Connie Mann author of The Liar’s Treasure is our guest today.
Welcome Connie welcome to Australasian Christian Writers. Thank you for spending time with us today.
When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?
My absolute favorite book was Harriet the Spy! I wanted to BE Harriet, so I climbed trees to spy on the neighbours and jotted my suspicions in a little notebook. Not surprisingly, my investigations were not any more welcomed than Harriet’s were. But it inspired my curiosity and a life-long love of mysteries and desire to find the story behind the story.
Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and to write?
I love writing and reading romantic suspense and women’s adventure. I also enjoy reading rom-coms. But when I’m writing, I only read Regency Romance, LOL. That’s because everything – the settings, pacing, speech patterns – are so completely removed from what I’m writing that I don’t worry about accidentally “borrowing” from something else.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
It started with my epic third-grade story called Susie’s Babies, about my hamster, and really took hold while reading Lassie and the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. I loved exploring new places, meeting new people, and living different lives through the pages of books.
How did you go about being published?
I definitely took the long way around! I didn’t have the courage to pursue fiction writing directly, so I took all the writing electives I could in college and then got writing-related jobs: proofing ads for the telephone book, writing city descriptions for guidebooks and marketing newsletter copy. That led to writing for a regional parenting magazine – they paid me in movie tickets! – before becoming the editor and then writing a parenting book for Baker Publishing. After that, I finally mustered up the courage to try fiction, but that road was also filled with rejections and false starts and backtracking. It was another 10 years before my first novel was published. Moral of the story: don’t quit on your dreams!
What inspired you to write THE LIAR’S TREASURE come about?
THE LIAR’S TREASURE is the second book in my Speranza Team series. I’ve always loved adventure stories, especially ones involving secret societies and globe-trotting quests for lost treasure and priceless artifacts. Think Clive Cussler and Dan Brown. But it occurred to me a while back that the guys were always the heroes while the women played supporting roles. I decided to turn that on its head and created a contemporary series involving a secret society of strong, flawed, fabulous women who head into danger to help other women and save the day.
How has the writing process been for you?
I wish it would get easier with every book, but the blank page is always intimidating. I am absolutely deadline driven and that’s what keeps me at my desk. If I need to get X number of words written/day, I have hubby hold me accountable. I always encourage writers to try different things and then use whatever method works for you to get words on the page.
What do you hope readers will take home out of your books?
My books all have strong heroines and I hope women readers especially, will be encouraged to be more brave, to take more risks, to remember that they are stronger than they think they are. Also, my characters have faith struggles like everyone else and I hope their struggles help readers navigate their own in honest ways.
If you could have a meal with 3 living people, who would you choose and why?
I would choose Jen Hatmaker because her honesty and sense of humor have encouraged me for many years, Mel Robbins because her podcast and Let Them Theory have been game-changers in my life, and Kristin Hannah because her book, The Women, wrecked me in all the best ways.
Finally, can you tell us about your latest release.
From the acclaimed author of Beyond Risk and The Crown Conspiracy, hailed as a “wild ride” by Library Journal, comes an action-packed adventure about a mysterious diary and a thrilling, high-stakes treasure hunt.
Camille Abernathy ignored rumors of The Liar’s Treasure and her family’s connection to it . . . until someone put a target on her daughter’s back. Growing up in New Orleans, such tall tales were as common as beignets and gumbo. But when Camille’s teenage daughter, Cass, posts pictures of a centuries-old diary her uncle gave her, she unwittingly attracts dozens of treasure hunting fanatics who are convinced Cass and the diary can lead them to a valuable cache.
To keep her daughter safe, Camille enlists the help of Speranza, a secret society always ready to help women in need. Together, they set out on a globe-trotting journey to find The Liar’s Treasure while also investigating a suspicious death related to Camille’s childhood friend. The deeper they dig, the more they suspect it’s all connected.
Chasing clues from New Orleans to Italy to the Bahamas, Camille and her friends receive unexpected assistance—and unwanted competition—from a handsome treasure hunter from Camille’s past. Then Cass is kidnapped, and finding the treasure truly becomes a matter of life and death.
Where can we buy the book and where can we find you on the web?
Amazon (affiliate link) Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Christianbook
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