Elizabeth Goddard Interview

Q: How did you get your start writing fiction and what genre do you predominantly write in?

A. I joined ACFW in 2001, back when it was ACRW, and joined a critique group. And that changed my life. I’d dreamed of writing for years but had no direction until I started submitting a chapter a week to my critique group. We’re all still friends, by the way, and multi-published. I got my first contract with Heartsong Presents back in 2006 and have since started writing for Love Inspired Suspense. Funny that I spent years writing historical romance hoping to get published, but my first novel was a contemporary. Now my primary focus is romantic suspense.

Q: What does your writing space look like?

A: Writing space? What’s that? I know most writers have a place to hang their hat, but I’m in a small house with three boys, a dog and a parrot and there isn’t a specific corner I use. I’m everywhere and anywhere I can find quiet at the moment.

Q: In this busy world, how do you find time to connect with God and how does this impact your writing?

A. This year I started a new habit of being deliberate about reading through the Bible, three chapters at a time. I won’t say that I’ve been completely successful, but just taking that time to focus on the God’s Word keeps me connected. Still, I get up in the morning humming worship songs while I make coffee and I’m not sure I ever really lose touch with God such that I need to make an effort to connect. Make sense? As far as impacting my writing—my stories reflect my spiritual state. Sometimes I’m going through something intense and you’ll see that in the stories. Other times the spiritual aspects are not as deep, but they are still there in the thoughts and actions of my characters.

Q: What part of a writing career do you find most difficult?

A. Deadlines. Deadlines. Should I repeat? Everything gets pushed aside as the deadline grows closer, and all I can think about the book. Then again, if I didn’t have that looming deadline would I ever finish a book? I think my biggest problem with a deadline is I don’t ever feel I have enough time to really think about the story. I know some authors take a year to write one book—and that’s a well-though out story. Deep and rich. Some part of me would love to do that but the other part of me couldn’t look at the same story for that long.

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

A: BURIED is the first book in my Alaska search and rescue series and I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve been thinking about this story for years, and glad LIS gave me the opportunity to create a whole series.

Leah Marks witnesses a police detective murder her boss and the only place she can hide is an off-grid cabin in Alaska. She’s buried in an avalanche and is rescued by SAR volunteer and avalanche specialist, Cade Warren. The detective finds her, and she has to elude him while finding more evidence to put him away, because nobody is going to believe her.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?

A: I read a story about a helicopter pilot writing a message on a coffee cup and tossing it down to some campers on a mountain. He told them there was a shooter on the mountain. From there I started thinking about running from a shooter, a killer, on a mountain, and then I knew I wanted to open the story with an avalanche. It all evolved from there, as stories do.

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

A: I came across an avalanche specialist and talked to him at length about his job. He also trained search and rescue workers, and I knew I wanted to model Cade Warren after him. In fact, I wanted a whole family of Warren heroes. Oh, but wait, that’s the hero—in my stories, for some reason, I start with the hero and my female lead follows. I developed Leah so Cade would have someone to pull out of an avalanche. J

Q: What did you enjoy most about writing this book? Least?

A: I live in the south where it’s hot, and there are three months of blazing sunshine. I enjoyed getting my head into the Alaska Panhandle—the Juneau area. I loved, loved, reading about the area, the glaciers and the ice fields. It was like taking a long vacation. What I didn’t enjoy was the endless hours at the computer—but that’s with any book.

Q: What is the main theme or spiritual message of this book?

A: This story explores the questions we have for God when things don’t go the way we hope or dream, or even believe we deserve. We question God and often drift away, or blame Him or stop trusting Him. The message is learning to trust God even when nothing is going our way, to just trust everything, give it all, over to God.

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

A. Glad you asked. J I’m writing the fourth book in my Mountain Cove series, and this story involves Adam Warren, the last sibling. It’s a lot of fun because if involves spelunking and shipwreck treasure hunting. All interesting stuff. I love adventures. I’m also working on a proposal for two more Mountain Cove books, and a new series.

Q: If you could have dinner with 2 people, who would they be?

A. Okay. This is going to sound silly, but the first thing that popped in my mind when I read this question was I’d love to have dinner with Ina Garten, Barefood Contessa, and her husband! I love watching her cook and she’s always making up something scrumptious to feed her hubby, so yeah, I’d love to have dinner with THEM, and you can bet it would be amazing. Laugh if you want.

Q: Do you have a favorite hobby?

A. With writing and home schooling you can imagine there isn’t room for much else, but I love baking bread. I bought a lot of books on the topic and enjoy trying new recipes, but I especially love that I don’t need a bread machine or even a recipe. I can whip up bread dough in a few minutes and shape it, bake it for dinner in a few hours. It’s the sort of hobby that everyone can enjoy.

Q: What is the most rewarding thing you have ever done?

A. You mean besides getting married and having children and accepting Christ? The most rewarding thing is that I have stayed home, given up a corporate America career, to home school my children. Aside from that, I would say the next most rewarding thing (even though you didn’t ask) is writing a novel. Yep. It’s always been a dream deep inside me. One I didn’t pursue because I didn’t think it was possible, and then finally I went for it.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A. http://elizabethgoddard.com, http://facebook.com/elizabethgoddardauthor, http://twitter.com/bethgoddard, http://suspensesisters.blogspot.com, http://christiansread.wordpress.com

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

A. Thanks for stopping by! Oh, and every month, I run a contest over on my blog. Stop by to see what I’m giving away this month and enter the drawing.