Award-winning author Elizabeth Goddard may be a born and bred Texan but that doesn’t stop her loving the rugged beauty of Oregon where she spent five years with her family. And it doesn’t stop her from writing stories like Oregon Outback where she follows the lives of four brothers as they learn to live and love in the rough beauty of Oregon.
WHAT LED YOU TO WRITE OREGON OUTBACK?
I saw the term, “Oregon Outback” in a travel magazine and I was immediately intrigued with the title. I knew it would make a great book cover. Plus, I have a story set in the high desert of Oregon so this was perfect.
STARTING OUT, WHO WERE THE AUTHORS WHO INSPIRED YOU? WHO INSPIRES YOU NOW?
My first experience with Christian fiction started with Boede Thoene twenty or so years ago. I was so caught up in her stories and writing that I wanted to write novels, too! The Thoenes are still incredible authors and I look to their stories for inspiration, but Christian fiction has grown exponentially, as you know, to include many other great authors. I’m inspired by different authors for different reasons. After reading one such author I went back to Oregon Outback and rewrote my novellas. For whatever reason, this story ignited my creativity and expanded my vision for my own work. The author—Steven James. The book: The Bishop.
HOW DOES YOUR FAITH INFLUENCE YOUR WRITING?
There isn’t a way to separate a person from their faith, I don’t think. The reason I write is because of the dream that God instilled in me decades ago. I don’t necessarily start my stories thinking about what the spiritual theme will be but eventually it comes out through my characters as they live their lives in the story. I can count on God to bring out some big spiritual nugget that I never considered.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN THAT YOU WANTED TO BE AN AUTHOR?
I’ve known since I was in grade school that I wanted to write but I wasn’t sure what to write, exactly. During my early teens I started my first novel. An avid reader from a very young age, I can’t remember when I didn’t want to also write. But I pursued another career and it wasn’t until I was in my mid-thirties when I began to pursue getting published for real.
WHAT DO YOU MOST HOME THAT READERS GET FROM READING YOUR WORK?
I’d love for readers to be entertained, loving the story and the writing, and come away with a sense of hope and redemption and a spiritual nugget that they can apply to their life.