** Linda Mae Baldwin interviews inspirational writer Liz Curtis Higgs! **

LMB -- To start with, could you tell us a little about your background?

Liz -- Like most writers, I was a voracious reader as a child, and began writing novels at age 10. They were awful, of course, but it was a beginning! I was editor of my high school paper, then majored in English in college. Drama, writing, and music were all passions of mine from my early teens on, and all have played a part in my career over the years.

LMB -- Before you wrote you were a D.J. can you tell us a little about that?  

Liz -- While in college, I was a D.J. for our campus radio station, doing a Sunday night program called the "Jazz Junction." A broadcasting friend of mine heard me on the air, drove down to the station and knocked on the glass, and said, "You could make a living doing this. Call this man at WQXA." I'd already knocked on the doors of several local radio stations with no luck, but THIS time I got their attention. I went to work as the overnight announcer at that station in PA in 1978 and soon moved up to the morning show, then to Music Director, then to other stations in other markets, including Indianapolis and Detroit. I finally landed a gig at WHAS here in Louisville, where I finished my radio career a decade after I started. It was a fun ride! By the mid-1980s I was doing a ton of public speaking (90 engagements in 1986), and so left radio to pursue a full-time speaking career, as well as to marry and to give birth to our two dear kids. The writing came along a few years later when I signed my first publishing contract in 1992 as my speaking career was really taking off. I've done both writing and speaking ever since: 1500 presentations to date, and 20 published books.

LMB -- Who are your publishers and where can we find your books? 

Liz -- My first publisher for my funny nonfiction titles was Thomas Nelson Books. Then I did children's books with Tommy Nelson Publishing, contemporary fiction with Multnomah, and "meatier" nonfiction with WaterBrook Press before turning to the writing I love most, historical fiction, with the release of Thorn in My Heart.

LMB -- Your three "Bad Girls of The Bible" books have done very well. How did you come up with the idea and was it difficult to sell to the CBA? 

Liz -- I've always been fascinated by the women in Scripture, but must confess a stronger affinity with the "bad girls," whose sins and weaknesses look so much like my own! The three books--Bad Girls of the Bible, Really Bad Girls of the Bible, and Mad Mary: A Bad Girl from Magdala--are an unusual combination of contemporary fiction and nonfiction Bible study, and to date have combined sales of more than 500,000. As to selling it to a Christian publisher,  WaterBrook Press, got the concept immediately.

LMB -- How does your relationship with Jesus Christ affect your writing?

Liz -- It affects everything I say, do, and think, and so my writing reflects that vital, life-changing relationship as well. Because I'm an "FBG"--Former Bad Girl--I am ever aware of my need for grace and mercy. When I encountered Christ in 1982, having hit bottom pursuing a sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll lifestyle, the good news that I was loved "as is" and forgiven completely changed everything for me. Though I stayed in radio for a few more years, my desire to share what I'd discovered about God's grace soon led to speaking, and then to writing. Ultimately it's all about pleasing God. I know if I honor Him, I'm on the right track.

LMB -- I love the personal warm style of your writing. Is there someone(s) you have in mind when you write? Who is your audience? 

Liz -- I write for and about women because that's my true calling. Even my children's books were written with mothers in mind. My fiction is definitely women's fiction. And my nonfiction books are what I call "girlfriend theology," and are written to a woman's heart as well.

LMB -- What's a typical writing day like for Liz? 

Liz -- Long! :>) Once our two teens take off for school, I head upstairs to my writing office. I spend the morning editing what I wrote the day before, then press on to the next scene. I research as I go and have to be careful not to get so wrapped up doing research that I neglect to get any writing done! I take a short break for lunch, usually eating it at my desk, then keep going until suppertime at  6pm. When I'm up against a deadline, I sometimes write until midnight, but my goal is to quit before supper and join my family for the evening. I have daily word count goals that keep me in my chair; otherwise I might never finish a book!

LMB -- What's your writing place like? How is it set up? Do you play music or have some kind of outside stimulus going on while you write?

Liz -- It's a 17'x17' room, the only one on the second floor of our office building behind our house. With 7 windows I have plenty of light. The rest of the wallspace is bookshelves! I have a long desk with everything I need on hand, and a table right behind my chair with the reference books I reach for most. I have 600 books on Scottish history and culture around the room, so I always have somewhere to turn when I have a question. I also burn a scented candle--baked apple, cinnamon spice, pumpkin pie, something yummy--and have instrumental Celtic music or movie soundtracks softly playing in the background. And lots of hot tea on hand!

LMB -- Your first historical novel, Thorn in My Heart, got very good reviews. How did the idea for this Scottish historical romance come about?

Liz -- The story has been burning inside me since 1995. I've made 6 trips to Scotland for research, and have simply fallen in love with my adopted homeland. So much beauty, so much history, so many interesting people!

LMB -- If readers took one thing away from your writing, what do you hope that  is? 

Liz -- It took me a few years to realize that all my books, no matter the genre, have an element of grace. My characters are flawed and therefore easy to identify with. Even as various characters seek to be forgiven and made whole, so do my readers seek after that same affirmation and hope, as do I!

LMB -- What's in the works for Liz Curtis Higgs? 

Liz -- Now that I've finished writing the sequel to Thorn in My Heart--Fair Is the Rose, which will publish in March 2004--I'm writing the third book in the series, Whence Came a Prince. All three are set in the Lowlands of 18th-century Scotland.

LMB -- Any tips for new writers? 

Liz -- You bet! Visit my Web site at www.LizCurtisHiggs.com and click on "How-to Tips for Writers."

LMB -- Thanks so much, Liz.

Liz -- And thank you, Linda!

LMB -- Check Liz's website at www.lizcurtishiggs.com for more information about this delightful author!!!

Linda Mae Baldwin

Freelance writer