Friday Fun: Author Spotlight on Liz Johnson

Ashley here! Welcome to our fun new Friday edition. If this is your first time to stop by with the new Alley format, you're in luck, because today we are doing a GIVEAWAY!!!

I am delighted to host my dear friend Liz Johnson for our author spotlight today. Liz has graciously offered to give away one copy of her beautiful novel The Red Door Inn to a lucky reader (US address only). Comment below to enter, and do remember to leave your e-mail address in case you win. And while you're at it, be sure to keep an eye out for Liz's newest novel, Where Two Hearts Meet, which debuts in October. Get the inside scoop about her newest story right here!

Without further adieu, here's Liz!

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Tell us about The Red Door Inn and your upcoming release!

The Red Door Inn is the first book in the Prince Edward Island Dreams series, and it introduces us to Seth and Marie. Marie is running from betrayal and heartache, and Seth is trying to forget the fiancée who stole his business and cleaned out his bank account. These two broken hearts find their way to the North Shore of PEI in order to help open a new bed-and-breakfast, but neither counts on the other’s presence. For the sake of the inn’s owner Jack, they’ll have to learn to work together to bring a dream to life. And in the process they may find hope, healing, and even love.

Book two in the series, Where Two Hearts Meet, hits store shelves in October, and it’s a trip back to PEI and the inn. Caden, the chef at the Red Door Inn, is back and reluctantly agrees to leave the safety and comfort of her kitchen to show a visiting travel writer around the island in hopes that he can save the struggling inn. But journalist Adam Jacobs is on a forced sabbatical on Prince Edward Island. He's also on assignment to uncover a story. Instead he's falling in love with the island's red shores and Caden's sweets. When Caden discovers Adam isn't who she thought he was, she realizes that the article he's writing could do more than ruin the inn's chances for survival—it might also break her heart.

What's the most random thing in your bag? 

Right now? I just packed my Elvis bobblehead in my bag to take it into my office tomorrow. Because I can never have enough Elvis in my life, and when he’s on my playlist, I bobble him so he’s singing along to me. :)

What are you reading right now? 

I just finished writing a book, so I have time to read for fun again! Right now I’m reading a book that I picked up at the Global Leadership Summit last week—The 4 Disciplines of Execution. It’s not my normal fare, but it’s great for someone who’s tackling a new job, like I am. I’m also reading Sandra Byrd’s Bride of a Distant Isle.

Your movie snack of choice? If I’m splurging and buying at the theater—I love their nachos with a big ol’ diet dr. pepper.

What's your favorite recent discovery?My favorite recent discovery is actually a re-discovery. TNT plays reruns of Castle in the evenings when I get home from work, and I’m loving it all over again. The witty banter between Castle and his muse Beckett is sharp and so fun. 

If you could go back in ti

me to the beginning of your writing journey, what advice would you give yourself? 

I’d like to tell myself to enjoy the journey more. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the rush to write and publish and build my platform and market my books. Sometimes I fail to enjoy the journey. Allen Arnold talks about the joy of creating with the Creator, and while I try to be conscious of that now, I sometimes still miss out on the delight of connecting with God through the process in favor of the stress of just getting it done. I’ll never get those moments back, but I try to be more aware now of how God is with me throughout the process, how his miracles surprise me as I’m writing—like when friends bring me home-cooked meals in the middle of deadlines or when a plot that just isn’t coming together suddenly falls into place. I don’t want to miss the moments when God shows up.

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Thank you, Liz, for being our guest today! 

Don't forget to comment below for your chance to win a copy of The Red Door Inn!

{Guest Post + GIVEAWAY!} Why I Love Writing for Love Inspired Suspense

Laurie here! Today we have a special treat in store -- a guest post from author Liz Johnson! I asked her to share a little bit about how launching her career with Harlequin/Love Inspired helped prepare for the release of her first full-length contemporary romance, The Red Door Inn. Take it away, Liz!

