1. When did you start writing?

 A long, long time ago. Words always meant a lot to me. I had a tough childhood and witnessed a ton of violence and manipulation behind closed doors. A lot of people don’t know that about me. Now that I am working as a mental health therapist, I am more open about my journey because I want others to know that I truly understand pain. I always encourage my clients to use creativity to manage their pain because it helps immensely. Writing is one of the ways I managed mine.

2. What was your journey towards becoming an author like?

My first book was published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing (where we met as we were both in house authors, yaaay!) From then my book was mentioned in an article by The Huffington Post titled The Artists of 9/11, which discussed the time period around which my first book was written. Then I was appearing at book signings and blogs and working on my next books.

After a few more published novels and novellas, my career was derailed by a divorce which took years. It sucked. A bunch of lies just for financial gain and not on my part. My creativity was zapped and I was just trying to survive emotionally. All of that has been over with for years. I was finally able to get back to the things that are important, like my focus on being a loving parent, maintaining a beautiful home, writing and working in health care and helping people.

3. What can you tell me about your latest book? (Feel free to include an excerpt.)

The Angel of Shadowmist is a young adult paranormal thriller with strong romantic elements. It’s about two high school students who both have the ability to see ghosts, and there is also a twist which is inspired by history. An evil entity is the antagonist whose focus is on stealing life away from others to use for his own twisted purposes. It’s a novel with great characters, set in the beautiful city of San Francisco.

Excerpt

I took a long look at each door in turn. They were identical, plain wooden doors with brass doorknobs. Doorknobs that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Waiting like the Mad Hatter or the White Rabbit sitting at a table with hands clasped in anticipation. Waiting to reveal my Eterni-Tea. Oh, if only one could talk and tell me if there was doom lurking behind or the thing I wanted most. Life. Ben. Home. An awakening.

   Ben would be behind one door. He will find a way to come for me. He is standing behind a door, and he will rescue me from this terrible place. He will take me back to life, and we will talk about how he found his way into the world of ghosts over coffee shop pastries and pumpkin lattes.

   “Follow your heart to choose a door. Your heart will always guide you to the right one. To the one that houses your deepest desire. Your most fervent hope.”

   Follow my heart, follow my heart. Where my deepest, darkest secret exists. Beyond which lies what I desire most. 

   My hand reached out to the door in the middle. I touched the cool brassy knob. A flutter of panic released in my chest as I pulled my hand away. “No.” My fingertips grazed the door on the left, then the door on the right, then the door on the left again. I rested my ear against the wood of the door on the left. Silence. 

   I glanced at Auroch. A small smile played about his lips. He knew.

   Striding to the door on the right, I gripped the knob in my fist. I twisted my hand and pulled the door open.

4. What sort of methods do you use for book promotion?

For promotion, I like to use social media. Book promotion is difficult, I will have to admit, because there’s so much content out there nowadays. Who knows how to reach an audience at this point when you’ve got a gazillion other people out there yelling for someone to buy their wares.

Reaching out to the press is good too. I used to think marketing to friends and family, but I have noticed that they are not always the most supportive since many people in the inner circle might become jealous. That has been a theme that has showed up a lot in my life, where people become vindictive and jealous for seemingly no reason. You just have to brush that aside and keep giving to the universe and keep supporting the people who support you. That’s the best promotion of all, trying to be the best writer and person you can be and giving all of your energy to that.

5. Where do you get your ideas for stories?

They essentially come out of the fog, out of the shadows of my mind and are reworked a thousand times over until I am ready to put them on the page. I like to work with a plot outline and see where it goes, then add and change things during the first draft and in rewrites for clarity.

6. What are you working on right now?

I have an old manuscript that I am dusting off, so to speak. The main character is a female James Bond, not in the toxic masculinity way. Someone who feels deeply and loves unconditionally. Only the person she falls for happens to be an extraterrestrial. The working title is Supernatural Kiss.

7. Any advice for other authors?

Being that I like to keep my psychology practice and my creative ventures separate, I’m really not sure what advice I can give for authors except to say that you should keep on writing, keep on getting published and making a name for yourself. Don’t expect to sell a million books your first chance out right, don’t expect to sell 1 million books at all, write for the purity of the art and expression. And many have this myth that authors are all rich and celebrities anyway so that kind of helps in my social life and being regarded as a VIP in random places. But don’t tell anyone.

ABOUT LIZ:

Dr. Elizabeth Newman writes contemporary, historical, paranormal, supernatural, and fantasy romance for adults and young adults under the pen name Liz Newman.

Novels by Liz Newman have been published by Evernight Teen Publishing, Secret Cravings Publishing- the Romance Writers of America’s Choice for Publisher of The Year in 2012, as well as Devine Destinies, Breathless Press, Lycaon Press, and Solstice Publishing.

Along with crafting novels, the art of Bellydance is a passion and joy for Liz, who appears under the stage name Lila. She is a professional Bellydancer headlined at several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. She teaches the art of Bellydance to students of all levels and backgrounds.

Dr. Elizabeth Newman holds a doctorate and a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology among many other degrees and certifications. She provides mental health counseling to children and people of all ages and has contributed to many texts created to assist teens with social and domestic issues. Liz was a Mental Health Counselor for the YWCA Crisis Center in San Jose and was part of their Emergency Response Team for victims of domestic violence and assault. She served as a counselor at Community Health Awareness Council in Mountain View. Dr. Newman is a mental health practitioner, dance performer and instructor, and author who resides in California.

When she is not writing, counseling, or dancing, you can find Liz Newman curled up with a book and her cat at home, meditating, practicing yoga, hiking out in nature, trying out a new recipe, or sampling the latest vintages at a local winery with her little French Bulldog, Lola.

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