say I necessarily liked it, I will say it didn’t bother me as much as it did others. They were evil, it worked as far as I’m concerned.

    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) 11!

    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? Like Kell. 🙂

  5. M.

    i’ve never read a linda howard book! this is a good thread to take recommendations about where to start.

  6. M.,
    You can’t go wrong with Heart of Fire. No, really. 😛

    I’ll come back and answer later. 🙂

    Oh, and my comment to Casee after reading these responses (don’t shoot me):

    Dude, am I the only person in the known universe who didn’t think All The Queen’s Men by LH is the best book EVAH?

    ::ducks flying objects::

  7. Rowena

    1. My favorite book is Heart of Fire, though I really, really enjoyed Cry No More too.

    2. My favorite hero hands down is Ben Lewis.

    3. Hmmm, Sarah from Dying to Please.

    4. Blair’s sister.

    5. Killing Time.

    6. I don’t think I have one of these…but if I had to decide the dude with the long hair, you know the one that was afraid of clippers.

    7. I know there is one, Nikita from Killing Time..yeah that’s the one.

    8. NO!

    9. 11.

    10. Just like Ben Lewis.

  8. I have Heart of Fire in my pile, but I can’t bring myself to read it… just can’t. Mental blockage.

    1. Hmmm… That’s a difficult one. Top 3 would be Now You See Her, Sahes of Twilight and After the Night.

    2. Richard Worth

    3. Faith Devlin

    4. No one really…

    5. Cover of Night

    6. From Cover of the Night… can’t remember his name.

    7. Definitively heroine from Cover of the Night.

    8. Which incest? the father and daughter or the cousins? Personally, since it was never an issue between the characters, I just never paid attention. Although kind of agree with whoever said “who likes incest?”

    9. Ben Lewis… he’s from Heart of Night right? Cos his name doesn’t rignt a bell except that I know you guys kind of fight for him. Just to annoy Ro, 1 😛 LOL

    10. Mix of Richard, Gray and Wes + a bit of John Medina. (however, they’re all pretty much the same :P)

  9. Take heart, Holly. I found ALL THE QUEEN’S MEN a little disappointing.

    1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard? MACKENZIE’S PLEASURE
    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard? Zane MacKenzie *fans self*
    3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard? the heroine from DUNCAN’S BRIDE
    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write? Nicky MacKenzie
    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard? INDEPENDENT WIFE
    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero? the hero from SHADES OF TWILIGHT: I thought he be creepy
    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle? Sarah from SARAH’S CHILD: she should have left Rome
    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? It almost made me quit LH altogether.
    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) Um, who?
    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? She is going to have to try something new because I dont have the energy to have sex five times a night.

  10. 1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard?
    After the Night

    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard?
    Sam Donovan – Mr. Perfect

    3. Who is your favorite heroine by
    This one’s a tie
    Faith Devlin – After the Night
    Blair Mallory – To Die For/Drop Dead Gorgeous

    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write?
    Blair’s sister

    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard?
    Cover of the Night. The romance in this one sucked.

    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero?
    I love all her heroes

    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle?
    Sarah from Sarah’s Child

    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight?
    I wouldn’t say I liked it – but it didn’t squick me out like it did some people and they were villians of the book

    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) *laughing* Sorry, but he’s not on the top of the list.
    I’d give him an 8

    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written?
    I think either a knight like Black Niall from Son of the Morning or an outlaw type like Rafe McCay from Touch of Fire.

    I ‘heart’ Linda Howard

  11. The problem with this poll is that as I’m reading everyone’s responses I’m thinking, “oh yeah…him!” Or, “I forgot about that one.”

    However, as a LH lover I can’t pass it up either. I think I’ll do mine in a post!

  12. 1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard? Heart of Fire. Love me some Ben. *coughhesminecough*

    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard? Ben Lewis.

    3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard? Maddie from Duncan’s Bride. There’s something so..real about her. And I love that she didn’t let Duncan get away with anything.

    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write? Louis Gonsard (is that correct? The villain from All The Queen’s Men). I saw an interview she did once where she said she couldn’t ever write it, but out of all her secondaries, he’s the one I want.

    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard? All That Glitters. Worst book I’ve probably ever read. Including The Independent Wife.

    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero? What’s his face from All That Glitters

    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle? I was going to say whatshername from Independent Wife, but someone said Sarah earlier, because she should have left Reese. I agree.

    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? I never really thought of it as incest. I mean, the villain, yeah, that was incest, but the cousins thing or whatever? Eh. That never really registered for me.

