Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am avid about both reading and writing, and to date have written nearly 30 books with one in process. I love history, archaeology, nature, and music. I write in a variety of genres because I have so many interests and love to share my discoveries with others.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book to be released was Dominion: Joshua the Enforcer Chronicles of Israel Book 2. It is a series that is inspired by the Biblical Old Testament account of the establishment of the Jewish nation. There are a lot of adventures and memorable characters that I feel we can all learn lessons from; recipes for success in reaching goals, and what kind of mistakes we can avoid that would result in failure.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I love to write outdoors while dictating into my phone. I get a lot of inspiration from nature and have incorporated some of the vistas I have enjoyed into a lot of my books. I also like to check out pictures of famous places online and was so captivated by a picture from the Chatsworth Estate in England that I placed a small pond spanned by an arched bridge on the Estate into one of my books. It was a pivotal scene of a marriage proposal with an unexpected result and the setting was used to evoke the emotions of both of the characters, who were each stunned by the proposal and its outcome. Later I discovered that the Chatsworth Estate is the home of the Devonshire family, which Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of JFK, married into and near the cemetery where she is buried, and that Princess Diana was descended from that family. As the character in my book who received the proposal was a “princess” of a sort, it seemed only fitting that she be wooed in a setting with such regal and romantic historical associations.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the books of C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Edith Wharton, Gail Carson Levine, Louisa May Alcott, Isaac Asimov, and classic mythology to name a few. While they are widely diverse they have some important things in common: they weave spellbinding tales, have unforgettable characters that the reader cares about, and evoke points to ponder and meditate on long after the reader finishes the book.
What are you working on now?
I am presently working on 2 books. One is the third book in my Chronicles of Israel saga. It is placed in the context of the book of Judges and is full of adventure, featuring Biblical characters like Samson and Delilah, Ruth and Naomi, Gideon and his 300 warriors, etc. The other one will be the latest in my Princess Who series and will be released later this year. I won’t give away the plot as it is extremely unusual and I don’t want to divulge any spoilers. But as each of my Princess Who books is placed in another time and place, so it is with this one, which takes place in Scandinavia in the early nineteenth century.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I use Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub to promote a new release. I also do free promotions through a variety of websites and frequently gain new followers and reviews that help other readers discover my books.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes perseverance and constantly perfecting your craft. Write from your heart and your book will find its reader. Don’t try for commercial success if it means compromising what you feel is your true style or genre. If you love romance or history, don’t attempt to write a horror or mystery novel just because it is a popular genre that you think will sell better.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep at it and don’t give up. J. K. Rowling had 34 rejections before Scholastic accepted Harry Potter. J. R. R. Tolkien spent 17 years writing The Lord of the Rings, even as his publisher kept reminding him that a sequel to The Hobbit was overdue. The success of these books showed that perseverance and perfecting the story paid off for these writers, and their books were enjoyed by millions of readers.
What are you reading now?
I am presently reading a book on the history of Scotland titled The Highland Clans, which chronicles the evolution of Scotland as a nation through the families that ruled it, and just finished Edith Wharton’s Custom of the Country, a book that I personally feel was an inspiration for Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. I won’t give away the plot, but if you want to read about a heroine who was more ruthless than Scarlett O’Hara, this is the book for you. I believe that Undine Spragg, the heroine, is one of the great femme fatales in literature, and about as heartless as it’s possible to be. The ache of pity that is felt for her innocent and unsuspecting victims haunts the reader as she destroys their dreams and shatters their lives.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I hope to start a new fantasy trilogy next year, which will span many centuries and be placed in different cultures and locations. I already have the storyline in my head; it’s just a matter of getting it written down.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
My Bible, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and an anthology of Gail Carson Levine, that wacky and witty twister of tales who gives a whole new insight to the world of faerie.
Author Websites and Profiles
L. M. Roth Amazon Profile
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