INTERVIEW WITH ANGELA RUTH STRONG

Angela Ruth Strong sold her first Christian romance novel in 2009 then quit writing romance when her husband left her. Ten years later, God has shown her the true meaning of love, and there's nothing else she'd rather write about. Her books have since earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been optioned for film, won the Cascade Award, and been Amazon best-sellers. She also writes non-fiction for SpiritLed Woman. To help aspiring authors, she started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho, and she teaches as an expert online at WRITE THAT BOOK. Find out more at www.angelaruthstrong.com.

INTERVIEW
 
If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say?

I’d like to think I’m a good balance between whimsical and sensible, but I probably err to the side of whimsy.

What do you do when you’re not writing? Any interesting hobbies?

My jobs are my hobbies. I work at an airline, so I can travel, and I teach yoga so I get paid to stay in shape. Besides that, I love scrapbooking and going on Harley rides with my hubby.

Tell us three things about yourself that might surprise your readers.

1. I’ve ridden on the shoulders of a unicyclist. 2. I won a TV and Xbox in a  hamster ball race where I was the hamster. 3 I broke my ribs cheerleading when a basketball player dove out of bounds and knocked me into the bleachers. I wrote about it and sold the article to a national magazine when I was seventeen. Easiest money I’d ever made at the time, and I decided to become a writer.  

What genre did you start out writing? Have you changed course? Is there another genre you’d like to try someday? What is it?

I studied journalism in college but then started my family early, so I began with writing picture books, which I absolutely love but never sold. Some of them got published in magazines like Hopscotch, which was pretty cool. As my kids grew, I wrote a middle grade novel series for them. And I’m really glad I write clean romance novels because my kids read those too. They range anywhere from rom/com to cozy mystery to romantic suspense.

If you could go back in time and do something differently at the start of your career, what would it be?

I don’t know. I made a lot of mistakes, but I’d like to think I learned from them all. Of course, there are some editors and agents that I hope don’t remember the other name I wrote under before marrying Mr. Strong.  

Do you have any writing goals you haven’t met yet? What are they?

Always. I’m learning to write screenplays now, so all those mistakes I made as a newbie novelist, I get to make again.

What are you working on now?

Book #4 in my CafFUNated Mysteries, A Mug of Mayhem. This one is set at a retirement center, so I’ve got former CIA agents, spies with dementia, and a cancer patient who may or may not be using her wigs as a disguise. Tee-hee.

What is the most important thing you’d like readers to take away from your books?

I believe what sets Christian fiction apart from mainstream fiction is hope. As for my books in particular, I don’t want the romance to be only about a woman falling in love with a man but for the woman to find out how loved she already is by God. That’s what changed my life, and I believe love is what changes the world.

Anything else you’d like to share?

In my latest novel, A Latte Difficulty, I’ve planted two “Easter Eggs” where I reference other Christian mystery/romantic suspense series. Any avid readers who find at least one of them in the month of April can enter to win an Easter basket with a $25 Starbucks gift card inside. Here’s the link to enter. 

A LATTE DIFFICULTY

 

Can two baristas track down a gunman after the espresso shot heard ‘round the world? 

When Marissa witnesses an attempted murder during the 4th of July parade, it starts a battle for her independence. She is forced to hide out in a safehouse, leaving her co-owner, Tandy, to run their coffee shop, track down the criminal, and, worse, plan Marissa’s wedding. Thankfully Tandy has help, but can she really trust the P.I. in a bow tie, her new deaf barista who acts more like a bartender, or a wedding planner who’s keeping secrets?

The threat on Marissa’s future goes from bad to worse when her bridal gown is covered in blood. Though her fiancé, Connor, agrees to give up his identity to join her in the Witness Protection Program, Marissa refuses to wave the white flag. Instead, she enlists Tandy to help her fight for truth, justice, and the Americano way.

Angela is giving away a digital copy of A LATTE DIFFICULTY. Leave a comment and your contact information for a chance to win!