Q and A with Linda Lael Miller

In honour of the recent release of Big Sky Mountain, the second book by Linda Lael Miller set in the small town of Parable, Montana, I am pleased to welcome Linda Lael Miller here to answer a few questions!

1. Tell us about your first job.

I was a waitress, before and after school, at a place in Northport called The Parrot Room. (Go figure, there were, of course, no parrots.) I loved having my own money, but I didn’t always love getting up early.

2. How did you create the town of Parable, Montana?

Parable is definitely fictional, but I did pattern it in some ways after my mother’s hometown of Choteau, Montana. The terrain is similar and people have the same down-home country values that mean so much to me.

3. What is your favorite way to interact with fans?

Of course the best way to interact with fans is in person—I love to shake their hands or hug them or just say “howdy”—but obviously that isn’t always possible. I tweet and have a Facebook page and, of course, there’s my website, where I blog almost every weekday.

4. Did you always know you would be a writer?

I first wanted to be an actress, then an astronaut. In some ways, I am an actress, because I live the lives of my characters right along with them. I gave up on being an astronaut when I found out I’d have to be good at math—never gonna happen, folks. I was about 10 when I decided I wanted to be a writer, with some encouragement from a special teacher, and I’ve never really deviated from that course since.

5. Do you have any “writing necessities”? A favorite snack, drink, pen, laptop, etc.?

No special needs on that score, unless you count coffee and lots of it, and sometimes music by Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, or Randy Travis, my favorites.


To follow along with the Big Sky Mountain blog tour, which includes excerpts, guest posts, Q and As, giveaway and more, click on this link.

You can also read my review of the first Parable Montana novel Big Sky Country, and my review of Big Sky Mountain will be up shortly too!