An Interview with SF Author Angie Lofthouse

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Welcome to Up Around the Corner, Angie. Please, tell us a little about yourself and your writing.

The most important things to know about me are that I am a Mormon, been married for twenty years and am a stay-home mom to six kids ranging in age from 19 to 4—five boys, one girl. I grew up in small town Utah and I live in small town Utah now, but I graduated from high school in Las Vegas, got married in Las Vegas, and gave birth to my youngest child in Las Vegas. (We were on vacation. He was early. Long story.) So, when I want to sound cooler than small town Utah, I can always claim to be from Vegas too. 

Angie Lofthouse

I have been writing sci-fi and fantasy for more than eighteen years, and published my first short story in 2003. My first novel just came out in March! Aside from writing, I love music. I'm a singer, primarily, but I also play piano and guitar. I enjoy camping, hiking, roller coasters, and spending time with my family. 

Sounds like you have a wide array of interests and experiences. With so much going on—church, family, other interests—how do you find time to write? 

I don't find time to write—I MAKE it! Doing anything worthwhile takes sacrifice, so I've had to make sacrifices in order to have the time to write. I hardly ever watch TV. My house is not spotlessly clean. I don't really have any hobbies. There are some things I won't sacrifice, of course, like my family and other relationships, or my health. For years, I've written at night after all the kids were in bed, but now that they are getting older, I find I have more time during the day for writing. I'm trying to get to bed earlier, so I can get up earlier and take the time to write in the morning. We'll see how that works. Basically, though, I try to write whenever I get a chance. You can accomplish a lot in little chunks. 

Speaking of accomplishing, tell us a little about your debut novel, Defenders of the Covenant,  how long it took you to write it, and how long it took to find a publisher. 

Got a few minutes? ;) 

Defenders of the Covenant is a religious science fiction adventure novel about some Mormon kids (and others) trying to free the earth from an alien invasion. I wanted to write something entertaining and fun as well as clean and uplifting. 

I actually wrote the novel in 1997-98 while pregnant with my third child. I submitted it for a bit, gathered a lot of rejections, and shelved it for ten years. Fast forward to four years ago—a writer friend asked if she could read it. I gave it to her, warning her that I hadn't looked at it for ten years and it was probably really bad. She read it and assured me it wasn't bad and I needed to start submitting it again. I spent about two weeks re-reading and revising it, which was so much fun after so many years had passed. I fell in love with it again, got it all polished up with the help of  great critiquing friends, and started submitting it again in January of 2009. It was accepted by Walnut Springs Press in April of 2011 and published in March of 2012—a fourteen year journey to publication! 

Fourteen years. That’s a long time, which brings me to the next question: Where would you hope to see yourself as a writer fourteen years from now? Taking it a step further, as a Science Fiction author, how might books and the reading experience change over the next fourteen years? 

Wow. In fourteen years my baby will graduate from high school! I get a little teary just thinking about it. I hope I have lots of grandkids by then. As a writer, I hope to make bigger strides in the next fourteen years than I did the last fourteen years. I hope to have a number of novels under my belt. A loyal audience of readers would be nice too. But whatever the next fourteen years brings, I do know one thing. I will still be writing! 

As far as the future of books, I think it would be really cool to have paper books, but the paper is actually a computer, so like an e-reader, your paper book can be whatever book you want to read at the time, and the pages could include links to all kinds of multi-media content and fun stuff. Wouldn't that be cool? Yes, it would. However, there just isn't any substitute for sitting down with nothing but words on a page and letting those words create an experience that is personal for you. I believe that traditional, no-frills, printed-on-paper books will never go away. 

You have one novel currently released (Defenders of the Covenant). Could you tell us a little about it, and any current projects you’re working on? Also, what famous person alive today do you think would really enjoy Defenders of the Covenant, if it only came to their attention? 

Here's the short blurb for Defenders of the Covenant: Captured, enslaved, and separated, Hannah, Derek, and McKenzie each learn the unique role they must play in liberating the Earth. After all, not even an alien invasion can stop the work of God.  

For more information about it, or if you want to read sample chapters, check out my website: www.angielofthouse.com 

I just submitted a sequel to Defenders to my publisher last week, and I'm close to finishing the first draft of a third novel in the series. After that, I plan on writing something entirely new. I have a few ideas that I'm excited about. On July 21, I'll be releasing three novella prequels to Defenders—Consecrated, Refuge, and Renegade—as e-books on Amazon, Smashwords, and B&N. I'm very excited to get those out there. I think they are some of the best writing I've done! 

As for your other question, I'm going to go with Orson Scott Card. I think he'd love it, and it would sure be a dream come true to have him reading one of my books! He's the reason I started writing science fiction in the first place. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with folks here at Up Around the Corner 

On July 21, in conjunction with releasing the novellas, I'm going to hold an online party I'm calling the Defenders of the Covenant Summer Pow-wow on Facebook, Twitter and my blog. I hope it'll be fun and generate more interest in my book. I have a bunch of prizes to give away, too. So, come find me on Facebook or Twitter and join in! (The links are on my website) 

Also, if you haven't already, you should check out Mindflights, the magazine that Terry and I work together on. We've got some fantastic poetry and stories posted there! 

Thanks so much for hosting me, Terry!

You're welcome, Angie. I'm looking forward to the release of your novellas and the Summer Pow-wow!

Here are a few additional links that might be of interest:

Angie's Blog: Notes from the Writing Chair
Defenders of the Coventant at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Facebook: Angie Lofthouse, SF Author  Twitter: angielofthouse
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