Author Interview -- Anderson, Littke, and Morrisby Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger 19 Jul 2007 01:47 PM We have a special treat today on Families.com - three LDS authors who have written a wonderful series together. Nancy Anderson, Lael J. Littke, and Carroll H. Morris graciously consented to this exclusive interview and I thank them for their time. Ladies, how did the three of you meet? Lael: Carroll and Nancy are sisters. I first became aware of Carroll when my editor at Deseret, Eleanor Knowles, told me she'd just put out a really fine book by her, titled "The Broken Covenant." She gave me a copy. I read it and was really impressed. A year or so later I was visiting an old friend in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the friend said she'd invited another author and husband to dinner -- Carroll and Gary Morris. Carroll: Fast forward about five years when Nancy and I went to Provo to attend Women's Conference in 1990. After the opening session, we got in a shuttle to ride to upper campus. In the seat in front of us was a woman wearing a dress in the colors I love. When I told her that, she turned around, read my nametag and said, "I've met you before!" It was Lael. Nancy and I invited her to come with us to our first class. Then the one after that. We had such a great rapport that we invited her to share our lunch-we had food for ten! Nancy: We had such a good time together that day that we decided to meet the next year at a cabin up at Midway for a writers retreat and then go to Women's Conference. We had a great time. I especially remember Lael reading aloud from the book she was working on, which was later published under the name "Lake of Secrets." Carroll: I remember us almost getting snowed in! Lael: That was the year my husband died suddenly. The next year I asked them if they'd like to come to my timeshare in Carlsbad, California, for a week long writers retreat. They did, and we got in the habit of doing a writers retreat each year at timeshare resorts that I would trade for all over the country. We've been vacationing together ever since then. We've had wonderful adventures, such as going down Shaeffer Trail in Canyonlands and climbing up to a cliff dwelling in Sedona, AZ. At each place we would learn things that were so meaningful, we'd say, "That ought to be in a book!" How did you get the idea to write together? Carroll: We were vacationing in Moab when Nancy said, "Why don't we write a book together!" We began brainstorming, and we came up with the idea of each of us creating a character and writing from that viewpoint. We still have the notes I wrote as we talked-in sky blue ink! Lael: We started writing while we were still in Moab. Each year after that, we would bring what we'd written to read while on vacation. For a long time it wasn't much-we didn't get serious right away. But the book expanded as the years went by -- and expanded -- and expanded! Carroll: At some point, we realized that we were going to end up with a 1200 page novel-or a trilogy! But who would publish a trilogy? We decided we'd just have fun writing and then figure out what to do about publication. Lael: In 2005 we were far enough along that I said it was time to find out if what we were doing was publishable. I contact Emily Watts at Deseret Book, with whom I'd worked before, and she said they'd just been talking about the need for something like a Mormon Ya Ya Sisterhood. She referred me on to Jana Erickson, and voila! We slid right into the spot! Nancy: It was like it was meant to be. That's been a comforting thought when we're deep in the trenches and don't know how we're going to make a deadline! How wonderful that you took a friendship and turned it into such a great business venture. We'll continue our chat with these wonderful ladies tomorrow. In the meantime, you can learn more about them at their website. Related Blogs: Author Interview -- Lynne Jonell Author Interview -- Pamela S. Thibodeaux Author Interview -- Sherry Ann Miller Learn more about Tristi Pinkston  I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006. Relevantmedia tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags lds author, novel, women's fiction Discuss this article
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