Interview with Laurie Alice Eakes
“Eakes has a charming way of making her novels come to life without being over the top,” writes Romantic Times of bestselling, award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes. Since she lay in bed as a child telling herself stories, she has fulfilled her dream of becoming a published author with a dozen books and novellas in print and more on the way. A graduate of Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction graduate program, she also teaches writing and gives inspirational talks to women’s groups. She lives in Texas with her husband, dogs, and cats.
Where do your story and character ideas come from?
I never know how to answer this question. Nowhere and everywhere. They seem to just spring to life in my brain, and I expect they grow from things I read in history books and contemporary newspapers.
How do you go about brainstorming the twists and turns in your books?
I like brainstorming with others, and I have had such a breakneck schedule over the past four years that it usually comes down to me and my computer, where I simply write down everything that comes to mind in a document and then organize it into a spreadsheet.
Is there a story behind this series?
My agent asked me to come up with a Regency proposal for a publisher. I sat down and read two of my favorite Regency background books: Social Life Under the Regency and A Regency Companion. Ideas began to form and—voila! The series proposal poured out of me in about ten days from request to finish. I sold it three months later.
Reflecting back, what do you see as most significant to your publication journey?
Possibly, my master’s degree in writing fiction contributed the most to me getting published. I learned not only how to write, but how to read the market and direct my stories to target that market. Or it’s as simple as answering the Lord’s call to write for Him.
Who is your writing support system?
I have a group of ladies, about five very close, and a further circle of perhaps ten, who seem to always be there with a word of encouragement, a push in the right direction, a well-timed prayer, not to mention practical help like solving a technical issue.
What do you do when you're not writing?
I’m supposed to do something other than write? ☺ Seriously, I love movies and the occasional TV show, if it’s really special, walking on the beach or in the mountains, and getting into crazy discussions about all sorts of things.
Share a verse or Scripture passage with us that is special to you.
Romans 8:37 is a verse that immediately comes to mind. “…for we are more than conquerors…” Those words alone send a frisson of excitement through me, the power of God’s love for us makes us not just conquerors, but more than conquerors. It’s power above death and the world and sin and anything that tries to separate us from the Lord and His great love.
What trivia about yourself would few people know?
After being asked this question several times lately, I’m afraid nothing that I’m willing to share publicly. ☺ Last week, I tried the “I’m shy in public” one. Although it’s true, my college roommates didn’t buy it.
What is the theme of A Flight of Fancy?
Inner healing through self-forgiveness. Cassandra makes some mistakes that lead to disaster. Because of it, she thinks she is unworthy of being loved and that God is punishing her. It’s a theme I think most of us have had to deal with to greater or lesser extent sometime in our lives.
Any parting words?
Thank you for having me as the featured author this week.
Thanks for sharing with us, Laurie Alice!
Where do your story and character ideas come from?
I never know how to answer this question. Nowhere and everywhere. They seem to just spring to life in my brain, and I expect they grow from things I read in history books and contemporary newspapers.
How do you go about brainstorming the twists and turns in your books?
I like brainstorming with others, and I have had such a breakneck schedule over the past four years that it usually comes down to me and my computer, where I simply write down everything that comes to mind in a document and then organize it into a spreadsheet.
Is there a story behind this series?
My agent asked me to come up with a Regency proposal for a publisher. I sat down and read two of my favorite Regency background books: Social Life Under the Regency and A Regency Companion. Ideas began to form and—voila! The series proposal poured out of me in about ten days from request to finish. I sold it three months later.
Reflecting back, what do you see as most significant to your publication journey?
Possibly, my master’s degree in writing fiction contributed the most to me getting published. I learned not only how to write, but how to read the market and direct my stories to target that market. Or it’s as simple as answering the Lord’s call to write for Him.
Who is your writing support system?
I have a group of ladies, about five very close, and a further circle of perhaps ten, who seem to always be there with a word of encouragement, a push in the right direction, a well-timed prayer, not to mention practical help like solving a technical issue.
What do you do when you're not writing?
I’m supposed to do something other than write? ☺ Seriously, I love movies and the occasional TV show, if it’s really special, walking on the beach or in the mountains, and getting into crazy discussions about all sorts of things.
Share a verse or Scripture passage with us that is special to you.
Romans 8:37 is a verse that immediately comes to mind. “…for we are more than conquerors…” Those words alone send a frisson of excitement through me, the power of God’s love for us makes us not just conquerors, but more than conquerors. It’s power above death and the world and sin and anything that tries to separate us from the Lord and His great love.
What trivia about yourself would few people know?
After being asked this question several times lately, I’m afraid nothing that I’m willing to share publicly. ☺ Last week, I tried the “I’m shy in public” one. Although it’s true, my college roommates didn’t buy it.
What is the theme of A Flight of Fancy?
Inner healing through self-forgiveness. Cassandra makes some mistakes that lead to disaster. Because of it, she thinks she is unworthy of being loved and that God is punishing her. It’s a theme I think most of us have had to deal with to greater or lesser extent sometime in our lives.
Any parting words?
Thank you for having me as the featured author this week.
Thanks for sharing with us, Laurie Alice!
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