Award-winning author Linda Joyce is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and the ninth of eleven children.
Linda gets her inspiration to write from the colorful lives of her siblings, the many people she meets, and the advice given by Theodore Isaac Rubin that we must learn to love the "fool" in ourselves - that part of us that feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes but loses more, lacks self-control, loves, hates, laughs and cries.
Her straightforward, expressive writing style paints the sound, shape, and color of the characters in her world. Linda has conducted writing workshops at an area high school, a local university, and online in partnership with the Greensboro Public Library.
Ms. Joyce has received numerous awards for writing about her life experiences. NPR (National Public Radio) on Wake Forest University's campus has featured several stories from her memoir "The Second Room on the Right." In 2017, The Nonfiction Authors Association (NFAA) chose Linda as "Author of the Week." In 2020, the NFAA presented her a GOLD MEDAL Award for her poignant memoir.
Linda is a visiting author at area book clubs and available worldwide virtually.
A lesson to teach, and wisdom to share. Reading books about the lives of others has prompted me to tell my story. In almost every book I saw bits and pieces of my life, played out in another time, in another place, with another face. Discussing the struggles of others gave me the freedom and anonymity to voice my own.
What’s more difficult, putting your past in perspective or putting it into print? For many years, several stories deep inside me yearned to be heard. At times, the voices were so loud that my forehead felt like a flashing billboard. Other times a caution sign warned me to consider another path.
Purging the soul is good, but when you pick at old scabs, they sting and threaten to bleed again. The picking burns and brings back old, wretched unforgettable memories. Dipping my toe into the river of retrospection was easy. Putting the past into print proved to be more difficult. But the wounds are now open, and the healing has already begun. I invite my readers to walk along beside me rather than view me from a distance.
