Elizabeth Ludwig

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

A. Well, I could give you the long version, but the short version is much simpler…and probably more interesting. LOL!

Basically, I was just a kid who loved to read. I had a voracious appetite for books, and it was not unusual for my mother to catch me reading at two or three in the morning…on a school night! Since that got me into trouble, I took to reading with a small nightlight under the covers. My poor eyes! I’m surprised I can still see.

Anyway, fast forward twenty…um…thirty years, and that love of reading changed into a love of writing. I still daydream characters in my head, but now, that transfers onto paper.

And now, since I think it’s always fun to share secrets about oneself, here are five facts readers might not know about me:

1. I am an avid football fan (Go Steelers!!). When I’m not cheering on my team, I’m thinking about cheering on my team. J

1. My kids call me a computer geek wannabe. I’m not good enough with techie stuff to actually do anything…just good enough to get in trouble.

1. In high school, people called me a Drama Queen, but not because I was emotional and erratic. It was because I loved everything involving the theater.

1. My dachshunds get me. They really, really get me.

1. I married the sweetest, most romantic, loving man in the world. He tells me so all the time. J

That’s about it, unless you really want to read all about me. In that case, check out my bio page at http://www.elizabethludwig.net/Biography.html.

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

A. I was such an avid reader as a child, I guess it was natural progression that I would also want to write. I have to say, however, that were it not for my fifth grade teacher, I might never have had the courage to actually put pen to paper.

I was big time into SciFi/Fantasy at the time. My teacher knew this because every book report I turned in had something to do with SciFi. So, when she saw an article about a writing contest for young authors in a YA magazine, she immediately assigned a short story writing project. She then submitted my story to the contest for me. I didn’t win, but that little contest planted the seed.

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

A. Well, I wish I could say success came immediately, right after I submitted my first manuscript. The truth is, I wrote for five years before I sold my first book, and I completed six full manuscripts, none of which will probably ever see the light of day.

I sold my seventh book to Barbour Publishing in 2006 (though the book did not actually release until 2008). It’s a mystery called Where the Truth Lies. I co-authored it and two sequels, Died in the Wool (which is a Carol Award Finalist this year) and Inn Plain Sight, with Janelle Mowery.

I’ll never forget that day. Janelle called me at work to tell me she had just finished an Instant Message with Susan Downs, who was the Acquisitions Editor for Heartsong Presents: Mysteries at the time. She was interested in our cozy.

“How interested?” I asked.

“They want it,” Janelle said.

I’ve never heard more glorious words.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release NO SAFE HARBOR?  

A. I’d love to! No Safe Harbor is the result of almost a year of planning and discussion with my agent, Chip MacGregor (love him, btw). He told me there was some interest within industry circles regarding the revival of a once popular genre—historical/romantic suspense. Having grown up reading Phyllis A. Whitney and Victoria Holt, I was well acquainted with the type, and I couldn’t wait to put together a proposal for a series of books with a “gothic romance” feel.

No Safe Harbor is the first book in the Edge of Freedom series. Here’s a short blurb:

The Thrill of Romantic Suspense Meets the Romance of 1800s America…

Lured by a handful of scribbled words across a faded letter, Cara Hamilton sets off from 1896 Ireland on a quest to find the brother she’d thought dead. Her search lands her in America, amidst a houseful of strangers and one man who claims to be a friend—Rourke Walsh.

Despite her brother’s warning, Cara decides to trust Rourke and reveals the truth about her purpose in America. But he is not who he claims to be, and as rumors begin to circulate about an underground group of dangerous revolutionaries, Cara’s desperation grows. Her questions lead her ever closer to her brother, but they also bring her closer to destruction as Rourke’s true intentions come to light

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for NO SAFE HARBOR?

A: Family members on both my side and my husband’s emigrated from Europe in the early 1900’s. Some of my ancestors were from Spain. My husband’s ancestors were from Holland, Ireland, and Germany. These brave men and women risked everything in search of a better life and were the inspiration for this story. I hope I’ve done them proud!

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

A: There’s a unifying message in all three of the books in the Edge of Freedom Series. It’s one that I hope will speak to everyone who reads them, but rather than tell you what it is, I’d like to show you from a line taken from one of the books:

“My dear, braw lad,” Cara whispered, “your faith was never in God. It was the church you followed, and the Fenians, not the Savior.”

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

A: I love, love, love a scene near the end when everything is coming to a head and both Cara and Rourke take action to protect the other. I won’t give you a bunch of details, because I don’t want to spoil anything. Suffice it to say…swoon!

Q: What inspires you to write?  

A. There’s a scene in a movie I love, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.” It’s near the end. The entire cast is in church and the pastor starts singing, “Father, Can You Hear Me?” Every time I hear that song I want to stand up and PRAISE God. That is what I want—to write something that SO inspires someone they automatically want to praise God.

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

A: I had no idea how much work there was to do outside of the actual writing. Marketing, blogging, conducting interviews…whew! It certainly is not all glam, glam, glam all day long. J

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

A: Writers trying to break into the business often ask me what advice I would give. It’s simply this: if your goal is publication, great! But don’t be so focused on the goal that you forget to enjoy the journey you’re on while reaching it. There are some awesome lessons to be learned along the way, and great friends to be made…all of which you will miss if you attempt a shortcut. Trust God. His timing is always perfect.

You know what…I think that works for non-writers, too. J

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

A. I just finished the second book in the Edge of Freedom Series called Dark Road Home. It’s scheduled to release next summer. Also, I’m currently working on book three. Each of these books focuses on a different aspect of the struggle in Ireland, and how it translated to America. Overall, I am very excited to have been entrusted with this great project!

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

A. Well, let’s see…aside from reading and writing, I love to ski and I have a ridiculous number of dogs. Someday, I’ll write a book about my life and call it Downhill Dachshunds: Keeping up with the Pack.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? 

A. Readers can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or on my website at www.elizabethludwig.com. Also, I have a popular literary blog called The Borrowed Book which I manage along with S. Dionne Moore, Candice Speare Prentiss, and Amber Stokes. Stop by and see us! We post writers tips, weekly author interviews, do book giveaways, and a whole not more…when we’re not simply hanging out and having a good time, that is.

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

A. I’d like to share my favorite Bible verse. It’s Habakkuk 2:2-3. Are you scratching your head yet? Let me clarify…

Habakkuk 2:2-3 says this: Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. (NKJV)

At a time when I was really questioning whether or not I was called to write, God gave me these verses. I’ve clung to them ever since, and I sign all of my books with them, mainly as a reminder to myself that I’m doing what God called me to do.

Thanks for having me, Susan!