Linda Jo Martin (Linda BookLady)

Hello! Welcome to my profile and page listing. I'm glad you're here.

I'm a memoir writer and published novelist, and a book blogger. I'm a frequent reader and love to write reviews of all types of books. Right now my favorite genres are Christian literature, contemporary fiction, and memoirs. I'm called the Book Lady on YouTube. I have a goal to read all the books on the Newbery Medal list (honor books included). One of my book blogs is for children's literature and the other one contains all my other reviews, lists, and challenges, plus it doubles as my writing blog.

I'm a happy Idaho senior citizen with many exciting life experiences to write about. When I was young I wondered what to write about, but now I'm so full of ideas I'll never get to write them all. Every morning I journal two pages, or three, and do a bit of Bible study as well. I've read the entire Bible. Honestly it took me years because I'm a slow reader. I started reading it because I reasoned that it is the most influential book in the world and I wanted to know what it said. By the time I finished, I'd become a born again Christian.

I'm the survivor of domestic abuse, both physical and verbal/mental. My last try at having a love relationship with a man was a disaster. He turned out to be a user and narcissist - very hard to live with! After leaving him and going no contact I moved 700 miles away and two weeks later gave my life to Jesus. Everything is much better now. I love living alone and love my peace of mind - something entirely lacking while living with the verbally abusive narcissist.

I graduated from Shasta College in Redding, California, in the Early Childhood Education program, in 1977. I learned to speak Spanish there as well. Later I graduated from College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California, in the Legal Assisting program in 1991. My main interest in using these two fields of childhood education and paralegal studies is to work to help parents who have been unjustly accused of child abuse or neglect. Unfortunately that's a common situation in America these days, as well as in other countries. I focus on helping Americans only because I don't know the laws in other countries. Because there are many thousands of desperately needy, traumatized parents, and only one of me, I decided to put all my information on a website that's been on the web since 2001 - FightCPS.com.

Although my desire to help those parents (and grandparents) is the most important work I do, I have to balance my life experiences or I'll just go crazy with distress over people who I know are hurting badly. I have deep feelings for the trauma they're enduring so it can be a real burnout for me to hear these horrible sad stories every day. That's why I spent time doing other things like reading and book blogging.

I've written a lot of novels but only one is published right now - it is called River Girl, and is available on Amazon.

I enjoy making silly videos for YouTube, reviewing books, audiobooks, climbing steep hills for fun and exercise, riding a bicycle, hiking, walking, trying to stay in shape (hahahaha)… okay, I'm 60+ so staying in shape is getting harder!

I enjoy travel when I can afford it but I live simply and don't do a lot of shopping anymore, except for groceries. I guess you could say simple and frugal living is a way of life for me.

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I lived in San Francisco as a young adult, and for a short time lived in the Southern California town of Vista. I moved to Northern California (Redding) then to Central California (Modesto, Merced, Tulare, and Visalia) then back to the San Francisco Bay Area. I lived there a few more years in North Oakland, then Pittsburg near the Sacramento River.

Next I moved north to the Klamath River Valley where I lived 13 years in a cabin in the mountains outside the town of Happy Camp, twenty miles south of Oregon. I'd never lived outside of California before, and I really wanted to, so in 2013 I moved north to Idaho where I live near the Spokane River, about 10 miles west of Lake Coeur d'Alene. I love this area and appreciate the apartment I'm in. It is so comfortable - two bedrooms with all energy-saving everything.

I have a great view of the Selkirk and Bitterroot Mountains. The Selkirk Mountains extend up into Canada and I see only the southernmost hills. The Bitterroot Mountains are part of the Rocky Mountains. I think I live in a beautiful place and there's a big city, Spokane, Washington, nearby.

Well, if you've read all this you must really want to know about me. Thanks for reading. There's a lot more to say, but I guess I'll wait and write Hubs about those things. I hope you enjoy reading my Hubs. I definitely love writing them.

In the Spotlight

Why I Became a Christian in 2013, at the Age of Sixty-One

My Christian friends tell me it is unusual for older people to become Christians, so I've decided to explain what led me to this. My story starts with my many years of truth-seeking, starting at age 7.

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  8
  Getting Rid of Possessions

  Downsizing for a Long-Distance Move: My Experience

  4 years ago

  Are you downsizing for a long-distance move? Most people at some point need to downsize. Often this happens when the children are grown and the house is too big for just one or two people, so a smaller home is desirable in a better locale.

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  64
  letterpile.com

  Why I Became a Christian in 2013, at the Age of Sixty-One

  7 years ago

  My Christian friends tell me it is unusual for older people to become Christians, so I've decided to explain what led me to this. My story starts with my many years of truth-seeking, starting at age 7.

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  13
  Gardening

  Urban Farming 101 - Window Gardens, Hydroponics, Vacant Lots

  7 years ago

  Urban farming could save the nation! If we work on self-sustainability via urban farming for city dwellers (or countryside farming for those with acreage) we will be able to survive even if food distribution services cease to function. Relying on...

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  2
  Folklore & Mythology

  Tir na Nog, The Land of Youth

  7 years ago

  Tir na Nog is an island in ancient Irish mythology. Tir na Nog, in the Old Irish language, means Land of Youth. The Irish had many legends, and Tir na Nog was in some of them. It is an island far to the west, beyond the Irish shoreline, and beyond...

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  64
  wehavekids.com

  Child Custody Battles and Child Protective Services (CPS)

  16 months ago

  Are you in a child custody battle? If you're separated or divorced, think twice about calling CPS on your ex; you could risk your child's future.

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  36
  Commercial & Creative Writing

  Memoir Writing: Ideas, Techniques, Strategies

  7 years ago

  This page is for collecting and sharing memoir writing information: techniques, strategies, ideas and inspiration. Do you want to know how to write memoirs? Have you had a harrowing experience you need to share with others - such as a medical...

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  58
  California

  How I Moved to a Cabin in the Mountains

  2 years ago

  I always dreamed of being able to move to a cabin in the mountains. This is how I did it. I lived there for thirteen years. Happy memories!

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  167
  Paranormal Beliefs & Experiences

  John Titor - Time Traveler Photos

  7 years ago

  Many people believe that John Titor is the assumed name of a genuine time traveler from the future.

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  47
  wehavekids.com

  How to Get Past Empty Nest Syndrome

  14 months ago

  Coping with empty nest syndrome—the extreme sadness that comes over parents who miss their children after they become adults and move away.

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  350
  Activism

  Child Protective Services False Allegations

  9 years ago

  Child Protective Services (CPS) is an agency that ostensibly protects children, but too often CPS social workers prey on families that are viable and worth saving, then they destroy them.