Liz Johnson author of Seal Under Seige

I'm so excited to welcome my new friend, Liz Johnson, to Sleuths and Suspects. It's book two in the Men of Valor series.

Liz was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.

Can you tell us how you came up with the idea for Seal Under Siege?

The basic seed for my latest book, SEAL Under Siege, was planted many years
ago when I heard Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer speak at a Women of Faith
conference. They shared about their captivity in a Middle Eastern prison.
They'd been missionaries in Afghanistan. Thrown into prison for teaching
Christianity. And ultimately rescued by US Special Forces. I was enamored
with their story from the moment I first heard it. What strength and
conviction it must have taken to survive months inside that prison. Months
without the ability to communicate with family. Months without hope.

And yet they did have hope. In fact, they called their book, which tells of
their captivity, Prisoners of Hope.

For years I wondered what it would be like to be in a prison and see a team
of SEALs come to the rescue. That wondering led to the first chapter of SEAL
Under Siege, where Tristan rescues Staci from a Middle East prison. That was
the seed, but the adventure that follows, well, that's all fictional.


Are you related to any Seals? How did you research for this story?

I am not related to any SEALs. At least not that I know of. :) But I've been
curious about Navy SEALs for years, reading all sorts of books, watching
documentaries, and devouring news stories about them. To prepare to write
SEAL Under Siege and its predecessor, A Promise to Protect, I read several
biographies of SEALs including Lone Survivor and Fearless. I'm fascinated by
the kind of man it takes to serve our country in this capacity. Fiercely
loyal, bound by honor, and a never-say-quit attitude.


What spiritual takeaway do you hope the reader gets?

As I started writing this book, I was asking myself a lot of questions about
what it means to be whole. Spiritually. Emotionally. And out of that came
the character of Staci, who battles with feeling unworthy, broken, useless
because of something in her past. What makes a woman or a man whole? Who
makes them whole? That's the question I wrestled with, and it's one I hope
readers will consider as they read SEAL Under Siege. Ultimately, I hope
they're reminded that God makes us whole and sets us free from the prisons
we often set up for ourselves.

Liz, thanks for joining us today.

Bio:
By day Liz Johnson is a marketing manager for a Christian publisher. She
finds time to write late at night and is a two-time ACFW Carol Award
finalist. Liz makes her home in Nashville, TN, where she enjoys theater,
exploring local music, and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her
nieces and nephews. She loves stories of true love with happy endings and
blogs about her adventures in writing at www.LizJohnsonBooks.com. Follow her
online at Facebook.com/LizJohnsonBooks or Twitter.com/LizJohnsonBooks.