Game Talk - Linda D. Addison
- Mar 8
- 4 min read
Author. Poet. Editor. Mentor. Linda is all of these and more. And with such a track record spanning decades of achievement and accolade, there's no question that the lady has game. Time to get into the basics.
1. For those who don't know, who are you?
Once upon a time there was a skinny kid who day dreamed all the time of magical beings, of cats who could fly and she had huge magical dragon wings. Many years later she has a dragon tattoo on her arm, still day dreams of strange, weird things, makes poems and stories out of them so others can read them and to her great surprise has received much admiration for these works, including awards.
2. Game talk – how do you organise and manage your game? How has it evolved?
I started sending my work to places I wanted to see myself in print when I graduated from college. After reading magazines and books about the business of writing I adopted the method of picking two to three markets for the poem/story I finished and sent them to the highest paid/biggest dream market first. I decided that if I was going to get rejected, I might as well start at the top. I was also committed to learning more about writing, to add skills to my writing tool box. For many years I received rejections and only once did I stop in the 80’s for a short time because I felt I wasn’t going to break through, but I went back to the plan: learn, write, submit, repeat…
Over the years since I have published many times and been blessed with recognition of my work. I still look for ways to learn, write, submit…repeat.
3. Talk us through one of your biggest achievements in your game – give us the story behind it. How did it play out?
One of the biggest achievements was the publication of my first book, “Animated Objects” in 1997 by Gordon Linzner (Space & Time Books). It was the best of my poems and fiction to date. When I first held that book in my hands I felt happy and complete, like the little girl who just wanted a book with her name on it.
4. You mention the publication of Animated Objects as your first book, and also the awards for your works. Given the achievements and length of your career such far, how do you see the accumulation of those milestones - and what's the next one in your sights?
Receiving my first HWA Bram Stoker was mind blowing and I didn't know how to handle it other than just to say thank you to the universe and the members of HWA for acknowledging my work. When the second one came around, I was like wow what's going on? This is amazing. Then I realized the fact that I was the first African-American to win could allow me to help others through the door that I had just opened.
I am deeply aware that there are other people writing that may not have opportunities to be read because they look different or sound different and I'm not just talking about African-Americans. I am just one of many human beings on this planet who don't fit into the mold of someone who writes horror or science fiction or fantasy. It is important for me to spread the light, to pass on any information I have accumulated in my journey so far and in the future. Whatever I may accomplish from today on will allow me to share more with others in the field. I'm challenging myself to write longer work (novels, novellas) and poetry in different formats.
5. It's great if things go according to plan. Tell us about when it didn't; how did you handle it? What were/are those challenges?
The biggest test was when I received so many rejections I decided to stop writing in the 80’s, I decided that getting published wasn’t for me. It didn’t take long for me to start feeling like a pressure-cooker ready to explode. After a weekend of incidents that seemed chaotic I decided to go back to writing/submitting, even if it was going to result in rejections because writing and trying to get published made me feel sane.
6. Give a pep-talk to someone on game in your field.
There is no one else like you in the world, no one else to tell the stories/poems/songs/art that come through you, the way you do. The only failure is in not following your soul purpose, because that is the Way to success by learning from each time. Allow yourself to love your work, published or not.
7. Promo for latest work; headshot, website/links:
My site: www.LindaAddisonWriter.com
2025 books:
EVERYTHING ENDLESS written with Jamal Hodge, is a HWA Bram Stoker finalist!
AN ILLEGAL FEAST written with Consuelo G. Flores, Andrea Goyan, Elizabeth Eve King & Elizabeth Wong.
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