Lenora Worth Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.  

A. I’m a Southern girl. Born and raised in Georgia, but I’ve lived in Louisiana for close to thirty years. On my way to Florida as soon as we can get moved later this year.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. In the fourth grade. I wrote and sold short stories on the playground!

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?  

A. My first writing break actually came in high school when some of my poems were featured at the local library. (Terribly tormented ramblings of teenaged angst, but they were showcased all the same.) I wrote all through school and after I got married, but I didn’t decide to write for publication till I was well into my twenties. I started college, but discovered I was expecting another child after trying for many years. (We already had a daughter.) After my son was born, I quit work and didn’t go back to school. I stayed home with him and started writing. Took me about four years to finally sell to Avalon. I wrote three books for them and then went on to Leisure to write two books. Then I settled in with Love Inspired and I’ve been there since. I now write PG-13 books for Super Romance, too.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release The Diamond Secret?  

The Diamond Secret is my homage to Indiana Jones and other adventurers. I’ve always been fascinated with chocolate diamonds and after we did a “for-fun” bit of flash fiction on the Craftie Ladies of Love Inspired romance (about a chocolate diamond) I decided I’d write my own adventure involving a rare and very expensive chocolate diamond that could have possibly been one of the jewels on a robe from the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Adventurer Cullen Murphy goes to New Orleans seeking the diamond and meets Esther Carlisle. He soon realizes she’s the real jewel. This plot has a lot of twists and turns but it was such fun to write.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for The Diamond Secret?

A: As I said above, from the fun story we did on the blog and from watching adventure movies. I love New Orleans, so it was great to set another book there, too. I wanted to mention the Pirate Lafitte as having maybe “owned” the diamond at one time.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: That our real treasures are family and loved ones and knowing that with God all things are possible and that our treasure truly awaits us in Heaven.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A:I kind of like the opening scene. Esther is bored from running her late father’s antique store. She longs for a grand adventure. And in walks Cullen Murphy, an Irishman and a dangerous man. She’s hooked from their first touch.

Q: What inspires you to write?  

A. Life inspires me. Everyone we meet has a story full of hope, regret, longing and unanswered prayers. I love picking that apart to create my own stories.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?  

A: I never dreamed I’d get to meet so many great people and form life-long friendships from traveling and meeting other writers. I grew up on a crossroad in Georgia. I often stood at that crossroad and dreamed, the verses of “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost echoing inside my head. I’m so glad I took one of those roads.

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Listen, learn, read, read, read. Go to workshops and absorb. Write. No matter what, if you are a writer, you will find a way to write. Be strong and don’t give up.

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

A. I’m working on the second story set in New Orleans. It’s the same setting used in The Diamond Secret. An absent friend of Esther’s arrives back in New Orleans and she just happens to be a widowed princess who loves art. The hero is a photojournalist who is assigned to follow her around. Of course, someone is trying to kill her. The working titled is Sacred Spaces. I’m enjoying it so far.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?

A.  I love action movies. Just saw “The Bourne Legacy.” Sigh. I also love to read, of course. Take long walks with my husband or travel—I have this quest to see all of the United States, state by state.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?  

 A. www.lenoraworth.com Or come by the Craftie Ladies of Love Inspired on any Friday. My blog is “Ask Elnora”. We discuss all kinds of topics and I answer bloggers burning questions. Sometimes J

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

A. I’m blessed to have this job. I love what I do. I hope my readers will continue on this journey with me. It’s fun to see what might be around the next bend.