Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Soard

Hi Lori, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

Stories surrounded me my whole life. I come from a rich, Appalachian background. My mom and her family were from West Virginia. I remember gathering with them and listening to stories, singing songs that were mini stories and sharing laughter and love. At home, my dad would make up little bedtime stories about a lovable but clumsy giraffe and have me add to them with my ideas. He’d pull word lists out of Reader’s Digest and we’d study words and their meanings. Once I learned to read and write, that is all I did most of every day. I’ve loved the written word since seemingly when I was in the womb. I truly believe God created me to be a communicator.

In high school, my best friends and I would pass stories in the halls between classes. They were round robin style, where we each started a story, exchanged them, and added to one another’s ideas. I still have a few of those and they are rough but entertaining.

I was studying education in college when I took a journalism class as an elective. The teacher had us submit an article to our local paper and try to get it published. I wrote all the time for fun. It was my hobby. But, the day the local free weekly paper called and said they wanted to publish my article and were going to pay me $25, a light bulb went off over my head. I could get PAID to write? I never looked back. I’ve been a writer ever since.

In the early days, I didn’t make a lot of money. But I was determined and I kept sending out query letters–back then it was all via snail mail. I would write five letters a day and maybe sell an article every week. I kept writing my novels and submitting them, too.

Around 1996, I started a website called Word Museum to help my author friends with ideas and promotions. Later, I’d learn more about web design and coding as times and technology changed. Today, I have a team and offer a variety of services to authors and small business owners to help them establish an online presence through a website, better SEO, article placement, marketing, social media management and consultations.

I still write my novels, which will always be my first love. I still am an avid reader. The world is filled with interesting stories and people, if you just take the time to stop and listen.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Most roads are filled with pot holes, detours, hills and valleys. My story is no different but I have always had a pretty cheerful disposition. I try not to let setbacks get me down but to look at them as opportunities to refocus and try something different. I could have counted every rejection letter. Instead, I paid attention to the personalized ones versus the standard form rejections. If they cared enough to write a personal note, they usually offered some advice on how to improve my writing, focus or something else. The editor thought enough of my writing to want to help me. I still have some of those rejections.

During the 32 years I’ve been professionally writing now, I raised two daughters, moved to a new place with the hubby’s job transfer and lost family members and friends to accidents, disease and old age. I’ve had friends be true blue and I’ve had people I thought were friends betray me and hurt me deeply. I took all the emotions and poured them into my characters and stories, sometimes sobbing through a scene as I was writing it and wondering if my readers would feel the emotions I was.

I have felt discouraged and threatened to go get a job at McDonald’s for a steady paycheck or to stop designing websites after a difficult client laid into me. At the end of the day, though, I love what I do. I read a poem years ago that is often credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson called “Success.” The poem talks about improving one person’s life to truly succeed. Inspired by the poem, I’ve tried to live my life that way. If I can brighten one reader’s day, help her work through some grief or make a client’s business grow, then I’ve helped another human and I’ve succeeded.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I write Christian romances. I have always felt the characters in my stories are what make them relatable. A recent release that was part of the You Are on the Ae ir series featured a lovable little long-haired dachshund. In “Dial Q for Quincy’s Hope,” I had a chance to introduce people to a breed I adore. They have such cute little personalities. They are stubborn and determined and lovable. They aren’t for everyone but I had so much fun bringing Quincy to life and sharing the breed with my readers.

In “Anna’s Fresh Start” which is book #20 in the Brides of Pelican Rapid’s series, I head to antebellum period and tell the story of a Civil War spy trying to escape her past. Anna is based on my dear cousin I lost a few years ago now. She was feisty but she cared deeply about the people around her and accepted them just as they were without trying to change a single them about them. I think she’d be thrilled to have a character named and molded after her. She was always very supportive of my writing.

I also help authors and business owners with an online presence. Some of the services I offer include website design, marketing campaigns, content writing and social media management. One of the things I love to do is help a small company or artist make the most of their limited budget. I really care about them succeeding and pour a lot into their customized marketing plans. There are a lot of web designers and marketers out there, but not all care about your return on investment.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?

I don’t believe in luck. We make our own luck. I am a Christ follower, so I pray a lot. God sometimes says yes, sometimes no and sometimes makes me wait a while. I’m not good at waiting and will try to make things move on my own–that never turns out well.

Luck–sure some people seem to be in the right place at the right time. But, God has me right where he wants me. There is one reader he wants me to reach. Some lady in line behind me at the grocery store is hurting and when I notice her sad eyes and let her go in front of me or smile at her, it makes the tiniest difference. My grandkids need me to spend time with them and pour into them. My adult kids still need me to let them know there is at least one person on this earth who adores them.

Do I love success? Sure! I am a very Type A and competitive person in some ways. However, I don’t need success in the traditional sense to feel my self-worth. I know who I am and Whose I am. He will use me how he sees fit, whether by selling 10 million books or 10 books. In the end, when this life is over, that is all that truly matters. You can’t take fortune with you anyway.

Pricing:

• My book, Anna’s Fresh Start, is on pre-order for only 99 cents for Kindle.
• I offer custom quotes for authors and businesses for their digital marketing and design needs. I’ll send you a plan for free with no obligation to buy anything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lorisoard.com and https://promowarriors.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorisoardauthor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLoriSoard and https://www.facebook.com/PromoWarriors
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/LoriSoard
• Twitter: https://x.com/LoriSoard
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LoriSoard
• Other: Get a free novella from Lori: https://authorlorisoard.eo.page/freestory