Welcome to the Coffee Chat!
Are you ready to meet a favorite author, a new author, or one that’s just new to you? This week’s guest is N.J. Litz, a writer of suspense/mysteries with romantic elements.
Good morning, Nancy. What would you like to drink?
NJ: Right now, I’m being righteous and drinking water. I’m usually righteous every morning. Then around 10 a.m., I crave sugar and have a cola. Never been a fan of coffee.
Ally: While I get that bottled water, please tell readers something about yourself.
Welcome to the Coffee Chat!
Are you ready to meet a favorite author, a new author, or one that’s just new to you? This week’s guest is N.J. Litz, a writer of suspense/mysteries with romantic elements.
Good morning, Nancy. What would you like to drink?
NJ: Right now, I’m being righteous and drinking water. I’m usually righteous every morning. Then around 10 a.m., I crave sugar and have a cola. Never been a fan of coffee.
Ally: While I get that bottled water, please tell readers something about yourself.
Bio:
My undergrad degree is in journalism, and I started out as a newspaper reporter before I moved into communications for corporations and non-profits. I’m now connected with a non-profit so it’s very rewarding to go to work every day. I live in the St. Louis area with my family and numerous dogs and cats.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I’m a Christmas baby so we just wrapped up my time of year. A December 25 birthday has both its pluses and minuses. I have no idea what it’s like to have to go to work on my birthday. Then again, I only get to celebrate once a year while most of you celebrate your birthday and a major holiday.”
Contact info: njwrite@outlook.com
Website: https://www.njlitz.com/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/NJ-Litz/e/B07KDJL6JC
My undergrad degree is in journalism, and I started out as a newspaper reporter before I moved into communications for corporations and non-profits. I’m now connected with a non-profit so it’s very rewarding to go to work every day. I live in the St. Louis area with my family and numerous dogs and cats.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “I’m a Christmas baby so we just wrapped up my time of year. A December 25 birthday has both its pluses and minuses. I have no idea what it’s like to have to go to work on my birthday. Then again, I only get to celebrate once a year while most of you celebrate your birthday and a major holiday.”
Contact info: njwrite@outlook.com
Website: https://www.njlitz.com/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/NJ-Litz/e/B07KDJL6JC
INTERVIEW:
Ally: Why did you choose a career in writing?
NJ: My family had a clue that I would use my imagination pretty early on. I had an imaginary friend when I was three-years old. My “friend,” Siddado, had his own little red chair, and my parents were so encouraging that they took the red chair to my grandparents and close family friends, when we would go to their homes. Around eight years old, I started writing stories after reading Nancy Drew books, Wrinkle in Time, etc. so it’s not surprising that I went to journalism school and have made my living mostly writing non-fiction for corporations or non-profits.
Ally: What’s the most meaningful thing a fan could say about your book?
NJ: That one of my stories allowed her to go to another place, another world, another life for several hours.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
NJ: No Bed of Roses is a romantic mystery set in one of the most acclaimed botanical gardens in the world. It teams a feisty botanist with a down-on-his-luck but charming journalist. The botanical garden almost becomes a character. No Bed of Roses will be out in April, 2019.
Ally: In keeping with the paranormal theme of this website, what supernatural power or ability would you like to have? Why?
NJ: I’d like the power to heal. In my professional life, I support young children with special needs. I know the power of early intervention, and the difference it makes in their lives. Unfortunately, most people define these children by their special need rather than by the child’s personality or gifts. The children are so amazing!
Ally: Let’s wind up the interview with five short answer question.
Ally: Why did you choose a career in writing?
NJ: My family had a clue that I would use my imagination pretty early on. I had an imaginary friend when I was three-years old. My “friend,” Siddado, had his own little red chair, and my parents were so encouraging that they took the red chair to my grandparents and close family friends, when we would go to their homes. Around eight years old, I started writing stories after reading Nancy Drew books, Wrinkle in Time, etc. so it’s not surprising that I went to journalism school and have made my living mostly writing non-fiction for corporations or non-profits.
Ally: What’s the most meaningful thing a fan could say about your book?
NJ: That one of my stories allowed her to go to another place, another world, another life for several hours.
Ally: What is your next writing project? Anticipated release date?
NJ: No Bed of Roses is a romantic mystery set in one of the most acclaimed botanical gardens in the world. It teams a feisty botanist with a down-on-his-luck but charming journalist. The botanical garden almost becomes a character. No Bed of Roses will be out in April, 2019.
Ally: In keeping with the paranormal theme of this website, what supernatural power or ability would you like to have? Why?
NJ: I’d like the power to heal. In my professional life, I support young children with special needs. I know the power of early intervention, and the difference it makes in their lives. Unfortunately, most people define these children by their special need rather than by the child’s personality or gifts. The children are so amazing!
Ally: Let’s wind up the interview with five short answer question.
- a. hiking or sunbathing: I love to hike, and have gone on walking vacations in Europe and all over the U.S. so I’m definitely a sneakers girl.
- b. favorite book boyfriend: Is there ever any serious consideration besides Darcy? (Either Jane Austen or Bridget Jones version is acceptable.)
- c. Do you believe in love at first sight? Absolutely! I knew my husband was the one after the first date because I was so comfortable with him in a way that I’d never felt before.
- d. What comes to your first - character or plot? I’m very plot driven. I come from a long line of CPAs so my family plans—a lot!
- e. Your pets - type and names: Right now, it’s just Oscar, a white cat, and Rascal, a black lab mix. (I don’t recommend naming a dog Rascal. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.) At one point, I had two dogs and three cats, and I live in suburbs. That was a bit much, but certainly I know how much pets contribute to the happiness of a family, and that’s part of what I try to convey in Scent of Fear.
Scent of Fear
Genre: suspense/mystery
Rating: Author advises of one scene rated 3
For Haley Richardson, fear does have a smell. So do hate and happiness.
A head injury as a child gave Haley an extraordinary sense of smell. Her gifts allow Haley and her German shepherd, Jax, to be one of the most successful search and rescue teams in the Midwest. Her gift is also a curse as she detects people’s feelings. For her sanity, she’s become a recluse until she’s called on to find the lost.
When girls begin disappearing with tragic results in her hometown, Haley teams with the county’s new sheriff, Dane Campbell, to find the killer.
Haley is drawn to the outgoing sheriff, whose own daughter is emotionally damaged. After a lifetime of feeling like an outsider, though, Haley is reluctant to get involved with the child, whose melancholy threatens to overwhelm Haley.
As the murders test Haley’s gift and skills, she learns that sometimes a search and rescue can be about the heart, and the heart can led the way home.
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/B07KB5MNV8
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18608494.NJ_Litz
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