This is B.C. Johnson, your ruthlessly editing, red pen-wielding author, and today we’re sitting down with Liz Hurst, author of A LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS and The Wordsmith Guides series, including EDITING YOUR OWN NOVEL.
About the Author
Elizabeth was born and bred in the picturesque harbour town of Whitehaven in the northwest of England, where the long, wet winters molded her into a voracious reader of fiction to escape the dismal weather.
In 2016, Elizabeth set up her freelance editing and proofreading business, EMH Editorial Services. In 2018, she quit the corporate world and concentrated her energy full-time towards her love of the written word.
Elizabeth has published timeslip novellas (the Lost Souls series) and a stand-alone novel, A Light Shines in Darkness, based on Angelina of Marsciano. She is also the author of The Wordsmith’s Guides, a series of nonfiction books on the craft of writing.
The Questions
1. Do you have a writer you idolize?
I’ve always admired Margaret Atwood for her gutsy and no-nonsense approach, as well as her quiet confidence. I met her in person at a book signing for THE HAG-SEED. So quietly spoken, and such a diminutive lady. Whoever thought she could have such influence?
For the genre I write, I love Maggie O’Farrell. I read THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT during summer of 2024 after a friend recommended it. Blew me away!
2. What are you reading right now, and how is it?
I’m really enjoying the Children of Time trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I’m not usually a fan of science fiction, but this has absolutely changed my mind. The first book (same name as the trilogy) won the Arthur C Clarke award in 2016, which is a UK prize for Best Science Fiction.
3. You’re a professional editor as well as an author. What’s one piece of advice you’d give every author on the planet to make editing easier?
Read widely within your genre so you know what predetermined expectations your readership will have.
Genre definitions are there for a reason. A spy thriller, for example, needs to be reasonably short, fast-paced and unputdownable, with a strong yet flawed protagonist. Don’t try and weave in too much backstory to explain your character’s motivations, and end up with a tome of 150,000 words. Readers will not tolerate that.
4. Do you have a favorite time period to write in?
Yes! I have discovered that I really enjoy the late medieval period, particular around the Western Mediterranean, which is where I now live.
There was so much going on in this region, especially in terms of power struggles, geopolitics, and religious upheaval. What we know these days as France, Spain, Italy, etc, were actually dozens of individual kingdoms and city-states, all vying for control of the land and sea to increase prosperity for themselves and their citizens.
Add the Vatican and the Crusades to that mix, and you had a melting pot of conflicts everywhere you turned. It’s fascinating to research, and I’m still learning so much.
5. What does your personal editing process look like? Has it changed over time?
I finished a draft of a novel in November 2024, so I’m in that limbo period at the moment, where I really want to start editing, but I know I shouldn’t! Luckily, it’s the first in a trilogy, so I’m distracting myself by outlining the next one.
The draft is all handwritten in notebooks at the moment, however, so I’m keen to get it typed up at least over the first quarter of 2025, so that will constitute the first round of edits, then it’ll likely take about a year to write book 2, so I can go back and refine book 1 afterwards. This is the first time I’ve written such a closely related series, and it’s exciting to see how it will all end.
6. Do you write with or without music?
No music or other sound as much as possible, especially during the drafting stages. One of my favorite times to write is very early in the mornings, around 5am. I’ve been an early riser for many years, and I love that time in the summer, when the sun is just rising, and the birds are in full song. That’s the only music I can tolerate really. For writing anyway.
For chilling in the evenings it’s an entirely different matter!
7. Has a character or plot twist you’ve written ever surprised you?
Every book I write usually throws a curveball at me at some point.
I start off with a meticulous plan, but then around a third of the way through, I get really into the zone and something will happen, I get an idea of where to go next that doesn’t follow the plan. I tend to run with it, because it’s always worth seeing how it will fit in with the story, and I usually end up keeping it in and rewriting the plan to accommodate it.
It’s a fun way to ensure my subconscious feels like it’s in control.
(Editor’s Note: Absolutely same. I believe Leonard Snart explained the process well in the following video)
8. What’s more fun for you, research or writing?
This is a tricky one. I really enjoy the research, to the point where sometimes I have to tear myself away otherwise I’ll end up down a rabbit hole of technicalities. For that reason, research requires discipline, whereas writing is a completely unbridled joy from start to finish, with no parameters.
Both have their place, but since I write longhand, I do prefer being unplugged and offline for that part of the process.
What Can Readers Check Out?
My Wordsmith’s Guides were launched in the summer of 2024, and this is where a lot of my focus has been for the last twelve months. The third and fourth books in the series will be launched in spring 2025: CREATING COMPELLING CHARACTERS AND PLANNING THE PERFECT PLOT. I have had such amazing feedback about the first book in particular, EDITING YOUR OWN NOVEL.
The series was designed for debut and inexperienced novelists, but there’s a lot in there for more experienced writers too. I explore all the major aspects of storycraft with examples, and share a lot about my own writing journey and how I left my day job in engineering to become a freelance editor.
I have also included the cover for my last novel, A LIGHT SHINES IN DARKNESS, which is a historical novel based on the life of Angelina Angioballi, a 14th-century nun from Umbria, Italy. Fans of Maggie O’Farrell will love this gripping tale of betrayal and sacrifice.
Where to Find the Author
Website – (subscribe for a free novella): https://elizabethhurstauthor.com/
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizhurstauthor
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethMHurstAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lizhurstauthor/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@lizhurstauthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-m-hurst/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/lizhurstauthor.bsky.social
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14332807.Elizabeth_M_Hurst
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B.C. Johnson 
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