Leann Harris’s interview

1. What made you start writing?
When my youngest child started school, I decided to write some of the stories running through my head. I’ve always had stories, so I gave into my heart.
2. How long have you been writing? When did you sell your first book?
I started writing 25 years ago when my son went to kindergarten. I sold when he started high school.
3. How do you handle rejections?
The closer I got to being published, the harder the rejections were. The rejection before I sold was the hardest. My dog, a Boston Terrier, saw how upset I was and he sat at my side and comforted me. He got a lot of rawhide chews and toys after that.
4. Why do you write?
Because I can’t not write. I’ve been given a gift and I am a stewart of that gift. There have been rough times when I asked God what he wanted me to do, or if this was what he wanted me to do. He usually answers with our pastor preaching on using the talents you’ve been given.
5. What would you be doing with your free time if you weren’t writing? Gardening, painting.
6. What are you working on right now? I just turned in a proposal for the brother’s book of the heroine in Hidden Deception.
7. Do you put yourself into your books/characters? No. I see things that happen around me and put those things in my book. I write murder and my husband certainly hopes I put nothing of myself into my plots.
8. Tell us about the book you have out right now. The book that is coming out in August is about a young woman who returns home after her father’s death to help her mother run their antique shop. When one of the employee’s is murdered, the heroine is thrus back in time to when her birth mother was murdered by her father. The hero is the Santa Fe detective assigned to the case. He is a widower with a young daughter. Together, the hero and heroine solve the mystery and help heal the broken hearts of each other and the hero’s daughter.
9. Do you have any advice for other writers? Yes. Keep writing. If you don’t write, then you will never have a story to give to a publisher. Also, join a writers group. Only other writers know the problems and situations you face.
10. How important is faith in your books? Very. Both the hero/heroine face situations they need to trust God for the answer. They have to walk by faith, not what the current circumstances tell them to do.
11. What themes do you like to write about? Forgiveness, faith and healing of the heart.
12. What is your favorite book you’ve written and why? That’s like asking which of my children do I love the most. The book coming out in August is a very special one. As I wrote it, the passages of forgiveness and healing surprised me. I simply wrote what was in my heart. I learned a lot.
13. What is your writing schedule like? I write when I get home from teaching. Usually, I write everyday, 9-10pm. And I write on the weekends as much as I can.
14. You have recently started writing inspirational books. What made
you switch to this genre? Those conversations I had with God. He wants me to write, but write books that encourage the heart of the people who read my books.