    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) 121 million. LOL

    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? Hmm, well, the thing is, she does heroes so well I could honestly pick any of them. But I won’t. I’ll say just like Ben.

    Seton, thank you! I was feeling like the fat kid on the playground.

    Ween,
    I know we love him, but I don’t think our feelings can ever compare to Daph’s. 😛

  13. Rowena

    As much as I liked All the Queen’s Men, it’s nowhere near my favorite LH book. John Medina isn’t my favorite LH hero either, not even in my top 5, weird because he was sexy.

    Remember that scene with Niema when he thought they were going to get caught in Louis private room or something and he just does her?

    Whoa. Funny that of all the things I remember about that book, it’s THAT that stands out..LOL.

    Seton,

    I haven’t read Zane’s book but I want to change that, I hear nothing but good things about those MacKenzie men, I read Wolf’s book and thought WOW, I WANT MORE and then I read Joe’s book and was disappointed because I so loved him in Wolf’s book….*sigh*

    And Ben Lewis, you don’t know who that is? He’s the hero from me and Holly’s favorite LH book, Heart of Fire…we fight over Ben all the time! =)

  14. Rowena

    Farrah,

    *gasp* How could I have forgotten about Sam Donovan? I should be horse whipped to not have remembered that sexy man, with that window scene, *sigh*

    Casee,

    Ewww, that bothered me a whole lot while reading that book but I loved Webb, he was a hottie, but why Roanna and the other cousin?

    azteclady,

    I can forgive you for not digging Ben Lewis since it gives me less competition with him with Holly,LOL.

    M.,

    Heart of Fire, Heart of Fire! =) And welcome. =)

    Nath,

    I’m not annoyed, me and Holly love him enough for every hot dang body on this blog and around the world, twice so it’s all good. =)

  15. LOL, we’re all getting the names wrong 😛 I meant Webb in my post, not Wes. Holly, Sarah’s hero was Roman, not Reese. Although in the end, it ended up well and she’s happy. If she left him, it wouldn’t have happened. She stayed with him because she loved him and she knew that he’d turned around once the baby was born and he did.

  16. Oops. I was thinking Reese because of my answer to number 3. But yes, it was Rome. 😉

    See, the thing is, I think she could have handled it differently. I don’t mean to say she should have left him and never come back, just that she should have..I don’t know, maybe stood up to him? Watching her struggle with her pregnancy alone and then caring for her baby without letting Rome see it..well, that was hard for me to read. I’m not sure Rome did enough in the end to make up for that.

    However, I did love the book. Weird, right? But I think it’s a powerful book and one definitely worth reading. I just think Sarah should have smacked Rome a couple times.

  17. 1. Favorite LH book:
    Son of the Morning just squeaks past Cry No More cuz I didn’t have red eyes, runny nose, and an empty Kleenex box when I finished it. However, I DID have to go wake up my husband. ::waggles eyebrows::

    2. Favorite hero: Tough choice/bad memory but probably either… oh hell, let me go visit Amazon… Dane from Dream Man, Gray from After the Night, Wolf Mackenzie, John from All the Queen’s men, Niall from SotM… I know I’m forgetting some one.

    skip, skip, skipping thru the questions cuz of that whole bad memory thing.

    10. Who would MY LH hero be? roll my #2 answers together. Dane’s humor and patience, Gray’s Cajun accent and sex drive, Niall’s body (and alternate choice for accent), Wolf’s protectivness and tenderness, John’s intelligence.

    Oh and, btw, everyone who thinks these questions would have been a helluva lot easier to answer if Linda freakin’ Howard COULD BE ARSED TO CREATE A FREAKIN’ WEB SITE, please raise your hand!

  18. “but the cousins thing or whatever?”

    Oh see that never registers for me either because it wasn’t BLOOD relative.

  19. Holly, I loved that book too… Thing is, I think that if Sarah would have pushed the issue, Roman would have left. He wouldn’t have been able to bear it in my opinion. Did you read the book that came after it? I can’t remember the title… but in it, Roman and Sarah are very happy with two kids… so I think in the end, he did make up for it 😛 LOL

  20. Rowena

    Holly,

    LMAO…*coughyouwishcough* LMAO LMAO.

    Bev,

    I know, I wish LH would come online and frickin’ set that crap up…it would be so much easier to check her booklist if she could just list them on a site. I have to visit so many sites to get all of the information I want on her and her books.

    *sigh*

    Zeek,

    It registered for me because they shared a relative…it’s like a friend of mine who’s dad was related to his wife, it squicked me out and this book reminded me of that. I still ended up enjoying the book but I thought it was gross. Blood relative or not, family is family and they were too close to it for me. =) My sister wanted to read it and I warned her about it and she flat out refused to read it, even after I told them that they weren’t blood related, she said, “That’s just like RD and I still get grossed out about that so it’s close enough. I’m good, but thanks anyway.”