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When Laurie asked me to share a little bit about my experience writing for Love Inspired Suspense, I did a little happy dance. Okay. It was a pretty big dance. Full arm movements and some sort of jumping-jack action. Quite honestly it was more exercise than I’ve had in a week. (But we won’t go into that.)

How could I not be excited? Love Inspired and its sister lines, Love Inspired Suspense and Love Inspired Historical, have given countless authors their first shot at publication—me included. In fact, my first published novel, The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn, was also my editor’s first acquisition. And we’ve been together for the last seven years.

There are so many reasons why I’m thankful to have started my writing career with LIS, but I’ve narrowed it down to my top four. If you haven’t thought about writing for Love Inspired, I’d highly recommend it. Here’s why.

1. They’re willing to take a chance on a first-time, unagented author. I know this because they took a chance on me. My editor plucked me out of the slush pile, and the rest is . . . well, it was a lot of hard work getting my manuscript into shape. She asked me to make revisions. I cringed and slashed pages. And we repeated that three times, until I received THE CALL. I didn’t have an agent. I didn’t have any connection with other LI authors. I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing. But my editor took a chance on me. And LI actively looks for debut authors every year. In fact, they regularly hold amazingly fun contests—like the 2015 From Blurb to Book Contest, which gave entrants an opportunity to pitch their book ideas directly to LI editors then submit proposals and eventually full manuscripts. Last I checked, the Love Inspired editors had signed eight new authors from that contest! (And I do want to add that while I started off without an agent, I’m so glad to have one now. I adore my agent and am grateful for her wealth of knowledge, direction, and industry expertise. (LAURIE: Me, toooo! Not biased at all hehe!) If you’ve already signed with one, you’re leaps and bounds ahead of where I was when I first submitted.)

2. The opportunities are deep and wide. Most publishers put out anywhere from two to four new fiction titles every month. The LI lines put out 16 brand new titles every month. That’s 192 new books a year! The editors are consistently looking for new authors across categories—contemporary romance, historical romance, and romantic suspense. If you write in any of these niches, there might be a spot for you.

3. The editors are top-notch. I feel like I can just leave it at that, but, of course, I’ll expound. First, my editor is always available to me. She offers to brainstorm plot ideas or talk through any questions I might have on her feedback. Second, she always has great ideas. She knows what the LI reader is looking for and how to help my manuscript reach that specific reader. Third, she doesn’t settle for okay. She pushes me and challenges me to write better, to write tighter. Fourth, she fills the page columns with not only editorial notes but also smiley faces. And who doesn’t love to get a smile in the midst of the hard work of editing?

4. It builds a solid foundation for whatever dreams may come. LI has built a brand that its readers have come to depend on. When you read an LI book, you know you’ll get a sweet, short romance with a guaranteed happily ever after. As I writer, I love that structure. And I also recognized when, a few years ago, I had a story idea that wasn’t going to fit into the LI model.

There are certain guidelines for writing LI books, and as I contemplated my new idea, I felt like the embodiment of that old adage. You have to learn the rules before you can break them. (I’m sure my English teacher never said that, but I write by it.) I’d spent years learning the rules of writing a romantic suspense for LIS, and at some point I knew I was ready to break them. And I did with my book The Red Door Inn, my first contemporary romance set on Prince Edward Island. It had a few too many point of view characters, way too many words, and a storyline I knew my LIS editor would question. But I loved the characters, and I couldn’t get them out of my mind. So my agent and I kept working on it together. We received a couple rejections, spent a couple years waiting, and then finally a call. This story that I loved had found a home.

But I had a lot of work ahead of me. The manuscript was done, but that didn’t mean the work was. Thankfully I’d spent years learning how to work with an editor, meet my deadlines, and market my books. These are key skills in today’s publishing market, and I was so grateful to have a firm foundation in them when I was offered a contract on The Red Door Inn. While there’s a learning curve with any new-to-you publishing house, I was much more prepared to take the leap with this book than I would have been without my years writing for LIS.

