Today we’d like to introduce you to Linne Marsh
Hi Linne, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I fell into a career as a writer. I had big plans to graduate from BYU with a major in English and a minor in editing. I planned to take the world by storm, move to New York, and get hired as an editor for Real Simple magazine. Life had other plans. See I graduated in 2008 during a massive hiring slump. So after multiple failed attempts to get an editing job, I decided on grad school. I’d earn my masters in English literature and see what doors opened.
During my GRE test, I puked in a trashcan, and one glorious week later, I found out my husband and I were expecting our first baby. So he and I pivoted. Again.
That is my life story: pivots, sacrifices, and things working out better than I imagined.
After the grad school deferment, I worked as an administrative assistant for a prominent online dating company while puzzling out the future of becoming a mom and still developing a career. Fortunately, after my sweet daughter was born, I stumbled on a job board that listed an opening for a technical writer with Brainstorm, Inc. I interviewed and dipped my toe into the world of freelance writing.
Since 2010, I’ve worked with various clients creating a variety of content. Being a freelance writer was a fantastic way to channel my work ADD. See I have this habit of getting bored with traditional jobs. My admin assistant job was incredibly mind-numbing for me, but freelance writing projects were (and are) never the same. I’ve been able to work with Microsoft, Nextel, Sesame Street, Gatorade, Alaskan Airlines, and many more notable companies. I get to learn new stuff all the time. The content is always changing, always new.
Freelance writing allows me to tap into my creativity, but it is still rooted in reality. Around 2011, I interviewed a local author in St. George. He introduced me to the League of Utah writers, and just like that, I was sold on a world of fiction. I loved reading, and I toyed around with writing a novel during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo ) 2008, but that interview connected me with a community of writers who amped me up. Ever since then, I’ve worked hard to hone my short story craft. It’s yielded some excellent results. To date, I have short stories published in nine anthologies.
The story behind the creation of my most recent publication is my favorite. In January of 2021, I returned to my dream of grad school. It was a long time in the making. I decided to attend Arizona State University for Professor Devoney Looser. She is a Jane Austen expert with a glowing resume packed with accolades for her contributions to the study of Austen’s cannon. Naturally, I took her class. It was my favorite. She mentioned an essay contest for The Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). With her mentorship, I entered an essay. It took second place in the graduate category. You can see it here: https://www.jasna.org/publications-2/essay-contest-winning-entries/2023-essay-contest/marsh/
I got invited to attend the Annual General Meeting for JASNA in November 2023 where they recognized the essay winners. It was incredibly nerve-wracking to stand up in front of an audience of 800 plus to accept an award. All I could think while walking up to the stage was, “Don’t trip. Don’t trip.” The conference was a whirlwind of knowledge, incredible regency dresses, and even dancing. But most notable was the opportunity to meet like-minded authors.
I was fortunate to sit at a table with the talented Elizabeth Gilliand author of the Austen University Mystery series and co-owner of Bayou Wolf Press. She told me about a short story contest they were running. It was a call for Jane Austen-inspired mystery stories. I’d never written a mystery before; I welcomed the challenge and submitted a short story. On September 10, 2024, my short story “New Year, New Problems” was published as part of Crime and Culpability: A Jane Austen Mystery Anthology.
I have fallen in love with the characters in “New Year, New Problems.” It has inspired me to aim to write a full-length novel. It’s a bit intimidating to borrow Jane Austen’s characters for a retelling, but it has been so fun to build on the foundation Austen created. I only hope I can do her justice.
As I muck through the creative process with my first novel, I’m raising four kids and teaching composition and rhetoric courses at Utah Tech University. My passion for reading and writing is so full, that it bursts out of me. My family gets tired of it, so now I share it with students. They are a (forced) captive audience. They do pay to be in my class, but I teach general education courses, so they have to take them to graduate. I try to make it fun. I understand that reading and writing aren’t everyone’s jam. But I sure do love that I get to help them understand the value of clear communication. Everyone writes; we can’t escape it, so we might as well be good at it.
My life has come full circle: from puking in a trashcan trying to get into grad school, to developing a successful freelance writing career, becoming an award-winning author, and finally earning my masters and teaching composition classes at a university. All of the while, I get to fulfill my most important roles as a wife and mother. I marvel that 15 years ago, I rocked my first baby and wondered how on earth I would make my dreams come true. I didn’t make it to New York and become an editor for Real Simple, but I got a journey that’s been infinitely more exciting. And I’ve learned that life doesn’t go as planned but the pivots can make it better. I’m thrilled with how things have played out. I can’t wait for the next wrench in my plans.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many obstacles in my journey. But they have all made it worth it. I had plans to move to New York and become an editor for Real Simple. Instead, I started my family. I do not consider them an obstacle. I wanted to be a mother. It was unexpected timing for sure.
My obstacle was in trying to figure out how to strike a balance between motherhood and having a career. Luckily, my husband has always been incredibly supportive of my goals. He even deterred attending graduate school so I could achieve my dream of becoming the first in my family to graduate from a university.
I still struggle to find that balance of being a good, attentive mother while fulfilling my dreams. But I remind myself: I’m not perfect. And I think it’s important for my kids to see me working toward my personal goals. They have goals and I have goals, We all help each other achieve them and cheer each other on. I’m for sure not a perfect mother or perfect writer, but I’m the best I can be.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a freelance content writer who specializes in explainer video scripts. Examples are here: https://sites.google.com/asu.edu/linnemarshportfolio/business
Award-winning author known for short stories. I write in various genres: romance, paranormal, thriller, mystery, and contemporary fiction. The romance stories win the awards. The great thing about short stories is you don’t really need to pick a genre. Like my inability to work a nine-to-five office job, I also lack the ability to pick a single genre in which to specialize. I write what I fancy at the moment. Creative writing is a wild profession. Now that I’m trying to break into novels, I’m trying to pick one genre to write. But even if I can’t pick there’s always pen names for multiple genres.
Part-time English Instructor Utah Tech University: I’m most proud that I’m a part-time instructor with an academic journal publication. Not many instructors have academic publishing credit.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
People can support me by reading my short stories and leaving reviews. They can also follow me and interact on social media platforms.
I’m still taking a few projects as a freelance writer. So they can also contact me to discuss the scope of their project and my rates.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/asu.edu/linnemarshportfolio/business
- Instagram: @Library4One
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinneElizabeth/
- Other: https://linneelizabeth.wordpress.com/?_gl=1*1sf1lh3*_gcl_au*MTQ2NDk2NjAxMy4xNzI2MzcwMzk5
