Interview with Elizabeth Goddard

I’m delighted to host one of the Suspense Sisters, Elizabeth Goddard. When you’ve finished reading the interview, leave a comment to be eligible to receive a copy of her latest book, Deception.

SS: When did you realize you wanted to be an author?

EG: I’ve always been a writer—it’s just an inherent gift or calling, I guess. It’s either in you or it’s not. I wrote my first novel when I was fourteen—or I attempted to write one. I dreamed of being an author for years, but it wasn’t until 2001 when I joined then ACRW (now ACFW) that I had hope of realizing that dream.

SS: What are some of the challenges you face as a writer? Are there aspects of your life that are hard for family and friends to understand? What are they?

EG: Juggling life is always hard for writers, but for the first time in my life, I have a good writing schedule and I get my word count done in the morning and the afternoon is for my family and the rest of life.  The toughest part for my family to understand is that I need quiet, and any interruptions could cause me to lose my thoughts.

SS: What genre do you write and why? Are there other genres you’ve written or would like to try?

EG: I’ve always loved reading suspense novels—thrillers, romantic suspense, historical romantic suspense so I love to write romantic suspense stories. I think suspense needs a little romance, and romance needs a little suspense.

SS: How do you create characters? Are they based on people you know?

Creating characters is fun. I don’t try to use people I know, but I think we draw off what we know, so yeah, some small piece of someone I know will go into developing a character. 

SS: Tell us about your current release.

EG: Deception is the sixth and last book in the Mountain Cove series set in stunning southeast Alaska. Here’s the back cover blurb:

TRAIL OF SECRETS 

Mountain Cove: In the Alaskan wilderness, love and danger collide

Jewel Caraway thought she'd left her mistakes in the past—but then her past arrives at her door. Though she's thrilled to reunite with her estranged sister, something about her sister's new husband makes Jewel uneasy. Does he know her secret? Is he the one behind the growing list of attacks against her? And if he is involved…does that mean her sister is, too? With nowhere else to turn, Jewel must rely on police chief Colin Winters—the first man to make the widow question her resolve to never love again. But will he stay by her side when her guarded secrets are revealed? 

 SS: Where did you get the idea for this book?

EG: After writing five Mountain Cove books, a couple of the secondary characters were strong enough and I knew they needed their own HEA.

SS: Tell us about your main characters. 

EG: Jewel Caraway runs the Jewel of the Mountain Bed and Breakfast. She’s widowed and in her mid-forties. Chief Colin Winters is also in his mid-forties. Both have secrets in their past they’d like to forget about—but those secrets are on a collision course.

SS: Is there a spiritual message in your book? If so, what is it?

EG: Definitely. Have you ever made a decision, a choice that turned out to be a mistake? What if that mistake finds you years later and the repercussions are far more than you could have imagined? Thank God for His grace and mercy! As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

SS: What are you working on now?

EG: I’m working on the third book in Wilderness, Inc., my new series set southwest Oregon.

SS: Tell us three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.

EG: I wanted to be a marine biologist but scuba diving terrified me. I played the cello in the high school orchestra. My great-grandmother was a Bruce, as in “Robert the Bruce.”

SS: Favorite TV shows?

EG: I’m hooked on Broadchurch

SS: Anything special you eat or drink while you’re writing?

EG: I used to eat Peanut M&M’s to power my brain, but I’m bordering on pre-diabetic so now I have to find something else to fuel my mind. Suggestions?

SS: How do you celebrate after completing a book?

EG: Take the family out to eat.

SS: Where can readers find you on the Internet?

EG:

My home page, my Facebook page, and on Twitter. Also, sign up here for my Great Escapes newsletter. 

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