Interview with Alexis Goring and a Giveaway!

Welcome to Readers Write to Know! I asked you, my readers, what questions they would ask their favorite authors if given the chance, and the authors visiting my blog answered them! This week, I am so excited to have Alexis Goring with us! Alexis and I have met several times at different events, and I have always enjoyed talking to her and getting to know her! Now I have a chance to introduce you to her as well! Alexis is giving away an ebook of her Love in Pictures, so make sure you read on to see how you can enter to win!

Tell us a little bit about yourself: I’m a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing! I’m a total foodie who loves trying new recipes and dining at new restaurants. My passion for photography is right after my passion for writing. If I knew I could not fail, I’d be a wedding photographer (in addition to being a writer). I love curling up on a comfy couch with a good book inside my house on a rainy day.

Tell us about your current release: My current release, Love in Pictures, is about Michelle Hadley and Logan Emerson. Michelle is a wedding photographer who’s never been in love and doesn’t date often. Logan is a print journalist with a broken heart and a personal struggle that prevents him from achieving greater success as a broadcast journalist. Neither Michelle nor Logan are looking for a romantic relationship at the start of this story but after their meet cute, something about Michelle awakens Logan’s desire to love again.

What do you think is lacking in Christian Fiction?  I think that Christian Fiction is lacking diversity. Specifically, it’s lacking authors of color who write about characters of color from their own real-world life experience. We have a handful of authors of color who write from their worldview but we need more who are willing to do this. The challenges of being traditionally published by a mainstream, well-known publishing house when you write diverse stories are particularly high.

I’m a contributor to a group blog called “Diversity Between the Pages”. We’re all about promoting books that feature main characters of color. We promote books by all authors, regardless of race. The only requirements are that their books must feature lead characters that are of color and their story must be a clean read.

Check out our group blog here, https://diversitybetweenthepages.wordpress.com/about/.

Who was your first Screen/Musical Crush? Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys (BEFORE he met his wife and got married)

What advice do you have for aspiring writers? The best advice is to pray about it and if God gives you the green light to be a writer, pursue it with a passion to never give up! Going to writer’s conferences and connecting with other writers helps too. Networking with book editors, literary agents and publishers will also help to advance your career. Read books on writing to enhance your craft. Trust that if God wants you to be a writer, it will happen. Try to keep a positive attitude.

Who do you envision your typical reader to be? I write for a broad audience so I don’t have a specific “typical reader.” However, I think that my stories are most relatable to women ages 18 through 40 who love reading a good love story that explores matters of the heart in a way that’s sweet and uplifting.

Which of your characters most reflects your personality? Michelle Hadley from Love in Pictures most reflects my personality. You’ll have to read my book to find out why!

 I assume when you start a book, you pretty much have the plot laid out. Do you ever change your mind later on in the book, and go in a different direction? I’m more of a pantser than a plotter when I write stories. But I do determine the details for each of my main characters before I write so that I know where the story is going. However, in one of my unpublished stories, my original idea took a surprising turn. The story, “Memories,” is about a woman named Kaydance who owns a portrait studio and has a longtime crush on her favorite news anchor Robert. Her dreams look like they’re going to come true when she’s contracted by his news network to work on a set of feature stories with him. When I started writing this story, I thought that Kaydance and Robert would fall in love through working together but what I wasn’t counting on was seeing just how strong the bond was between Robert and his longtime girlfriend Roberta. It presented many challenges and plot twists!

If you knew ahead of time your book would benefit only one person on their spiritual journey, would you still write it? Yes.

Find Alexis online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexisAGoring/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PennedbyAlex
Website: https://alexisagoring.jimdo.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/capturingidea/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7260528.Alexis_A_Goring
“God is Love” blog: http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com

Find Alexis’ recent release Love in Pictures on Amazon:

Alexis is giving away a copy of Love in Pictures. Enter below: