Author interview with Liz Fichera

Please welcome my special guest, Liz Fichera here to discuss her new book. She's also doing a drawing for a free copy.
Liz lives in the American Southwest by way of Chicago. She likes to write stories about ordinary people who do extraordinary things, oftentimes against the backdrop of Native American legends. CAPTIVE SPIRIT is her debut historical romance novel with Carina Press. When she’s not busy plotting her next novel, you can find Liz on Facebook and Twitter, dishing about writing, books, hunks du jour, LOST Reruns, and the best brands of chocolate.

1. So, Liz, how did you wind up in the Southwest?

I’m originally from Park Ridge, Illinois, which is just outside of Chicago. Believe me, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d wind up in the land of cactus, cowboys, and triple-digit temperatures. But I moved out to Phoenix after college to live with my parents, totally broke, unemployed, and slightly dazed and confused. I never thought I’d stay longer than a year. I was so wrong. And now I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I absolutely love the American Southwest.

2. How does it feel to finally be published? Tell us about your path to publication.

Surreal. I still can’t believe people besides my mother and sister wanted my story. I’ve had to pinch myself every day since Angela James at Carina Press called me in March of this year and offered to buy CAPTIVE SPIRIT.

My path has been pretty typical of most writers—lots of rejection, queries, and manuscripts. But with each rejection, I learned a little bit more about publishing and sometimes met great contacts along the way. An agent gave me great advice. She said, “Keep writing. Don’t give up.” And so I didn’t. Writing books and getting published is something I’ve wanted for a very long time; I wasn’t about to let a few hundred rejections get me down. J

3. Why digital publishing? Why e-books?

I only recently purchased a Nook, even though I’d thought that I’d never warm up to e-readers. (As an aside, I said the same thing about email years ago!) Now there’s no going back for me. It’s easy (and cheaper!) to download and purchase books and my Nook fits in my purse. As an avid reader, it goes with me everywhere. From a publishing perspective, I don’t think hardcover books are going away anytime soon, but I do believe that there are more and more people demanding digital books for all sorts of reasons—cost, convenience, even variety. And I’m really excited to be one of the launch authors for Carina Press, Harlequin’s first digital-only imprint. I think it’s kind of cool that they’re not afraid to shake up the traditional publishing models.

4. What kind of a book is CAPTIVE SPIRIT?

Historical romance.

5. Okay, what’s up with all the Native American characters? I know a lot of your short stories and novels contain them, and the characters in CAPTIVE SPIRIT are Hohokam. Why Native American?

Why not? After living so long in Arizona, I’ve come to appreciate Native American culture and history. And they have the coolest legends about wolves, coyotes, stars, bears, mountains, eagles. I could go on and on. I don’t understand why there aren’t loads more stories with Native American characters. The history behind the Hohokam Indians is particularly intriguing. They lived in the Sonoran Desert from 300 BC until around 1500 AD and then simply vanished. And no one really knows why. That just begs for a story!

6. If you were to cast actors for Aiyana and Honovi in CAPTIVE SPIRIT, who would you choose?

Believe it or not, the woman on the cover of CAPTIVE SPIRIT is pretty dang close to the Aiyana I had in my head when I wrote the story. For Honovi, I pictured Adam Beach of SMOKE SIGNALS fame. I heart Adam Beach. And I think he is all sorts of hot.

7. So tell us a little bit about CAPTIVE SPIRIT.

Okay, here’s the back cover copy:

Sonoran Desert. Dawn of the sixteenth century.

Aiyana isn’t like the other girls of the White Ant Clan. Instead of keeping house, she longs to compete on the Ball Court with her best friend Honovi and the other boys. Instead of marriage, she daydreams of traveling beyond the mountains that surround her small village. Only Honovi knows and shares her forbidden wish, though Aiyana doesn’t realize her friend has a secret wish of his own…

When Aiyana’s father arranges her marriage to a man she hardly knows, she takes the advice of a tribal elder: Run! In fleeing, she falls into the hands of Spanish raiders and finds herself being taken over the mountains against her will. Now Aiyana’s on a quest to return to the very place she once dreamed of escaping. And she’ll do whatever it takes to survive and find her way back to the people she loves.

8. What about CAPTIVE SPIRIT book excerpts and cool book trailers?

Yes and yes. I keep both on my web site:

Chapter 1 Excerpt

Book Trailer

9. What’s up next for you?

At the moment, I’m finishing up a contemporary romance and I’ve got a young adult novel currently on submission. I’ve also outlined a sequel for CAPTIVE SPIRIT that I hope to write this summer, but we’ll see what the readers think first. J

Thank you for joining me today, Liz! Readers, please visit her web site at http://www.lizfichera.com/ to learn more.

And now, to win a copy of her book, please leave a comment below and she will draw a winner. Good luck!