Author on the Couch: Liz Talley


Today I’m conducting a session with…Liz Talley!

GIVEAWAY!
*Leave a comment for Liz and share this post to be eligible to win a print or digital copy of either of the first two books in the series – Charmingly Yours or Perfectly Charming. (US or Canada only)

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#Win a print or digital copy of either of the first two books in the series – Charmingly Yours or Perfectly Charming. (US or Canada only) by @amyliztalley Click To Tweet

Me: Tell me about an experience that had a profound impact on your life.

Liz:  Wow, you come out swinging on the questions. LOL. I think one of the most profound experiences I’ve had occurred when I got married and then moved to New Orleans, which was over six hours away from my small hometown. Until that point, I had lived in a safety net…or bubble. In the blink of an eye, I was a wife and away from all I’d known. It was scary but I grew and became independent.

 

Me: What personality trait of yours helps you most as an author?

Liz: I’m incredibly focused on my goals.

 

Me: What personality trait of yours hinders you most as an author?

LizImpatience. I want everything yesterday. LOL.

 

Me: Lol… Me too!
What was your high point as a writer?

Liz: I supposed beyond the regular flow and ebb of being a writer, getting the RITA nomination was a high point.

 

Me: That’s one of the highest accolades you can get! Congratulations!
What was your low point as a writer—a time when you questioned your path?

Liz:  I think when my line Superromance was pulled from stores and made digital only (outside of Harlequin). I realized that instead of progressing as an author, I had taken some steps back, not because digital isn’t viable, but because the sales of Superromances digitally were weak. I loved writing those books – they were big, emotional and perfect for me. It felt a bit like starting over. I got over it by forming a new plan, targeting a new publisher and dedicating myself to my stories.

 

Me: What’s the most painful review you’ve ever received? How did you get over it?

Liz: 
Oooh,  I had a horrible review on the second book of the Morning Glory series. Really, really terrible with lots of gifs of heads exploding. I mean, it was BAD. But I got past it by remembering that I was true to my character and his situation…and the fact that in all my reviews on GoodReads and Amazon, no one else found my hero to be insulting. Some of my words hit hot button issues for this particular reviewer and they were her issues. Not mine. 

 

Me: You’re right… Her issues. Not yours.
If you could have dinner with any famous author who would it be? Why?

Liz: I’d absolutely choose Nora Roberts. She fascinates me with her determination, professionalism and work ethic. Not to mention she’d been in the business a long time, had ups and downs and still maintains a stable product. Who’s going to set that up for me?

Nora Roberts fascinates me with her determination, professionalism and work ethic. @amyliztalley #amwriting Click To Tweet

Me: I would love to join you!
What’s your writer’s mantra? Why does that mantra speak to you?

Liz: “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” – I got that from a conference somewhere and pinned it right beside my computer.

The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do. @amyliztalley #AmWriting Click To Tweet

Me: Tell me about your contemporary romance, Prince Not Quite Charming (Novella).

Liz:

A city girl can survive…

Or at least that’s what New Yorker Frances Genovese hopes when she agrees to stay in Morning Glory, Mississippi for a few weeks after her brother’s wedding. Though she may not know much about small-town living, she does know a thing or two about the new restaurant her brother’s building. But she didn’t bargain for a big country boy naysaying her vision. And she darn sure didn’t expect to be so attracted to the infuriating contractor.

Clem Aiken knows two things: what it means to be a country boy and the target market for the new eatery. When he and Frances clash on her ideas, he figures there’s one thing to do – teach the sophisticated beauty what it’s like to live in a southern small town. Frances reluctantly gives Clem three days to change her mind about the restaurant design. After all, how hard can it be to bait a hook, fry chicken or go honky tonkin’?

Opposites attract in this warm, fun novella set in Morning Glory.

 

Me: Share with us a favorite paragraph or two from your newest release, Prince Not Quite Charming.

Liz:

In this novella, my heroine is a feisty New Yorker who is advising her brother on opening a Pizzaria in Morning Glory, Mississippi. She soon realizes she doesn’t know anything about the people of the town, so the contractor Clem volunteers to give her “country girl lessons”. Here they are visiting his neighbor and gathering eggs for her. I think it showcases the humor in the book.

Frances chuckled, swinging the basket, wondering what her friends would say if they could see her wearing flip-flops and a sundress. Not to mention “moseying” beside Big Country on her way to gather eggs. They would pee their pants laughing at Frances’s version of Marie Antoinette playing milkmaid.

“I’ll watch the rooster, you get the eggs,” Clem said, unhooking the gate.

“No way. I’m a city girl, remember?”

“It’s easy. Reach underneath them. Get in. Get out. Unless you really don’t want to learn how to be a country girl?”

“Look, this has nothing to do with my brother’s restaurant, so I’m not taking the bait.” She jabbed the basket toward him. “I’ll watch the rooster.”

Clem jerked the basket from her hand. “Fine.”

They both entered the coop, and Clem tiptoed to the henhouse. Frances stared at the rooster, who kept nervously shifting, looking like a very funky chicken. She heard Clem talking to the hens. In fact, the man sounded like he was seducing them with honeyed words with all the “Easy now, sugar” and “That’s a sweet girl.” Even though Frances was scared as hell of the fidgety rooster, she couldn’t help giving a chuckle at the endearments.

Clem emerged, looking sweaty and relieved. “Good night, I feel like I should buy ’em all a steak dinner.”

 

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Abbie Roads writes dark emotional novels featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages. RACE THE DARKNESS and HUNT THE DAWN are available now! SAVING MERCY Book 1 in the Fatal Truth Series is now available for pre-order.

About the author: abbieroads