Author, Julie B. Cosgrove’s Interview

Julie Cosgrove and I and several other authors have spent the last two years writing novellas (for Write Integrity Press) for a series called The Visitor.

Each of the seven novellas is a mystery/suspense involving characters that are related by birth or marriage, with the cool, stylish Connie B. Wright as the connecting character. She appears in every novella.

So, I thought I’d interview each author, in order of their books’ appearance. Julie’s book released in February.

It’s been fun to read my writing friends’ answers to the interview questions. Writers are interesting people!

Here are Julie Congrove’s words:

1. What state do you live in? Have you always lived there? Have you lived anywhere else? Texas, born and raised. I have lived here the most and live here now but have also lived in Missouri, Louisiana, and Florida.

2. What do you write? How did you decide to become a writer? My husband’s job required us to move quite often and I soon became unemployable. Several people told me I should consider writing for a living. I took some courses and began earning money as a freelance writer very quickly. So in thanksgiving, I tithed my writing time to God. That was back in 2007. I became a devotional writer for CRU, then their editor over 35 devotional writers for six years. I have written for several devotional websites and publications, and still do write for a few. My own blog, Where Did You Find God Today, launched in 2010, has a readership in over 50 countries. But I love fiction and so in 2009 I joined a Christian Writers’ group, went to workshops, and eventually landed a contract in 2011. I have now written 20 contracted, traditionally pubbed novels and novellas.

3. Where do you get your ideas for your books? In the beginning, I thought, what if my suspense romance novel started out on a dark, cold, and rainy night? Cliche, but I tried it. It worked and it ended up being a trilogy over the next two years suggested by my publisher at the time. I then wrote three short romance novellas in two series for them as a favor, but romance, even faith-based and clean, was not my thing as a widow. Then, my sister asked why I didn’t write more mysteries since I love them so much. So I gave it a shot, and my publisher took a chance even though they had never contracted a mystery before. I write mostly mysteries with a message now. The message is not only redemptive but I also include facts about a social issue because I believe as Christians we need to learn more about what is faulty in the world in order to pray about how God may call us to help minister in it for His glory.

4. Are you an introvert or an extrovert, or something in between? How does that help you write? Introvert! I did public speaking and workshops for a while and enjoyed being with folks, but it so drained me!! It took me days to recover. Since Covid, that has not been part of my life and I doubt I will return to it. That is up to God, though. Being an introverted widow, I do not mind being alone, but in the evenings I would get bored. I am not artsy-crafty, so writing fills my time.

5. Besides The Visitor series, what else have you written? What other book(s) are you planning? Oh, and when did/does your Visitor book launch? My Visitor book, the Visitor Makes a Retreat was the first to launch. It came out on February 10th. I have written three mystery series: The Bunco Biddies Mysteries, The Relatively Seeking Mysteries, and the Word Play Mysteries. Book number five of that series will release in September, and three more may be in the works. Write Integrity Press has approved their synopses.

6. What’s the best thing about being a writer? It is a creative outlet, and I have become friends with some amazing authors over the past fifteen years. The Christian community of authors knows we write for One Person, so there is no competition. He has a plan for each of us. We support each other. Right now, in this digital age where messages can be globally received in nanoseconds, it is an exciting time to be a small part of fulfilling the Great Commission to go into all nations and tell them about our Lord.

7. Where can we find you online? My website is www.juliebcosgrove.com. My blog is www.wheredidyoufindgodtoday.com. I am on Amazon, Goodreads, and on Facebook as juliecosgrovetx.

Thanks, Dena!!