Lisa Harris Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

A:  I have a wonderful, supportive husband and three beautiful children. We’re in the middle of a lot of transition as my oldest just headed off to university! We’ve lived in southern Africa for almost twelve years now where we are involved in discipleship, church planting, and humanitarian work. And while it’s hard to believe it, I started writing over eighteen years ago and am thrilled to still be able to keep writing down the stories in my mind.

Q: As a child or teenager, did you ever dream of being an author?

A:  Yes. But I never took writing seriously until I was much older.

Q: What was your biggest obstacle on the road to publication?

A:  Having enough patience to really learn the craft. And I’m still learning as I go!

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Vendetta?

A:  Book one in the Nikki Boyd Files is set in the stunning Smoky Mountains. No one needs to push Nikki Boyd to excel on the Tennessee Missing Person Task Force. The case of her own missing sister, still unsolved after ten years, is the driving force in her work. When a Polaroid photo of a missing girl shows up at a crime scene, Nikki quickly recognizes similarities to the past. The closer she gets to the abductor, the more she feels that this case is getting personal, and that she is not the hunter at all–but actually the one being hunted.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?

A:  It started with the idea of doing a missing person series. I really love character driven novels, even with suspense, so I had one of my characters motivated by the fact that her own sister went missing a decade ago. Originally, I was going to focus on different people on the task force, but my publisher wanted me to stick to telling stories about Nikki Boyd. In the end, I love this because it makes for great suspense, but you really get to know Nikki throughout the series.

Q: Tell us a little about your main character and how you developed him/her.

A:  Nikki Boyd brings a great deal of knowledge to the missing person task force after spending a decade studying missing person cases and, and memorizing abductors MO and profiles in the search for her sister. But while her motivation for what she does is strong, there are time when she struggle not to get too close to her cases—especially in this story. In Vendetta, she ends up questioning if she can keep working on the task force without her emotions affecting her work, but in the end she is able to realize she’s stronger than she thinks.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?

A:  I’m working right now on two projects. Book three of my Nikki Boyd series, and One, another book for LIS that is set in the Sahara.

Q: What is a favorite memory from your childhood?

A:  Reading high up in one of our trees in the backyard.

Q: Where do you escape for some quiet time?

A:  Quiet time? That’s a rare commodity in my life. When I can, I love driving through the bush and watching for birds and animals. No cell phones. No computers. No distractions.

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t writing?

A:  Sleeping. 🙂

Q: What is the craziest, most risk-taking thing you’ve ever done?

A:  Here’s the thing. I’m really not a risk-taking, adrenaline junkie. At all. Which is funny, because I love making my characters suffer and have to take huge, life-hanging-in-the-balance risks. But I suppose moving halfway across the world with my family seems a bit crazy even to me sometimes.

Q: What one thing have you always wanted to do but couldn’t afford to do?

A:  I would love to take a cruise and visit the Antarctica.

Q: I’m an avid gardener and have to ask what kind of flower you would be and why?

A:  My favorite flower—at least in Africa—is the Impala Lily. They are pink with dark pink rims and beautiful.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A:  I’ve got a brand new website at www.lisaharriswrites.com

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?

A:  Thanks for having me!