Author Interview with Terri Wangard.

Today, Love Lines from God welcomes author, Terri Wangard.  

Welcome, Terri. Tell us when you decided to become a writer, and what made you actually sit down and write something?

I’ve always loved books. Visiting libraries was (and still is) a favorite pastime. I did well in writing classes but hadn’t considered trying to write a book. That changed after I’d read books that left me thinking, I could do better than that. So it was a bit of “put my money where my mouth is.”

Every writer is eventually asked this question, but where do your ideas come from? Why do you write what you do?

My first writing attempt was a cruise romance. I love cruising, and writers should write what they know. My first published book, Friends & Enemies, was inspired by family history on the German side during World War II—again, what I know.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer to see where an idea takes you? How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

Most of my writing is historicals, and I’m a slave to detail. In my WWII series, the mission schedules of the B-17 groups are known, so I felt I had to stick to those dates. In that sense, I had an outline for the hero. For the heroine, I had ideas of her activities that were more flexible as I wrote.

What is the hardest thing about the creative process of writing?

Maintaining continuity. I work full-time, and due to a tendency for migraines, I limit my off-hours time on computers. My writing is confined to weekends, and it’s hard to pick up where I left off.

Name your three biggest frustrations about the writing business.

Maintaining a social media presence and keeping it fresh and interesting, mastering marketing, and following all the “rules” of correct writing.

On the flip side, what excites you the most about the creative process?

I love research—learning about the time period and imagining what my characters experience. Writing allows me to vicariously live through my characters.

What are you reading at the moment, and who are a few of your favorite authors and why?

The Fire and the Darkness; the Bombing of Dresden, 1945 by Sinclair McKay. I read as much, if not more, non-fiction as fiction. My favorite fiction authors include Robin Jones Gunn, Kristi Hunter, Sarah Sundin. Their writing is not dark. I want my reading to be relaxing, not stressful.

Tell us about your most recent book.

Roll Back the Clouds features the Lusitania. I love cruising, and I’ve always been more fascinated by the Lusitania than the Titanic.

Geoff and Rosaleen Bonnard travel to England aboard the fabled liner. When a German submarine hurtles a torpedo into the grand ship, Rosaleen makes it into a lifeboat, but her husband is missing? Geoff is finally located in a Cork hospital, suffering a back injury. Rosaleen sinks into depression, the battered faces of dead babies haunting her. Her once happy life seems out of reach. 

Can you give us your social media links and website so readers can follow you?  

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorTerriWangard

Twitter: @terriwangard

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/terriwangard

Instagram:  @terriwangard

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/terriwangard/

Website: http://www.terriwangard.com

And what is the buy link for your book?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1659679842

Tweetable: Stop by for an interview with author Terri Wangard. 

Terri Wangard grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the Lombardi Glory Years. Her first Girl Scout badge was the Writer. These days, she writes historical fiction and won the 2013 Writers on the Storm contest and 2013 First Impressions. She is also a 2012 Genesis finalist. Terri holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library science. Her research has included riding in a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Classic Boating Magazine, a family business since 1984, keeps her busy as an associate editor.

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