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Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke are the authors of five novels: Girls’ Night Out, Amazon Charts bestselling novel, The Good Widow, Your Perfect Life, The Status of All Things and The Year We Turned Forty. Liz and Lisa have been best friends for 30 years.
Earlier this year, I read Girls’ Night Out, which is a thriller about a friend going missing during a girls’ weekend getaway to Mexico (check out my preview, review and book club questions). It’s twisty and will keep you guessing until the last page!
Get to know Liz and Lisa as they talk about writing books together, the idea behind Girls’ Night Out and a sneak peek into their next book.
Q: What are some of your favorite novels?
A: There are so many! We love You by Caroline Kepnes, The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty, The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo, Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone and of course classics like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and Summer Sisters by Judy Blume.
Q: When did you both know you wanted to become authors?
A: Lisa knew at a very young age. Liz always loved reading and writing, but never dared to dream being an author as a reality until she was in college.
Q: I love the about page on your site! Can you talk more about the idea for the two of you to write books together?
A: Thank you! It was something we had always discussed, but it wasn’t until about ten years post-college when Lisa approached Liz and asked if she was ready. She had a toddler and was pregnant and didn’t feel ready at all, but they wrote a book anyway!
Q: What is the process like for crafting novels? Do you both alternate chapters, split up the book in halves, etc.?
A: We alternate chapters. Liz will write one, send to Lisa. She edits, sends back and they pass it back and forth until they are satisfied. Then Lisa will begin the next one!
Q: Where do you both draw your story inspirations from?
A: Everywhere! As authors, we are always observing human behavior and asking ourselves, “What if?”.
Q: Since you both have written different genres from women’s fiction to suspense, do you all have a preference on genre?
A: We love the twists and turns of suspense!
Q: Let’s talk about Girls’ Night Out. What was the idea behind the story? What would you say is the lesson of the book for best friends?
A: We thought it would be interesting to explore what happens when long-term friendships begin to crumble under the weight of life. Those relationships are complex, yet so important. Those are often the people that know you better than you know yourself, for better or for worse. Sometimes having that kind of scar tissue with someone can make it tough to let go of the past. But we’ve learned in our own friendships that it’s critical to forgive each other, as well as yourself.
Q: When writing suspense like Girls’ Night Out, do you all have the ending already decided or does that come along during the writing process?
A: It depends. In GNO, we did change the ending in the editing process.
Q: Can you give any hints regarding your next book?
A: Yes! The Two Lives of Lila Bennett will be out next summer. We love this one! It’s a Sliding Doors concept, about a woman whose life splits into two. In one life, she is kidnapped and taken hostage. In the other, someone is hunting her. You’ll have to read it to see which Lila survives!
Q: What books are you currently reading and what’s on your to be read (TBR) list?
A: Liz is reading The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. Lisa just started Educated by Tara Westover.
Click here to buy Girls’ Night Out on Amazon.
Also, if you haven’t found me on Instagram yet, let’s connect @bookclubchat!
