SPECIAL WHERE ARE THEY NOW INTERVIEW with Linda M. Sauve FKA L.M. Mercer
By: C.W. Winter
Hello everyone! My name is C.W. Winters, and I was brought in to conduct this special "Where are they Now?" Interview for The World of Myth Magazine. I was brought in because I was the only person ever to conduct a WHERE ARE THEY NOW interview. So, management thought it was a good idea to talk with today's guest.
Since everyone thought it would be cool to have me come back and do a follow-up session with our guest some fourteen years after she last spoke with us. With that said, today's guest was once a contributor to the magazine and resident movie reviewer; please help me in welcoming Ms. L.M. Mercer.
First, thank you, Ms. Mercer, for allowing us to sit down with you after all of this time. So, let see what kind of questions we have for you today, shall we?
Linda M. Sauve: C.W. Winter: You came in six months after the magazine launched in issue #6, and you contributed monthly with a combination of short stories and poems until issue #27. In those twenty-one months, do you have a favorite memory during that time?
Linda M. Sauve: Favorite memory, oh where to begin. Not one memory alone, but groups of them. My favorite memories are the late nights Kevin, Dave, Terry, and I spent writing, editing, and discussing our latest projects while working the night shift in the ICU of a small desert hospital. Those are still some of my favorite memories.
C.W. Winter: I know that it was many years ago, but what would you say was your best contribution, story or poem, to the magazine?
Linda M. Sauve: Ah, CW, that is not a question I can answer. You may not know this, but I am my own worse critic. I have never been able to recognize the merit of my own work. If not for Kevin's pressure, he would call it persistent encouragement. I would never have submitted anything to The World of Myth in the first place. To know which contribution was my best, you will have to look to Dave for that answer.
C.W. Winter: What was your favorite genre to write?
Linda M. Sauve: Now that all depends. In general, writing is a way for me to work through stress in my life. So, at different times, I use different genres. For example, poetry has helped me work through emotionally straining periods in my life. I enjoy the artistic freedom afforded by the "fantasy" genre. If you were to flip through the TWOM archive, most of my work has a "fantasy" feel.
C.W. Winter: Speaking of Writing, the last time you were in the hot seat, you were just releasing your first novel, "The Greenhouse Murders." What was that experience like?
Linda M. Sauve: Overall, not what I expected. Lots of additional work, with the edits, formatting meetings, meetings with the cover artist, and meetings/conversations with the publishing team. Definitely an experience of its own.
C.W. Winter: With the good comes the bad. What would you say was the most trying time for you during that period?
Linda M. Sauve: During which period? During the publication process: probably the fact that I was planning a wedding, sewing multiple dresses for the wedding (my bridal gown, maid of honor's gown, flower girl's gown, my sister in law's gown), making centerpieces for the reception, planning a 1600 mile move from the High Desert of California to colorful Colorado, working as an ICU nurse, packing for the said move, all while handling the publication related work. Or perhaps you meant while I was contributing to TWOM on a monthly basis? As a nightshift ICU nurse, single mother of a handicapped child, the trying part was finding the time. Time for anything, really, but especially time to write.
C.W. Winter: The last time we publicly heard from you was after the interview made in your final press appearance. Did you go on and keep writing, or did you move on to bigger and better things?
Linda M. Sauve: Define bigger and better. Really CW, that is a vague, broad question. I have continued to write, with some pauses due to life getting in the way. Shortly after my last interview, the bottom fell out of my world. My daughter passed away suddenly, which plummeted me to a very dark place for a while. Then one night, while drunk in a dive bar holding my friend's hair while she threw up, I decided that wasn't healthy and wasn't how I wanted to live, so I refocused my efforts, choosing to focus on growth and "constructive" pursuits rather than destructive ones. Luckily for me, I have a very supportive husband who strapped in and rode the roller coaster with me. I took a position as the Clinical Director in a home care, had two kids, almost lost my husband to a tumor in his brain, became an amateur cake and cupcake artist/hobbyist photographer, was promoted to Branch and Clinical Director of a home care, left that extremely high-stress position for a vastly more rewarding position as a clinic nurse in a Family Health clinic. Through it all, I continued to write when I had time. I have started several short stories/novellas over the years. I really should finish a few of them. taps her lower lip thoughtfully Dave and Kevin can attest to the fact that when an idea comes to me, I start working on it, to the detriment of other projects, compelled to at least get the bones out. I wrote an erotic fantasy horror short story, which was rejected by multiple publications. C'est la vie, rejections happen. Maybe I should take that piece out, clean it up a bit, you know, make it a little more "PG-13," and see if it gets approved for TWOM.
C.W. Winter: After you left the magazine, where did you go next?
