Book Talk with Linda Huber

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Book Talk with… feature. Today my guest is author Linda Huber, who’s going to be talking to us about her favourite books, her writing, and her affection for a certain book and television detective. *Sigh*.  Hi, Linda. Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself please?

Hi everyone, lovely to be here! I live and write in a small town on the banks of lovely Lake Constance in N.E. Switzerland. I have twelve psychological suspense books published, the latest three by crime fiction publisher Hobeck Books. This year, however, I’m concentrating on my feel-good fiction series and writing as Melinda Huber (she’s much nicer…)

 

 

Oh, I don’t know. Linda’s always been pretty friendly to me! Your home sounds idyllic, not that I’m jealous. Nope, not at all… Anyway, let’s crack on with the questions, shall we? What’s your favourite childhood book and why?

My best book present ever was Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons. I’d seen the TV series, and I still remember the speechless joy when I opened a birthday present from an aunt and found the book. I literally read that book to bits over the years.

 

Aw, that’s so lovely! I remember feeling the same emotion when I held a copy of Dora at Follyfoot in my hands after loving the series so much. Do you have a favourite among the books you’ve written yourself?

After nearly forty years here, home is definitely Switzerland, but I have a very soft spot for Glasgow, where I grew up. So Stolen Sister, the first book I set there, has to be a favourite. Also, I think, because it’s one of my suspense novels that doesn’t involve a crime. Daria’s Daughter is a close second favourite, for the same reasons.

 

 

 

Do you read any genres apart from the ones you write in?

I read most things, but probably more women’s fiction than anything else at the moment.

 

Do you prefer hardback, paperback, e-book, audio, or no preference?

After resisting for years, I’m now a total kindle convert – it’s so much easier on the eyes! Probably 90% of what I read is on e-book now. Unfortunately, I don’t have the inner peace to listen to audiobooks, though several of mine are out in audio and I love dipping in and out of them.

 

I’m the same. I know some people are resistant to e-books but they’ve been a real blessing to my eyes and wrists. Not to mention saving me loads of space in the house. Do you read series, or do you prefer standalones?

Standalones – though I do have several series that I follow. Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway books are a huge favourite, and I enjoy her other series too.

 

I keep saying I’m going to read those books. I’ve got a couple on my Kindle and I’ve wanted to read them for years. Must put them on my reading list!  What’s your current read, Linda?

I’m working my way through a couple of MJ Lee’s Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery books – they’re fascinating. As well as Jayne’s search for people’s relatives in the present day, there are scenes from past lives too, so the reader gets to ‘see’ more than the investigating characters.

 

Ooh, they sound interesting. Have you ever preferred a film or tv version to the original book?

I’ve been watching re-runs of the Hercule Poirot stories on TV recently, the ones where David Suchet plays Poirot – they’re so good! I think he brings more to the character of Poirot than Agatha Christie brought out in the books, and his appearance and manner is exactly as I imagined Poirot. He’s by far the best of the film/TV Poirots, in my opinion.

 

Oh my word, don’t get me started on Poirot! I could talk about the books, the series, and how much I adore David Suchet in this role forever and a day! You’re absolutely right about him bringing more to the character. I always visualise him when I’m reading the books, and I do think it’s made me enjoy them even more.  He IS Poirot! Anyway, we’d better move onto the next question or this will turn into a Poirot Appreciation post instead. Is there any particular book that inspired you to write?

Not so much a book as a writer. Back in the day, I devoured Mary Higgins Clark’s books as soon as they came out, then decided to write one of my own. I think it was the combination of psychological suspense plus her strong female characters that did it for me. I especially loved A Cry in the Night – that’s the one that really made me sit down, put pen to paper and write (yes, it was a while ago…)

 

 

What’s next for you, Linda?

I’m currently self-publishing my ‘Escape to Switzerland’ feel-good fiction series – the first three are out, with the fourth coming this autumn. Number five is ready too, apart from the proofreading.

The books centre around a hotel in N.E. Switzerland, in a fictional village that would be very close to where I live, if it existed. Stacy, the main character, is a young English nurse who goes there on holiday, realises the hotel is in dire straits, falls in love and… The latest is the series third, Problems at the Lakeside Hotel, which involves a few weather issues we encountered here the year there was a flood. I’d originally intended to end the series with number five, but the plot for a sixth is dancing in my head, so I’ll be Melinda for a while yet (which is probably better for my blood pressure…)

Will there be another suspense book? Maybe…

 

Thank you so much for joining us today, Linda. Good luck with the writing, and happy reading!

 

Linda Huber grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, but went to work in Switzerland for a year aged twenty-two, and has lived there ever since. Her day jobs have included working as a physiotherapist in hospitals and schools for handicapped children, and teaching English in a medieval castle.

Find Melinda Huber’s series page here.

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Saving the Lakeside Hotel

 

 

A holiday – or the chance of a lifetime?

Stacy can’t believe her luck when her best friend Emily invites her on a holiday to Switzerland. The girls arrive at the Lakeside Hotel with high hopes, but their problems begin straightaway. Emily’s knee injury is restricting, and something is wrong at the hotel. Why is the owner’s son so bad-tempered? And where are all the guests?

Rico Weber knows the answers. He and his hotel-owner father Ralph are grieving the loss of Rico’s mother, and without her good business mind, Lakeside is sliding ever further into financial ruin. It’s not what Rico wants – but can he persuade Ralph to start again?

By the last day of the holiday, Stacy knows her life will never be the same again. But the end of the week is just the beginning of the Lakeside adventure…