    It must be a *insert my last name here* thing. *shrugs*

  21. When referring to the incest, I thought we were talking about Jessie and her dad. That was icky, but I thought that it fit in nicely with the story.

    As for Roanna and Webb being cousins? I never thought of that as incest.

  22. Nath,
    Yes, I read the book after it (I’ve read all her books, even the really bad ones…lol) and I know they were happy. But Sarah suffered a lot, and I don’t think Rome did enough to make up for that. Yes, I know he had his own personal demons, but her having to deal with her pregnancy alone…well, that was a tremendous strain on her.

    OTOH, I do think that if it had gone on much longer (Rome ignoring Marissa, I mean) Sarah would have either left him or smacked him. I think that’s one of the reasons I forgave Rome and ended up loving him. That and because that last scene was so powerful.

    Zeek,
    Word. 😉

  23. That’s too many questions. I LOVED Open Season (hello, heroine was a LIBRARIAN, did you doubt I loved it?!), Mr. Perfect, Heart of Fire, Angel Creek, Lady of the West, Touch of Fire, Dream Man, Son of the Morning, Mackenzie’s Mountain….oh who are we kidding which one’s didn’t I like?!

    Well, Cry No More for one, yuck hated it. And some of the other more recent which were more Romantic Suspense (sans the romance..!)

  24. I’m so late coming to this, but I’m still doing it. hehe

    1. Mr. Perfect I remember reading an excerpt in Cosmo magazine and I tore through the store looking for this book. LOL I love it still. The humor is awesome and yeah, love the hot make out scene on the car. 😛

    2. Sam from Mr. Perfect. I love his truck.

    3. Hmmm…I think it would have to be Blair Mallory from To Die For.

    4. Hmmm…I haven’t read enough LHs to make an informed decision.

    5. Killing Time. Just because I was surprised by the time travel plot. LOL

    6. The guy from Sarah’s Child. I wasn’t too impressed with him.

    7. Sarah? LOL

    8. NO. But it fit the story. Jessie was disturbed. ick

    9. I didn’t read Ben’s book yet. Oops.

    10. Like Sam. 😛

  25. I know I’m a little late but here goes! I can’t get enough of Linda Howard 🙂
    1. Can’t pick one: Cry No More and All the Queen’s Men
    2. John Medina or Sam Donovan
    3. Jaine Bright
    4. Can’t remember the name of the book(s), but I like Blaire’s sister.
    5. Sarah’s Child
    6. Rome from Sarah’s Child
    7. Sarah from Sarah’s Child
    8. This is an odd question. I think it fit the book, but I don’t like incest 😉
    9. Oh yum, an 11 at least
    10. Sam Donovan

  26. Anonymous

    1. favorite book by LH : Mackenzie’s pleasure
    2. favorite hero by LH : Zane Mackenzie
    3. favorite heroine by LH : Niema Burdock
    4. secondary character’s story I want LH to write?
    5. least favorite book by LH : Tears of the renegade
    6. least favorite LH hero? Cord Blackstone
    7. heroine by LH I want to throttle? Michelle Cabot and Blair in To die for (eventually she was likeable in Drop dead gorgeous)
    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? NO
    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? Haven’t read Heart of fire yet…
    10. If you could get LH to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? Could be a mix of Zane Mackenzie’ strength, John Medina’s accuracy and Max Conroy’s British charm

  27. lor

    1. What is your favorite book by Linda Howard? Mr. Perfect, followed closely by To Die For.
    2. Who is your favorite hero by Linda Howard? Joe Mackenzie
    3. Who is your favorite heroine by Linda Howard? Jaine Bright
    4. What secondary character’s story do you want Linda Howard to write? Blair Mallory’s sister, Siana
    5. What’s your least favorite book by Linda Howard? All That Glitters
    6. Who’s your least favorite Linda Howard hero? Nickolas Constantinos
    7. Which heroine by Linda Howard did you want to throttle? Jessica Stanton – she cried every time you turned around – not that Nickolas didn’t give her some legitimate reasons to cry, the wedding dress being but one.
    8. Did you like the incest in Shades of Twilight? Not particularly, but it certainly gave a motive for the murder.
    9. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the sexiest, how would you rate Ben Lewis? (Hey, I had to do it) 8
    10. If you could get Linda Howard to write YOUR story, how would you want your hero to be written? Combo of Joe Mackenzie, Marc Chastain, Sam Donovan, Jack Russo and Wyatt Bloodsworth!

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