sisters on tour | Darlene Foster's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘sisters on tour’

SISTERS BOOK LAUNCH BLOG TOUR

Posted by: Darlene on: August 13, 2025

In: Blog Launch Tour | Books | Writing
134 Comments

I am delighted to feature two talented sisters on my blog as they are both launching new books! Please welcome authors Jan Sikes and Linda Brody as they discuss writing and their books.

We are deeply grateful to you, Darlene, for offering to host us on your wonderful blog site today!

When we decided to launch our new books together on the same day, Linda and I wanted to make it something special. It feels like we are making publishing history, and perhaps we are.

For this blog tour, we’ve chosen questions and answers designed to give the readers a deeper look into who we are, our background, and how we ended up where we are today, launching books together.

Question: What is the earliest piece of writing you can each remember doing?

Linda: I think the first thing I really remember writing was a short story for English class. It was about a group of ants playing football in the Sugar Bowl. The teacher gave me high marks for that. I also recall a story about a squirrel and an aggravating dog that wouldn’t leave it alone. You know—stories worthy of the Nobel Prize in Literature! That was very gripping prose.

Jan: The earliest thing I can remember writing is a gospel song. I was probably around eight when I wrote it. Linda and I had an uncle who lived with us for most of our growing-up years, and he was an alcoholic. I loved him so much, and the song was my way of expressing the hope that he would find Jesus.

Question: Are there any commonalities between these two books?

Linda: Both of our heroes are on a quest. Mine (Cade McIntyre) is searching for his family after they were all split up as kids. Jan’s (Jack Blaine) keeps his eyes open for opportunities. He’s so thirsty for life and he loves helping people, but he has no clear path to his goals.

Jan: As Linda said, both of our characters are on quests of some sort. Besides that, both stories have animals that play an important part in the plots. In Linda’s story, there is a horse with a big personality, while in mine, it’s a dog and a baby bobcat. We both almost always include animals in our writing.

Question: Do you inspire each other when writing your books?

Linda: Jan always inspires me with her unique ability to be authentic and genuine. She faces each day with such joy and optimism, and she projects that to everyone. When I’m down, she encourages me and gets me going again. This is a hard business and people are not always friendly, so Jan is my rock. I can tell her my darkest secrets, and she doesn’t judge. Although I’ve been at this longer, Jan often surprises me with her depth of book smarts.

Jan: That’s high praise from my sister and I can add a big amen to what she said. We definitely support and encourage each other. Because writing is a hard business, you really need someone in your corner that can talk you down off the ledge.

Question: Do you discuss each other’s WIPs?

Linda: Yes, most definitely. This is the best part. We bounce ideas off each other and critique online. If we get stuck, we talk until we get the problem solved. It’s really helpful to have someone who is always a phone call away. It’s really nice to have a partner I can reach out to, and Jan always has the best suggestions for ways to improve my story.

Jan: I’ll add another hearty YES to this question. For years, Linda and I have had a Sunday morning ritual where we make coffee, then talk on the phone. Everyone in the family knows not to call me on Sunday morning. Sometimes we talk for thirty minutes and sometimes for two hours. Then, of course, at any time during the week, we know we can bounce ideas off each other, especially when one of us writes ourself into a corner and needs a different viewpoint to get out. Without Linda as a writing partner, I know my stories would languish. I think that makes me very lucky!