I love writing for LIS, and I hope to write for them for a long time to come. I’m grateful for the foundation they’ve given me and for the opportunity to explore others stories on my heart.

Have you considered writing for Love Inspired? What’s most appealing to you about them? What has made you hesitate to submit to them in the past? Let us know in the comments for a chance to win a copy of The Red Door Inn!

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About Liz Johnson: By day, Liz Johnson works as a marketing manager, and she makes time to write late at night. Liz is the author of nine novels—including her latest Love Inspired Suspense, Navy SEAL Security, and her first contemporary romance, The Red Door Inn (Prince Edward Island Dreams, book 1)—and a New York Times bestselling novella. 

She makes her home in Nashville, where she enjoys exploring local music, theater, and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her nieces and nephews. She writes stories of true love filled with heart, humor, and happily ever afters. Connect with her at www.LizJohnsonBooks.com or www.Facebook.com/LizJohnsonBooks.

 
 About The Red Door Inn: Marie Carrington is broke, desperate, and hoping to find sanctuary on Prince Edward Island while decorating a renovated bed-and-breakfast. Seth Sloane moved three thousand miles to help restore his uncle's Victorian B and B--and to forget about the fiancée who broke his heart. He wasn't expecting to have to babysit a woman with a taste for expensive antiques and a bewildering habit of jumping every time he brushes past her.

The only thing Marie and Seth agree on is that getting the Red Door Inn ready to open in just two months will take everything they've got—and they have to find a way to work together. In the process, they may find something infinitely sweeter than they ever imagined on this island of dreams.

THANKSGIVING--- Author Style!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from The Writer's Alley!

What are AUTHOR'S thankful for this year?

I set out on a quest to find out just that-- and here is what I got!

Jody Hedlund, author of Rebellious Heart

"I'm thankful for a bottomless pot of coffee, a laptop that didn't die this year, and for fun-sized candy bars that fuel my creativity."

Tamara Leigh, author of The Unveiling (Age of Faith)

"I am ever so thankful for the ability to self-publish books for which my publishers did not believe there was a market--and, of course, the readers who are proving there is."

Kristin Billerbeck, author of A Billion Reasons Why

"I'm thankful that I've got my writing mind back. It was such a stressful couple of years that I really wasn't able to have much creativity. I'm so grateful those dark years are past and that I feel the hope of future books in my system."

Lisa Bergren, author of Glittering Promises: A Novel (Grand Tour Series)

"I'm grateful for the chance to slow down a bit. I was edging close to burn-out! Rest is a good thing for the creative cycle."

Becky Wade, author of Undeniably Yours

"I'm so thankful for Dani Pettrey, my author friend and prayer partner. For two years she's prayed over my writing (and occasionally my family and my health) every single week. We've helped each other keep perspective on this sometimes thrilling sometimes discouraging work we've been called to do."

Patrick Carr, author of The Hero's Lot (The Staff and the Sword) 

"I'm thankful for finding out it's not just my immediate family who likes what I write."

Keli Gwyn, author of A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California

"I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had to encourage new writers this year."

Liz Johnson, author of SEAL Under Siege (Love Inspired Suspense)

This year I'm especially thankful for a critique partner who doesn't take it easy on me. Sometimes her red marks feel like a chainsaw, but then I realize they're more like sandpaper, polishing the rough edges I left on my manuscript. Every time I turn in a story after she's worked on it, I know I'm turning in a better project. Thanks, Michelle! "
 

Carla Laureano, author of Five Days in Skye: A Novel

"I'm thankful for the writing friends with whom I've shared the joys, tears, and glorious insanity of this publishing business. Without them, I wouldn't have made it this far!"

Melissa Tagg, author of Made to Last

"What I'm thankful for...oh wow, I could talk (write?) your ears off about that, but in a valiant act of brevity I'll simply say I'm SO thankful for all the people who made my very first book release so special. Family, friends, mentors, my awesome agent and fabulous editor...everyone! I love 'em all."