I'm happy to have as our guest, Elizabeth Camden, author of
Against the Tide
A research librarian and associate professor, Elizabeth Camden has a master's in history from the University of Virginia and a master's in library science from Indiana University. Elizabeth lives with her husband in central Florida.
JO: Welcome, Elizabeth. Please tell us a little about yourself.
ELIZABETH: Although I like to write big, sprawling romantic stories, my personal life is pretty mundane. I am a college librarian by day, and a wife to an amazing man the rest of the time! No kids, but that is probably the reason I have been able to make space in my life for writing.
JO: How did you become involved in writing?
ELIZABETH: Most college librarians are required to publish in order to get tenure, so I have written a lot of dry academic history books toward building my case for tenure. After I got tenure, I had more freedom to delve into the kind of writing I've always longed to do....big, sprawling romantic stories that combined my love of fiction with historical research.
JO: Do you always know the title of your books before you write them?
ELIZABETH: Not anymore! I made this mistake of naming my first book as I wrote it, and my publisher hated the title. I wanted to call it The Robber Baron, but they wisely pointed out that I was a new author and people needed help "placing" me in the genre. They wanted something that would identify the book as a romance novel aimed at women, and the book was re-named The Lady of Bolton Hill. Since I know the manuscript will usually be renamed, I now refer to them by the city in which they are set (the Boston book, the Chicago book, etc.)
JO: Please tell us about Against the Tide.
ELIZABETH: Against the Tide is set in 1891 amidst the cobblestone streets of Boston, where Lydia Pallas's fluency in seven languages bring her to the attention of Alex Banebridge, a man who needs her translation skills in a dangerous quest. As a powerful attraction grows between them, Alex's mission will take Lydia away from everything-and everyone-she ever held dear.
JO: What takeaway value do you hope your readers receive after reading this book?
ELIZABETH: The book is essentially about the concept of resilience. Bane and Lydia have both survived devastating childhoods, but are naturally optimistic people who refuse to let obstacles stand in their way. Have you ever met people who wither at the first hint of trouble, while others who are repeatedly clobbered by tragedy can still maintain an optimistic outlook? This is a choice. Trusting in the Lord's plan for us is one element of adopting a resilient spirit and I wove that theme throughout the book. It is a sense of resilience that allows ordinary people to power through obstacles and accomplish amazing things.
Although I put Bane and Lydia through a lot of heartache, I hope people have a marvelous time reading Against the Tide. I think it is the most romantic book I've ever written. It is a turbulent romance, but I always want to provide flashes of wit, delight, and joy throughout Lydia and Bane's story.
JO: Where did you get the idea for your book?
ELIZABETH: I have always admired people who are fluent in multiple languages. My heroine is a translator for the U.S. Navy, certainly an unusual position for a woman in the 1890's. I wanted to write a romantic suspense story that hinges on the heroine's intelligence to help dig her out of some dicey situations. I also wanted her intelligence to be the basis for the hero's initial flare of attraction for her.
JO: What advice would you give to writers who have been writing a few years but still haven't interested an agent or publisher in their novel?
ELIZABETH: I know all about the heartache of struggling toward publication. It took me about five years, six manuscripts, and tons of rejection before I got to the finish line.
When I first started writing I imitated the style of my favorite authors. There is nothing wrong with that because I learned a lot along the way.....but my manuscripts were a pale imitation of someone else's voice. Over the years I became more daring and developed a very strong voice of my own, and I think this was what finally got me published.
I think if you can develop characters who leap off the page and engage the reader immediately, and pair them with a distinctive voice that is both appealing and marketable, you will be headed in the right direction.
JO: What are you working on now?
ELIZABETH: I'm currently working on a book about the aftermath endured by people who survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Into the Whirlwind will be released in the summer of 2013.
JO: Please tell our readers where they can get your book.
ELIZABETH: It can be found at all the online stores and the major bookstores.
JO: Please tell our readers where they can find you online.
ELIZABETH: I love blogging about the romance genre and trends within the publishing industry at www.elizabethcamden.com/blog. I hope you can swing by sometime!
JO: Elizabeth, thank you for joining us for an interesting interview. Elizabeth has graciously given me a copy of Against the Tide, which one current subscriber to this newsletter will win in a drawing on February 25.
I and my ancestors grew up in the Southern Appalachians of East Tennessee. I know and care about the people there. The book sweeps from 1928 to the 1950s. 
Title: Choices of the Heart 
I
When it comes to writing knowledge, Cec Murphey is a walking encyclopedia. His words below at first seem to contain no writing wisdom. Sometimes we as writers make mistakes in our writing and also in our personal relationships. Some of us are good at worrying ourselves about past mistakes--small and large. It will be difficult to write well if we continue to harbor any mistakes of our past--they rattle around in our mind taking up room that could hold marvelous writing ideas. How to eliminate this problem is to use the wisdom of Cec:
Since he was a Chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets from the past. When he looked at the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.