Author Interview with Alexis A. Goring & A Giveaway

By Deena Adams

I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know my online friend, and contemporary romance author, Alexis A. Goring.

Alexis has graciously agreed to give away two e-copies of her book, “Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories“ to two readers who comment on this post. Be sure to comment by March 16 to enter the drawing!

Welcome Alexis! Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

I’m a writer, editor, blogger, photographer and total foodie! I am an East Coast Girl who dreams of California and beautiful islands bordered by clear blue ocean. My Mom was a principal and my dad was a medical technologist. They are both retired. My brother and his wife are physical therapists. 

Sounds like you have a wealth of experience in your family to provide helpful input for your stories. Tell us how and when you started writing? 

I started writing on assignment. My mother used to make my brother and I write in journals every day after school when we were children. At first, I did not like that task. But my love of writing grew and by the time I was nine years old, I knew I wanted to be a writer. 

What a great practice your mom instilled in you! What unique challenges does writing contemporary stories about today’s culture present? 

I think the most unique challenge is that people don’t have as much respect for old-fashioned romance these days. We live in a “hook-up” culture. There are couples who are engaged for years and living together while they plan their dream wedding far into the future. There are people who are waiting later and later to get married but aren’t waiting to engage in everything the Bible says you’re supposed to save for marriage. 

It can be challenging to present sweet, wholesome, God-honoring romance to a world that doesn’t seem to care about those standards. Gratefully, there’s still a market of people out there who crave clean fiction. 

So, though challenging, my writing Contemporary Romance that is pure is not in vain. As a faith-based writer, I want to show my readers that God’s way is best and leads to eternal life. I want to give them hope in hopeless situations and teach them that “hope” has a name (Jesus Christ).

I want to show my readers that though it may seem contrary to popular culture and restraining to some, God’s way for relationships truly is the most beautiful and safest route that will leave you fulfilled and closer to Him. 

I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m curious how long you spend on research before you begin writing your stories.

It depends. My first two books did not require research because I already knew the details in real-life, such as with Traci and Marc in A Second Chance who are both newspaper journalists. I am a trained journalist who worked in the newspaper industry for several years so I simply pulled on my personal experience to make their roles and work-related activities realistic. 

My third book, a contemporary romance titled Love in Pictures, required the most research because there’s several chapters that take place in Italy. I was able to pull from my own experiences and memories while I was visiting Italy over a decade ago. However, since it was so long ago, I had to do story research by watching travel videos on YouTube about real places in Italy that I wanted to showcase in my story. 

Love in Pictures is about a wedding photographer, and though I do love that industry and know a lot about it, I needed the inside story. So I reached out to my wedding photographer friends and asked questions about their real world experiences on the job. They were very helpful! 

My fourth and most recently published (April 2020) book is a devotional (nonfiction) and that did not require any research at all because it was written from my heart about my life. The title is Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey With God. 

What did God teach you through the writing of your devotional book?

Through the writing of Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God, God taught me that the words He gives me to write for devotionals are not just for me, they are for the people who read my devotionals. 

Many people who have read my devotional book have told me how God used my words to bless their heart. They’ve said that it’s timely and needed. I say all glory goes to God because He’s the one who inspired me with those words and gave me those real-life experiences to write about. 

God has taught me many life lessons through my devotional writing! I am grateful to be used as one of His vessels to bring hope to a hurting world through my words. 

A wonderful privilege for sure. Turning back to your fiction writing, which character in Love in Pictures was easiest for you to write and why? 

Michelle, the wedding photographer, was the easiest because it was fun to explore my love for wedding photography through her story and it was easy to write about her culture as a Black American and West Indian woman, which is also my real-life heritage. 

I’ve always thought it must be stressful to be a wedding photographer. Not something you want to mess up! Which character presented the biggest challenge?

Michelle’s brother Marcel, because I had to show the reader the reasons why he was angry about Michelle’s relationship with Logan, yet he still loved his sister and wanted her to be safe and happy. 

Sounds like you’ve written some great stories for readers to enjoy. Besides posting comments on your website, how can readers and fans support you? 

Readers can support me by buying my books, reading them, writing an honest review for each one, and posting their reviews on Amazon.

Fans can support me by following my social media accounts and blogs. (Find the links below with Alexis’s Bio)

Any last words for your readers?

Always remember that God loves you and He wants what’s best for you! Seek Him first. 

Thanks so much for your time, Alexis! It’s been a pleasure getting to know you. I appreciate your heart for the Lord and your desire to offer clean romance for today’s world.

Join the conversation. Do you agree with Alexis’s thoughts about today’s culture and the lack of desire for pure romance God’s way? Are you grateful to have authors who stand on God’s Word and offer clean stories for our edification? Do you have any questions for Alexis?

For a chance to win Alexis’s book, Hope in My Heart (featured below), comment on this post by March 16!

Hope in My Heart: A Collection of Heartwarming Stories by Alexis Goring

Click the book cover for Amazon purchase link

Hope in My Heart is a collection of short, heartwarming stories with characters in need of hope.

In Love Unexpected, a car crash brings commitment-wary Sebastian and career woman Chandra together. Neither is looking for romance, but those around them see the potential, and Sebastian and Chandra discover that sometimes love shows up unexpectedly.

Christmastime is the setting for the middle story, The Best Gift. Christina desires to lose ten pounds so she can fit into her dress for her sister’s wedding. Jordan wishes her mom would stop trying to marry her off. And Joshua hopes to be reunited with his ex-girlfriend but eventually learns that the best gift this Christmas will be the restoration of his relationship with God.

In Peace and Love, three characters living in a metropolitan area are desperately searching. Elle, a starving artist, aspires to become a paid professional. Eric, a divorce attorney, wants to resolve his issues concerning his parents’ divorce. Kristine anticipates finding her birth mom before she marries Derek. All characters pray their searches will conclude this holiday season and fill their hearts with peace and love.

Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.

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Connect with Alexis: Website / God is Love Blog / On My Heart Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest / Goodreads /

Please share this interview on social media to promote Alexis and her books.

If you missed last week’s interview with Christina Ryan Claypool, find it here.