I know how busy an author’s life can be, so I am excited to welcome Elizabeth Maddrey to sit down and have some coffee with me today!

I see you live in the DC area! I love DC. I grew up just outside of New York City, and have never been to the Statue of Liberty, can you believe that? We always had the mentality that it was so close we could go anytime…and then I moved to Florida. I am sad that I took those places for granted and did not take the time to appreciate what was in my own backyard. I am curious, do you visit the Monuments and all the amazing places in DC often, or do you stay so busy you can’t?

I try REALLY hard to make sure we take advantage of what’s around, but yes! We still sometimes will sit on Saturday night and talk about how we *could* have gone downtown and done x, y, or z. You definitely have to try and make it a priority or life will get in the way.

Can you recall the first book you read as a child when you knew you would be a reader forever?

Probably The Mummy Market by Nancy Brelis or Go to the Room of the Eyes by Betty K Erwin. But there are tons more that leap to mind as well. I’d say my best friend in elementary school was the school librarian. She always had some wonderful suggestions for me.

I am amazed at how many published books you have when you are the homeschooling mom of two and an avid reader! Not to mention all the posts you do with the Facebook group Christian Romance Reader Gathering! Do you find you have to schedule your writing time vs your reading time to get everything you want accomplished?

Oh absolutely! On the positive side, being so busy, there aren’t tons of slots where writing *can* go, so I end up working it in during the afternoon quiet reading time that I make the kids take (cause everyone needs a break in the afternoon when we’re around one another 24/7!) and then at night after everyone is in bed if my hubby and I aren’t playing a board game or something together. But I still also sometimes look at the day or week and think about how much I could have gotten done if I’d been just a little more focused.

You have written some difficult struggles for your characters, some that have had me in tears, and it makes me wonder, do you suffer right along with them as you write their stories?

Aw, you have no idea how happy that makes me! (Which sounds strange, but still it’s absolutely every writer’s dream to know that readers are touched by a story.) As for me suffering along with them — it varies. Some have been crushing to write. Others I’ve been able to take a little more in stride. I think in many cases it depends on whether what the character is going through is something I’ve been through personally (or something someone close to me has experienced) vs something that I’ve researched.

If you had to choose any other career path, what would be your “dream” occupation and why?

Well, I taught computer science at the college level for quite a while before I stopped to make more room for writing, and it was a pretty good gig, so I’d be content to go back to that. I love teaching. And I love computer science. So it’s a pretty good fit. (I don’t necessarily love the bureaucracy that sometimes comes with teaching, but you get something like that in every job, right?)

Do you ever have dreams about your characters……..and then wake up and find your story is going in another direction?

Sometimes? I don’t plot, so I never really have more than a vague notion of what’s going to happen in the story until I’ve written it. So sometimes those dreams or shower thinking sessions are what I need in order to know what’s next.

What is your favorite go to snack, midnight or any time?

Gah. This is hard. I’ve been working super hard to keep carbs out of my life, and all the snacky things I love are all carbs, so I miss them. But I have found these Parmesan cheese crisps that are yummy and crunch and they have rapidly become my go-to snack.

How can readers keep up with you and your new releases?

They can go to my website at: https://www.elizabethmaddrey.com/ and sign up for my newsletter from there and / or my Facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/ElizabethMaddrey

Finally – Coffee or tea? Cream? Sugar?

Coffee. With cream and sugar. (And vanilla syrup and whipped cream if we’re being fancy 🙂 ) That said, I also really do love a good Darjeeling (also with cream and sugar).

Oh, whipped cream! Now there’s a girl after my own heart, lol! Thank you again, so much, for spending time with me today so our readers can get to know even better!