Interview with Elizabeth Maddrey

These days, Elizabeth Maddrey’s main job is the education of her two sons in the form of homeschooling, which means her writing needs to fit around their schedule. She is also the ACFW Area Coordinator for Virginia, the President of the newly formed ACFW State Chapter of ACFW, and the Awana Commander for her church. When she’s not actively busy, she can be found writing or reading contemporary romance.

What is the takeaway value/message of A Pinch of Promise?
That your identity needs to come from Christ, not circumstance, and that you need to forgive wounds from the past.

Are you a plotter, pantster, or hybrid of the two?
I’m mostly a pantster, though I’m starting, ever so slowly, to pull a few more threads of plotting in. So I may end up a hybrid before too long.

What keeps you writing?
I generally write for myself, since writing is my creative outlet and something that helps me unwind. I was writing long before I was ever published and I’ll keep on writing for as long as I continue to get stories in my head.

What’s your biggest challenge in balancing writing time with your other responsibilities?
Right now my biggest challenge is that my youngest is giving up his nap. Typically, my oldest and I do school and then I write during naptime. Once that time is completely gone, I’m not sure when I’ll get a solid chunk of time during the day. But really it’s the eternal struggle of feeling guilty for sneaking in some writing when the kids are happily engaged playing versus knowing that since they don’t need me (or want me) right then, it’s sensible to get something done.

Are you writing in your dream genre?
Yep. I love contemporary romance.

Where is your favorite place to write?
On the couch (laptops are the best thing ever!) with my feet up and my hubby settled next to me playing Xbox.

If you could have coffee with an author, dead or alive, whose work you admire, who would that be? What would you ask him or her?
This is a hard question! I guess I’m going to choose Anne McCaffrey, because her books definitely shaped me as a reader when I was younger and I tend to revisit them frequently. I’d love to know if she got tired of writing in her most popular series or, if not, how she kept it fresh.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you as an author?
I donate a copy of my books to our church library and, since my parents attend our church, my mom frequently suggests them to folks that she runs into (gotta love moms!) Well, one day I’m sitting in my small group classroom waiting for people to show up and an older lady pops her head in the door and says, “Are you Elizabeth Maddrey?” I nod. She begins gushing about my books and how much she enjoys them and how she recognized me from my author photo. It was really fun (and quite lovely), but what made it funny was telling my mom about it and her saying, “Oh she’s my friend, I point you out every time we walk by.” Not so recognizable after all!

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing?
I love reading, crochet, cooking, and playing car/army man/space exploration/StarWars (all combined, it gets complicated) with my kiddos.

What books are on your nightstand right now?
My Kindle has made my nightstand a lot less cluttered...but I have 244 books on it waiting for me. But I’m also about at the point of every year where I pull out my Anne of Green Gables collection as well as The Deed of Paksinnarion (by Elizabeth Moon) and re-read them.

Finish this statement: If I were not an author, I would be ….
...sad. That’s probably not what you’re looking for there, but I still am a lot of other things, and I’d probably still be doing all those things as well. But writing is such an integral part of how I get through the day, even if publication wasn’t something I wanted, I’d still be writing and thus, still an author.

Any parting words?
Thanks for having me!

Thanks for sharing with us, Elizabeth!