Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke have been best friends for 25 years and survived high school and college together. Liz lives in San Diego, CA with her husband and two children. Lisa, a former talk show producer, now lives in Chicago, IL with her husband, daughter and two bonus children.
They have three novels with Simon & Schuster/Atria Books. Their debut novel, Your Perfect Life, about two childhood best friends who switch bodies at their twenty-year high school reunion, published on June, 10 2014. Their second book, The Status of All Things, about a woman who realizes she can change the course of her entire life by what she writes in her Facebook status, was published on June 2, 2015. And their third book, The Year We Turned Forty, about three women who get the chance to relive the year they turned forty, a year they each made tough, life changing decisions, on April 26, 2016.
Here is our fiction editor Himanshu Goel corresponding with them.
Q. Hi Liz and Lisa, Welcome from The Machinery. Tell us the secret ingredient for your success and friendship.
Liz and Lisa-
Thanks for having us! Our secret ingredient to success and friendship? Being open to criticism and advice. Sometimes your best friend knows you better than you know yourself! And this applies to both our friendship and our writing partnership.
Q. The books you have written; would you prefer a TV adaptation or a feature film. What would be some of the actors you will cast for the lead roles?
Liz and Lisa
We think THE STATUS OF ALL THINGS would make a great TV series. We would love to see Ellen Page play Kate. And Emma Stone could play her best friend Jules. And we would love to see Liam played by Chris Hemsworth. Because, come on, Chris Hemsworth!
The Year We Turned Forty we’d love to see as a feature film. Reese Witherspoon would nail it as Jessie. We’d love to see We imagined Sophia Vergara as we were writing Gabriela. And Naomi Watts would be an amazing Claire.
Q. Tell us a little about your book club.
Liz and Lisa
We love so many books and authors and frequently, we like to single out an author who can share something about herself and her writing process that would interest our readers. We are fascinated with authors methods and we know our readers are too.
Q. Who and what are some of your favorite authors and genres?
Liz and Lisa
We love suspense right now. We love Mary Kubica, Ruth Ware and Caroline Kepnes.
Q. Does social media help or affect your writing process? Do you read what people say about you and your writing on the web?
Liz and Lisa
We love social media! It’s a great way to connect with our readers. And yes, we read what people write about us. The good and the bad. It all helps motivate us to do better!
Q. What would you advise young authors to help them start their dream debut novel?
Liz and Lisa
Write what they want to write. Not what they think a publisher or editor wants to read. Writing what you’re passionate about is what makes the difference.
Q. Thanks a lot for your time. One last question, what does the future hold for Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke?
Liz and Lisa
Hopefully, many more books! We love to write together and feel lucky that we get to go on this crazy journey together.
You can follow them on their website and Facebook page.
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The Machinery - A literary collection. 