The Writer’s Desk with Sami Abrams
Sami Abrams grew up hating to read. It wasn’t until her 30’s that she found authors that captured her attention. Now, most evenings you can find her engrossed in a Romantic Suspense. In her opinion, crime and a little romance is the recipe for a great story.
Sami has finaled over 15 times in writing contests, including receiving first place in American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis Contest in 2019 and 2020, and Faith Hope and Love’s Touched By Love Awards in 2018.
She lives in Northern California, but she will always be a Kansas girl at heart. She has a love of sports, family, and travel. However, a cabin at Lake Tahoe writing her next story is definitely at the top of her list.
Connect with Sami on her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, BookBub, GoodReads, and sign up for her newsletter.
Q&A with Sami Abrams
TG: Everyone always asks for an interesting fact, we’re going to flip the question. What is one boring fact about yourself?
SA: I’m terribly boring with my choice of foods. Plain and simple makes me happy.
TG: Where did you get the inspiration for Impending Strike?
SA: When applying for the Elite Guardians season with Sunrise, Lynette had chosen three secondary characters—Lizzie being one of them. And she had a side note about Lizzie and Charlie together. I thought it would be fun to have the two bodyguards together. I mean, who guards who? Given the normal storylines of EG, obviously, Lizzie had to guard Charlie, but why? That’s when I came up with him hurt and not being able to remember, and it went from there.
TG: Do you have any habits or rituals as a writer?
SA: I love to listen to music in the background. If I’m writing, I’ll blast Christian Pop Hits on Alexa or K-Love. If I’m editing, it’s either quiet or the music is turned down low.
TG: What habits would you encourage others to take up to be a more productive writer?
SA: Sit down to write every day (or as many days as possible) even if you only get in two hundred words. AND find yourself a writing partner. Virginia Vaughan and I Zoom most days and write together. Sometimes we work and never talk, other times we brainstorm or just enjoy a conversation in between writing sprints.
TG: What do you snack on or drink while writing?
SA: If you would’ve asked me that a few months ago, I’d have given you a different answer. But now, I always have a big glass of water sitting next to me and usually, M&Ms are somewhere within reach.
TG: How do you overcome writer’s block?
SA: I call up my writing partner and we either brainstorm, or she tells me to get to work. Haha! I usually just need a kick in the pants to sit down and do it.
TG: Are you an “edit-as-you-go” writer or do you wait until the very end before you do any editing?
SA: I’m a combination of the two. I do edit as I go, but not excessively. I’ll go back and delete and rewrite if it doesn’t sound right, but it doesn’t have to be perfect either.
TG: What would you say is the most common mistake new writers make?
SA: The most common mistake is trying to please everyone because you don’t trust yourself. It’s a hard thing to overcome, but you’re new and everyone else “knows what they’re doing.” There comes a point when you listen to others then you have to go with your gut on what is right.
TG: What is the best piece of writing advice you’re ever received?
SA: Listen to others, but trust your gut. It was hard at first. As a new writer, you try to take every comment and suggestion at face value. But that only leads to confusion and frustration. I’ve learned to listen to critiques, understand why the person made a comment, then do a gut check. Does this work with my story? Do I need to address this? Many times, the WHY is more important. If you know why then you can fix it in a way that stays true to the story and your voice.
TG: What is coming up next for you?
SA: ACK! What a question. LOL! I have an Elite Guardians Christmas Novella with Sunrise coming out in 2023, and another Elite Guardians full-length novel in 2024. I also write for Love Inspired and have Love Inspired Suspense novels coming out on August 23, 2022, February 28, 2023, another around November 2023, and my final one in this series in 2024. Phew! I’m already tired just thinking about it. Hehe!
Enter to win a copy of Impending Strike*:
*Due to shipping costs, the giveaway for the physical copy is open to US mailing addresses only.
More about Impending Strike
He loves her, but he can’t have her…
Elite Guardian Charlie Lee knows that there is no future with the woman he loves—fellow Guardian Lizzie Tremaine. And he gets it. Lizzie’s a single mom focused on protecting her daughter, and Charlie’s got his own baggage anyway. It’s easier, and safer, to keep things the way they are.
Then, the unthinkable happens. While Charlie is undercover, he’s seriously injured…and his memory of the past four years is gone. But maybe it’s the fresh start he didn’t know he longed for.
And now he’s getting too close…
Lizzie cares for Charlie, but she’s lost all the men she’s ever loved and can’t risk her heart again. Still, she’s determined to protect Charlie, and help him discover who attacked him—and why.
But in the process, she begins to discover an unburdened, impossible-to-resist version of the man she knows. And—along with the details of his attack—Charlie seems to have forgotten their reasons for keeping things platonic. Suddenly, all of their self-imposed rules are gone, and Lizzie needs things to get back to normal, stat.
It’s her heart…or his life.
Problem is, the closer Charlie gets to uncovering his memories, the closer he gets to trouble. What will protecting Charlie cost Lizzie?
Purchase a copy of Impending Strike here.
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