A Perfect 10 with Angelique Conger

This week, I have the pleasure of featuring Author Angelique Conger for this edition of A Perfect 10.

Please enjoy this week’s installment of A Perfect 10

If you want to check out past interviews, you can find them in the following links:

A.C. Flory, Steve Boseley, Kayla Matt, Mae Clair, Jill Sammut, Deanna Kahler, Dawn Reno Langley, John Howell, Elaine Cougler, Jan Sikes, Nancy Bell, Nick Davis, Kathleen Lopez, Susan Thatcher, Charles Yallowitz, Armand Rosamilia, Tracey Pagana, Anna Dobritt, Karen Oberlaender, Deby Fredericks, Teri Polen, Darlene Foster, Robert Rayner, C.C. Naughton, Sherry Rentshler, Linda Bradley, Luna St. Clair, Joan Hall, Staci Troilo, Allan Hudson, Robert Eggleton, Paul Scott Bates, P.C. Zick, Joy Lennick, Patrick Roland, Mary Carlomagno, Kathleen Jowitt, Michele Jones, J. Bliss, Maline Carroll, Alethea Kehas

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Writing energizes me. I first started to see if I could. Then, I continued to write to find out what happened in the story. Each day I write, I learn something I didn’t know about these people. I feel like the women I write about sit beside me and share their stories. How can that exhaust me?

Do you ever write under a pseudonym? If not, have you considered it? Why or why not?

I don’t use a pseudonym, haven’t even considered it. At my age, I don’t have time, or the memory, to try to remember things like pseudonyms and how to use them. I am happy to be me. I have an unusual name, one I think people will remember. There are other Angeliques, but I haven’t met many.

Does a big ego help or hurt writers? Why or why not?

A big ego is fine, when the writer keeps it in check. I think even big-name writers who make the big money who remember where they came from and have humility are more likable. I’m thinking of the author who is still willing to answer an email or talk to a fan. Those who feel they are too important to do this will lose respect, regardless of the success of their books.

What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?

I spent $500 on my first book cover. The artist is my friend, and gave me a deal. She is no longer available, she’s too busy. Her first cover has been imitated by my current cover designer. I get lots of complements on my covers. My next best spent money is on editing. My editor helped me to clarify my thinking and focus on story.

What does writing success look like to you? Have you achieved it?

That is a tough question I have pondered for the past year. What is success to me? I suppose I will feel successful when I don’t have to worry about spending money to market my books, when there is more in my account than I need to spend. My current goal is to have enough to take my husband on a vacation around the United States, maybe even to Europe. When I can do that, I will feel successful.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? What sources do you use?

I write ancient biblical history, books about the early women who lived in the earliest days of this earth. A few verses are recorded about Eve. Nothing is said about the other women. No one knows their names or their stories. In fact, few know the names of their husbands. They are obscure. I pore over the little that is available. Mostly, it provides a timeline. My research comes from the women who sit beside me, sharing their stories.

How do you select the names of your characters? Have you ever regretted choosing a particular name? Why?

In the beginning, I went to a website with 2000 Hebrew names, 2000 male and 2000 female names. I’d scroll through the names until one felt right. Later, I would sometimes use a function of my Scrivener program, and look for a name there. Now, I have my readers send names they would like to see. I’ll select a name from that list. If nothing from the last two lists feels right, I’ll go back to the website. I have never regretted choosing a name. Once, however, I went back and changed a name because I’d used it in a previous book.

What is the hardest type of scene to write?

I write “clean” fiction. However, sometimes I must write about battles, fighting, and wickedness. It is hard to describe these and maintain a “clean” reputation. Rape, violence, and all the horrible acts of people sometimes must be included. It is difficult to write about them. It is even harder when I’m striving to write “clean.”

If you could have dinner with four people, living or dead, who would they be and what would you want to ask them?

Eve, first. I would like to know how much of my story I got right. How did she and Adam manage in those early days of life on this earth?

Noah’s wife: I’d like to know how she managed during those days before the flood and after the flood. How did they survive all those animals on the ark? What was it like to start over as the only ones on the earth?

Jane Austen: I’d ask her about writing her books in her time. How did she manage to have them published? What did she have to do to help with the marketing? Did she publish under her own name? What was life like for her?

Mary, the mother of Christ: I would love to know about the early days in the life of Jesus. What did he do as a child? Did he act like so many of the other little boys? How was he prepared for his great mission? How did she survive after his crucifixion?

What platform has brought the most success in marketing your books?

So far, I’ve found the most success on ENT (EReader News Today) and FreeBooksy. FreeBooksy got me to #1 in my category in free books on the day of the promotion. I didn’t leave it free, and it dropped quickly after that. ENT got me more actual sales.

Angelique’s Books:

Moving into Light

Zehira’s deformity makes her a mocked and tortured outcast. Beaten and left for dead, she fights to save herself and her children. Finally arriving as unknown newcomers in the city of Zion, she struggles to overcome her past to make a new life for herself and her family.

Though married to Enoch, the founder of the city, she conceals her identity, seeking acceptance based on her abilities and talents, not on the acclaim of her husband.

Moving into Light: Zehira, Wife of Enoch, Book Four in the Ancient Matriarch series, is an inspiring book of ancient fiction, capturing a spirit of hope through unrelenting trials and confirms the power of faith. This rich historical fiction imagines a story of a lost period. If you like feminine perspectives in illuminating stories of women of faith and courage, you will like this book.

Eve, First Matriarch

Eve is a mother to us all. Here is her story of longing, anguish, and hope…

Eve wants nothing more than to fulfill God’s two commandments: live in absolute obedience and replenish the earth with her children. But the power of the Destroyer is strong, and when she’s told she has a chance to fulfill the second commandment by breaking the first… she takes it.

Expelled from a garden paradise into a wild, dangerous world, Eve learns that her failure to obey will someday cause her to die. With a limited time to teach Jehovah’s commandments to her children, she’s devastated when the Destroyer starts to lead them astray. Can Eve overcome evil to teach her children obedience and happiness?

Eve: First Matriarch is a re-imagined story of the biblical figure of Even. If you like rich historical fiction, feminine perspectives, and illuminating stories of motherhood, then you’ll love Angelique Conger’s debut novel.

Into the Storms: Ganet, Wife of Seth

Traveling with her new husband, Seth, to teach their distant families about their God, Ganet faces raging flash floods; land-shattering earthquakes; and angry, defiant men who want to sacrifice her to their serpent god Zil. Through it all, their profound love supports her, until Seth contacts a possible life-threatening disease that threatens to strand Ganet far from home.

Ancient Matriarchs Book Two, Into the Storms: Ganet, Wife of Seth is a rich historical fiction telling one woman’s story and continues the story of Eve with compelling feminine perspectives and illuminating stories of courage.

Finding Peace: Rebecca, Wife of Enos

They stole her freedom to travel, her food, and her children. How can Rebecca find peace?

Rebecca and Enos are led to Shulon, a community struggling from years of severe drought and ancient arguments with neighboring Shem, who claim the whole valley. Arguments expand as food dwindles.

After calling on Jehovah for relief, rain falls once again, but Shem no longer chooses to work. Their men prefer to take from Shulon. They invade and take what they want, including Rebecca’s two young children.

How can she overcome and keep going in the face of continued confrontation and loss?

Ancient Matriarchs Book Three: Into the Storms: Rebecca, Wife of Enosis a fascinating historical fiction with compelling feminine perspectives and an engaging story of a determined woman.