Liz Crowe

CJ Ives Lopez

3 years ago

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Liz Crowe, Humane Society Development Director, animal lover, former brewery owner and marketing expert/consultant, booze journalist, mom of 3 grown ups, avid reader and only slightly nerdy Star Wars fan (Rouge 1 is my favorite movie of them all. Full stop). I have lived in 4 different countries (counting the U.S.) when my children were small and have Some Stories about the Turkish Gendarme, passport replacement in Spain, getting utterly lost on the London Underground, and how efficient the Japanese medical system is (My 3rd child was born there).

Why Do you write?

Ah, such an existential question. I guess the popular answer is “because I love to write.” But it is a challenging and sometimes utterly daunting task. I don’t always love it. But it’s kind of one of those activities that, when I am not doing it, I’m thinking about doing it. I love characters which stem directly from my love of people watching so I channel that into fiction writing.

What genre do you write and why did you pick this genre?

I write in contemporary romance, rom com and chick lit/women’s fiction. I chose it because I write what I like to read. My books sometimes have an edge of realism to them that some of my fans say “takes getting used to but you’ll be hooked once you do.” But I guarantee the happily ever after, which is part and parcel of romance fiction.

Tell us about your book

NUMBERS GAME is a co-written project, and one near and dear to me, since my co-author, Desiree Holt, is a successful, 84-year-old woman who has mentored me almost from the very beginning of my career. We share a love of (a.k.a. obsession with) sports, specifically football and when I still owned my brewery in Ann Arbor, we actually got to meet face to face when she visited for a Michigan football game (her alma mater.). It’s something we worked on for almost a year and a half, bouncing it back and forth until it finally took the shape we wanted it to. She wrote the female perspective, and I wrote the male one, in alternating chapters. It’s a second chance style romance, with the protagonist both older (in their forties), both divorced and jaded and both seeking a second shot at career success when they end up not only with that, but with a second chance a meaningful relationship.

How much time do you dedicate to your author career?

Enough that I wish I made more money at it, lol. No seriously, I’ve had 29 books published since 2010 so I am, as the say, prolific in my own way. It’s a full-time job, between writing and then the promotion part that is required.

How long, on average, does it take you to write your books?

I’m a marathon writer. While I can’t write 2 books simultaneously, I can crank out a 60,000 word novel (your average romance novel length) in about 3 weeks.

What is the best money you have ever spent on your author career?

On a decent laptop? Or maybe it was for an ad with BookBub (which is as hard to get as a New York agent, no lie).

What is the toughest part of being an author?

Trying not to constantly compare yourself with everyone else. As someone told me once, racehorses wear blinkers on their eyes so that they can focus forward on their goal and not on the surrounding chaos amongst the other horses trying to get there too.

What is the best piece of advice you have for other authors?

Get edited, often, and by professionals. Get used to constructive criticism. But DO NOT read your reviews. Ever.

What is your favorite book?

I have 3 of them:

Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

What Alice Forgot by Liaanne Moriarty.

Follow Liz:

https://books2read.com/NumbersGame

http://www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor

https://www.instagram.com/etlizcrowe/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-crowe