Years ago, Linda’s mother encountered a brick wall when assessing the likelihood that a certain eighteenth-century printer was an ancestor. Because this printer had some of the best family stories, Linda decided to help her document. It didn’t take long for her to realize that genealogy was hard work. Switching focus, she decided she’d dog her potential ancestor’s footsteps instead.

She researched what life might have been like for a printer’s apprentice in 1780s Philadelphia: who his neighbors might have been, what his daily work load was like, what he might have done to pass the time, where and what he ate, and so forth. If she could reconstruct his life, perhaps she’d have a better idea of what rocks to overturn when looking for documentation.

While she came no closer to solving the riddle, she quickly became captivated by this man’s history and it no longer mattered. Tracing paper trails quickly gave way to creating her own stories, and she now writes historical novels under the pen name Linda Lee Graham. Some are even inspired by family lore.

Linda lives in Arizona with her husband and their three spaniels. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or via an email to linda@lindaleegraham.com.