Liz Johnson Interview

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

A. Hmm ? a bit about myself. I talk to myself a lot. Is that enough? 🙂 Seriously I’m a graduate of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ, where I earned a degree in public relations. I’m a full-time publicist in the Christian publishing industry, an infrequent jogger, and I don’t write nearly enough. I love ice skating and movies and a good TV show on dvd. I volunteer in my church’s bookstore several times a month, and I own way more books than I should.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. Writing has always been a big part of my life. I wrote my first story about a bear when I was 7. I signed my first contract at 27, and all through those in between years, I was busy writing. But it wasn’t until after college that I really thought about trying to have a book published and started working toward that.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?

A. After college, I knew I wanted to work in publishing, but I found it really hard to get a job-in any field. So my uncle told me about a program he’s heard about, Jerry B. Jenkins’ Christian Writer’s Guild. I looked into it signed up for the two-year correspondence course. I enjoyed the practice in many different types of writing and attended several of their conferences. I talked with a lot of editors and agents, but I hadn’t written a book yet. I just had ideas. It wasn’t until I started working in the publishing industry that a friend of mine said she couldn’t wait to read the book that I told her I wanted to write. She became my accountability partner, checking with me every morning to see if I’d written the night before. As I wrote that first real book, I always had Love Inspired Suspense in mind as a publisher. But when I submitted it to them, I was rejected the first time around. But persistence and flexibility really paid off for me, as I offered to make some changes to meet their needs. It took nearly a year, but last July I got the call that they wanted to offer me a contract. It was a huge moment for me!

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release, The Kidnapping of Keznie Thorn?

A: Myles Parsons is just another inmate in Kenzie Thorn’s GED course until he kidnaps her, offering only a feeble explanation-that he’s actually FBI Special Agent Myles Borden. Terrified, Kenzie doesn’t want to believe his story of being undercover to protect her. Moreover, she can’t believe that someone might really want her dead. But just when Myles thinks he has her out of harm’s way, his plans start to fall apart. He attempts to take Kenzie to a safe house-but the stubborn woman won’t go! So together they must uncover the clues that will reveal a most shocking perpetrator. All the while Myles tries to keep his distance from Kenzie ? but finds himself falling in love.

Q: The plot of this book is so creative. How did you come up with the plot?

A. When I was a senior in college, my best friend from high school asked me to write to her brother who had been recently sentenced to 5 years in prison. I was a little hesitant at first, but I realized it was an opportunity to show him God’s love in a time when he really needed it. We wrote for 5 years, and it really made me wonder if there is anything that would make someone willingly go behind bars. From there, the idea just started bouncing around in my head, and it slowly took shape. Kenzie’s reliance on her family and the need to learn to rely on God fell into place as God was teaching me to rely more on Him at the same time.

Q: If The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn were made into a movie who would star in the key roles?

A. My editor deserves credit for coming with the idea of Debra Messing to play Kenzie. It’s true. With long, wild red hair, pale skin, and a slim frame, I think she’s a perfect fit. As for Myles ? well, he was harder to pin point. What actor could possibly be the model for such a tough guy, with a kind heart? It was my writing buddy Jess Barnes that suggested Adam Baldwin, who plays Casey on Chuck. And she was absolutely right on. He’s the perfect fit! And I couldn’t agree more now that Jess met him and gave me a picture of him holding my book. It’s a pretty awesome picture!

Q: What inspires you to write?

A. I’m motivated to write because I feel like it’s a talent God has given me, and I need to use to His glory. I want to use the gifts I’ve been given, so I’m eager to keep writing and see what God does through it in my life and how He might use something I’ve written in the lives of readers.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?

A: Wow! That’s a tough question. I’m not sure I had had a lot of big expectations. But I certainly didn’t expect it to be such an emotional experience. When I held my book in my hands for the first time, I cried. I had no idea how amazing it would feel to hold a tangible answer to prayer. On a more day-to-day level, I don’t think I realized how hard it is to get my seat in a chair and get the words on the page. Coming up with ideas has never been a struggle for me. Actually getting them written has taken a commitment I didn’t know I had until I did it. But finishing one book doesn’t exactly make it easy to get the next or the next written. It’s a constant battle.

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

A. I recently finished the follow up to The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn. It’s not under contract yet, but I’m working with my editor on it now. It’s the story of Nate Andersen, Myles’ boss, and it’s a fun romp through Crescent City, Colorado, as he tries to find a girl who disappeared 18 months before. In the mean time I’m working on a proposal for a contemporary romance set in my home state of Arizona.

Q: Would you name three of your favorite fiction books you read in 2008 or 2009 and tell us why you enjoyed them?

A. Recently I read The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall. I got an early copy of it, and I LOVED it! It really made me stop and ask myself if I’m reaching out to unbelievers enough. Am I really following God’s instruction to love the unloved? I’m still asking myself these questions. Last year I read Mark Mynheir’s The Night Watchman and was floored by his sense of characters, time, and place. She’s so talented. Right now I’m rereading my favorite book of all time The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. It’s a beautiful tale of Puritan Massachusetts and a young woman who doesn’t fit in. It’s probably the book that made me want to be a writer, want to not only help people escape but also find some truth and hope in fiction.

Q: What is something your readers might be surprised to learn about you?

A. I’m a huge football fan! I love following the Colts and the Giants (I’m really a Manning brothers fan) every fall.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A. When I’m not writing, I like to tell myself that I should be writing. That’s a pretty normal thing for me. But I also like to hang out with friends. I love movies and just lounging around. I try to make it to the gym or for good walks a couple times a week. Really, I have a pretty relaxed life.

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

A. Thanks so much for having me! It’s been such a pleasure. If readers want to visit me online, they can go to www.lizjohnsonbooks.com to keep up with my writing adventures-or misadventures, as the case may be.