Author Interview & Contest: Lizzie T. Leaf

Current Read: He of the Fiery Sword by Skhye Moncrief

Please welcome Lizzie T. Leaf, today's "Word Wizard"!

Thanks for being here, Lizzie. Tell us a little about your decision to become a writer.

Stories have always played through my head, even as a child. I spent a lot of years having adventures with make-believe friends since there were no children around for me to play with most of the time. In school I discovered putting those stories down on paper earned 'As' and it was also a great way to escape what had become a not fun home situation. Marriage ended the dream of being published when my then husband discovered something I'd written and made fun of it. Low in self-esteme anyway, that was a big blow. Life and lots of years happened through which I kept an off & on secret journal. Guess I never fully gave up the dream. When the death of my second husband found me faced with discovering who I really was, the writing became a very important part of the discovery. My current husand read something I'd written for fun and said "stop playing and start writing." So here I am. He may not be a big romance fan, but he encourages me to write what I enjoy. If I got a "do over" for my life, definitely it would be "screw the nasty comments from the first husband and write." You didn't ask me to give advice here, but hey, you know me Tiffany...I always have some. So, my advice to others with the burning desire to write...ignore the "nay sayers" and continue with what makes you happy. Even a few mintes with a pen and paper while the laundry is going, is better than completely giving up like I did for so long.

So true! Thanks for the reminder. What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

To be able to loose myself in another world and make friends with the characters. When I receive an e-mail from someone who has read one of my books I'm elated. At least that person enjoyed what I created.

Least favorite?

Some days I'd rather read a book for my own pleasure or go goof off instead of sitting in front of a computer screen.

For your book Struck by Lightning you spent some time with local meteorologists for research. Can you tell us a little about that?

I was very fortunate when I contacted a couple of local television stations, the meteorologists were open to my coming in and shadowing them. I learned a lot about the behind the camera prep to do a broadcast. Both Mike Nelson at Channel 7 and Kathy Sabine at Channel 9 (in Colorado), were very generous with their time and in answering my questions. They both gave me tours of their stations and let me watch a live broadcast.

Can you tell us a little about Aspen Mountain Press and your work with them?

The publisher at Aspen Mountain Press is a former critique partner (she has become way to busy to do much critiquing on a regular basis) and when she first mentioned the idea of her own publishing company, I supported her 100%. She has definite ideas on how authors should be treated given her experiences as an author (she writes under Lucynda Storey) and non-positive experiences she had with some other publishers, along with good ones with other publishers. Taking the positive and enhancing it, then pulling the opposite of the negative, she created her goals for AMP to make a house where authors were treated fairly and had a voice. As the publisher, she has the final word, but she's willing to listen to an author's ideas, suggestions and complaints.

How do you balance being a writer, which can be very demanding, with the rest of your life?

I try not to schedule a lot of things for nights and weekends, but sometimes it can't be helped and my husband understands. He's a big boy and entertain himself when he needs to. If I ignored him constantly, then I'm sure he'd resent it, but he also encourages me to do what I need to do to get my career established.

Random Question: What is your favorite color and why? :0) (That's a pretty easy one! I wasn't nearly that nice to Melissa)

Why so nice to me?..grin. Anyway, favorite color is probably green. I like it because it signals the return of spring when the plants start putting out shoots. A renewal of the life cycle.

Thank you, Lizzie for being here and sharing your insights!

We have a signed copy of Lizzie's book, Struck by Lightning, up for grabs! All you have to do is leave a comment for Lizzie or me.

Here's a blurb about Struck by Lightning: A night of too many martinis had Isabella's friends attempting to convince her that an Immortal was the way to go in finding the man of her dreams. She's convinced that there are better odds of being struck by lightning than meeting an Immortal. Unknown to her, Galvin Haldor, the new weather team member at Channel 12 is the son of Thor, the Nordic Thunder God. Sparks fly, not only over weather predictions, but in a mutual attraction between the two.

You can read an excerpt here!

Please note a change to our contest set-up...you only have until Friday to enter. I will draw a random winner on Friday, July 25th (not Tuesday).

Good luck and thank you to all of our wonderful Armchair Heroine readers!