Linda M. Sauve: Short answer - Colorado Springs, for the long answer, please refer to the previous answer chuckling
C.W. Winter: Let's talk about Balcony Betty, shall we? Most people did not know it was you writing those great movie reviews; how did you get started doing that?
Linda M. Sauve: Really, CW, let's just reveal ALL my secrets today. Reaper Rick and Movie Goer Grim caught me in the balcony one too many times and basically twisted my arm until I agreed to try my hand at it. Were you expecting a spectacular tale? It really was as simple as that. I like movies a lot, and much like with literature and music, my taste in film is very eclectic. Back in the day, I liked going to the Friday morning "early bird" screenings. We would talk about the movies old and new. One day I was asked to offer my opinion. Balcony Betty was born as an alter ego, a way I could have fun relaying my thoughts on movies while expressing some of my less than G-rated opinions and thoughts.
C.W. Winter: Jumping to the present, do you do still watch a lot of movies nowadays?
Linda M. Sauve: Not as many as back in Balcony Betty days, but I do still watch a lot of movies, especially with streaming services like HBO Max and Disney +. Recently I have enjoyed "Tomorrow War," "Cruella," "Luca," "Black Widow," "Nobody," "Mortal Kombat," the "Conjuring" series.
C.W. Winter: Can you tell us a fun Terry D. Scheerer story?
Linda M. Sauve: Not without embarrassing myself. smiling thougtfully So I was young when I met Terry, maybe not exactly "young" according to the calendar I did have a seven-year-old (well, almost eight years old) when my first submissions were published on The World of Myth, but boy was I "young" in experience. I had been a nurse for a couple of years but was still very naive in the ways of the world. I remember sitting down with Terry one night in the small break room off the ICU after he had taken a look at an early attempt at writing a love scene, a failure of an attempt, I should say. Boy, that was an awkward conversation for me. Think about discussing sex with your Dad. Your gruff, deep-voiced, Klingon cosplaying Dad, but Terry was able to make it less so, and by the end, it was no longer embarrassing. After years of trying, I have come to the conclusion that love scenes are going to forever be difficult for me to write. Oh well, can't beat them all. Stares into the mid-ground lost in memories Boy can first impressions be wrong. I was so afraid of Terry when I first met him. I was a young Med-Surg nurse, and boy could he be short with us when we needed it, especially when we took a patient off the heart monitors without telling him first. I guess those aren't really "fun," but they are good memories for me and make me smile looking back.
C.W. Winter: Do you still visit the magazine?
Linda M. Sauve: Not as often as I used to, but yes, I do still drop by from time to time.
C.W. Winter: As a writer who was there in the first two years as the magazine, how do you see The World of Myth as it is moving into its seventh year?
Linda M. Sauve: Seventh year? It must be some of that crazy new math; the World of Myth started in 2004. It is now 2021. In my math book, 21 minus four is 17, not 7. Yes, yes, I know there was a five-year hiatus, but it seems even with that gap, we are looking at 12 years, not 7. But who am I to argue. chuckles
C.W. Winter: I stand corrected.
Linda M. Sauve: But seriously, how do I see The World of Myth today? It definitely isn't the same small webzine I started contributing to all those years ago. It has definitely grown over the past 17 years. Boy, do I feel old when I think about it that way. Hell, thinking about the fact that I have been married for 14 years, have known Dave for 18 years, and graduated from high school…gasp…25 years ago, really makes me feel old. Time flies.
C.W. Winter: Is there anything in the works now?
Linda M. Sauve: Yes, I have a full-length novel I am currently buffing. Once it is a bit more finished, I plan to allow it to be read in its entirety by more people than just myself. As of today, three people have read portions of this work. When I first started it, my husband read the first couple of chapters, more years ago than I care to admit. Second, Terry read approximately five pages when the idea for the story and one particular scene came to me at work one night in the ICU. The third is one of my oldest and best friends, Dave, and he has read only a few chapters…I teased him a bit and left him wanting for more. We shall see what comes of it in the long run, but I have enjoyed working on this project. I have also thought about taking The Greenhouse Murders off the shelf, taking a rag to it, polishing it up a bit, and maybe trying my hand at e-book format. On top of that, I still have several plots started that I really should finish.
C.W. Winter: If any of our readers want to contact you via social media, what outlets can they find you at?
Linda M. Sauve: Umm, so I have social media, but it's really a means of staying in contact with friends and family. I wonder if I should set something up again. Like back in the day when I had MySpace, and I can't remember the last time I logged into DeviantArt, I should update that. I will leave that question as "more to come on that front"…
C.W. Winter: Thank you, again, for your time. Before we sign off, is there anything you would like to say as a parting note to our readers?
Linda M. Sauve: What like pearls of wisdom? Damn, CW, nothing like putting a girl on the spot. Never give up. Follow your dreams.
C.W. Winter: Thank you! And thank you to the management for having me come back once more for this issue. 