WELCOME TO ELIZABETH GODDARD

 Welcome to the blog this morning where I'll be interviewing Elizabeth Goddard about her new book, Hidden in the Night!

It's so good to 'see' you here, Elizabeth! You are such a busy lady, I'm glad you made time to stop by. So, tell me, are you a panster or plotter?  

Elizabeth: For me, that depends on the publisher for which I’m writing. I was first published with Heartsong Presents and then added Love Inspired Suspense and both publishers required a detailed synopsis, and so in that way I learned to write as a plotter. 

But in writing the longer books for Revell, I’m a pantster. I do like to have some very loose idea in my head. If I have a synopsis, I usually change things up so much that I figure, why waste the time writing a synonpsis. Ha! I have to live in the story world with my characters to truly know what the story is about. That said, I think it’s a “spectrum” for all writers and you lean one way or the other. Pantser when I’m writing long books and a plotter for Love Inspired Suspense.

Patricia:  I totally get what you mean. No matter how many synopses write, the story never turns out like the synopsis! Does writing energize or exhaust you? 

Elizabeth: Both. I get super excited when I come up with a new idea and it’s time to let the creativity flow. Then when I’m actually writing, expanding that same story idea into a novel, and I have to use the workhorse side of my brain. I’m worn out at the end of the day. 

Patricia: Amen! I always say the FBI has a folder on me somewhere. What have you researched that makes you think the FBI might be interested in you? 

Elizabeth: What haven’t I researched? I often hear “you’re on the list now” when I talk about some possible criminal ideas. I wonder if that “list” actually exists, or why they would bother when there is already more crime out there than they can handle! I did a lot of research on bombs but what suspense writer hasn’t? I don’t like to dive too deep into the dark side of crime, personally, and shy away from that in my novels and in my reading. 

Patricia: Totally understand! Would you tell us about your current book release (HIDDEN IN THE NIGHT)? 

Elizabeth: This is the last installment of my Missing in Alaska series and centers around a former FBI agent turned rare book collector. Ivy goes in search of a lost Jack London manuscript in Southeast Alaska. The story quickly turns into the search for a missing girl, who is possibly trafficked. Ivy teams up with Alaska State Trooper Nolan Long and together they battle a blizzard, sabotage and all manner of danger as they earch for answers that lead them to deadly secrets buried in the ice. 

Patricia: Oh, wow! That sounds so interesting. You have such intriguing plots! And I love your characters. I heard you're working on a new series. Can you tell us a little about it? And when it will release.

Elizabeth: Right now, I’m working on the second book in a new series called Hidden Bay. The series centers around characters who have come to a storm-watching lodge on the Washington coast/ Olympic Peninsula (think rocky coast and rainforest) to escape the danger. Storm Warning (book 1) releases in February 2025! 

Patricia: I can't wait to read the new series! Oops! It looks like our time is up. Thanks so much for joining us here on the The Suspense Sisters, Elizabeth.

For more information on Elizabeth and her books check out her website: https://elizabethgoddard.com/

Readers, leave a comment along with your contact information (you at whatever dot com) and I'll enter you in a drawing for a copy of Shadows at Dusk! 

And the winner of an e-copy of Roxanne Rustin's Fatal Truth is...Alicia Haney!