Interview With Elaine Littau- Liberal KS Paper

About six to eight years ago, a Perryton, Texas,
woman began working
on her first novel. In January, that novel was released to the public by Tate publishing company. Elaine Littau, a church secretary by day, wrote Nan’s Journey, a novel set in the 1800s about a girl who is abused by her step parents. To get away from the situation, she and her 5-year old brother run away into the Colorado wilderness.“That’s kind of the premise of the book,” Littau said. “The overall theme is forgiveness and bravery.”Littau said she had always enjoyed reading books by Zane Gray, Grace Livingston Hill and Louis Lamour. Not only that, but
she also was intrigued by the stories her parents told her.“My mom and dad, they were in their 40s when I was born, so they had actually moved into Kansas and Oklahoma and Colorado in covered wagons as children,” she explained.“They would tell me their old times and just what it was like to live in those days.”
One day, Littau had an idea for a story, and she started to write it down. However, the process was a long one due to self doubts.“I would write a little bit, and then I would think I was kind of stupid to write a book, and I’d put it away for like a year and then find it again and start on it again,” she said. Finally, however, she received help from a friend who asked to read what she had written. Upon reading what Littau had finished, the friend asked her to keep sending chapters until the novel was complete. And after that, she said, another friend who had been reading it told Littau she had a niece working for a publishing company, Tate Publishing, in Mustang, Okla. It seemed the company often worked with new authors, and the friend encouraged Littau to submit her manuscript. “They receive about 20,000(manuscripts) a year and take about 4 percent of what comes in. I didn’t know it was that big of a long shot, or I might not have had the nerve to do it,” Littau said. “Ignorance is bliss.”Despite the odds, Littau’s novel was accepted.“My kids thought something had happened to my husband. I called them on the phone and started bawling, Littau said. “They weren’t expecting that.”
After a long process in which she looked over The editing, looked at book cover ideas, and
listened to voices for the audio book, her book was sent to her in published form. It was accepted Feb. 6, 2007, she said, and she received her copy in October. The book was actually released to the public in January. So far, she said, she has received positive reviews from everyone who has read it, and she has sold 500 copies in 22 states.“I haven’t heard anyone say anything bad about it, yet,” she said.“They’ve seemed to all enjoy it.”One of the challenges, she added, has been the marketing of her novel. Since she’s not a well known author, the book is only available online through sites like walmart.com, amazon.com, though it can also be ordered through book stores. “The marketing thing is the most daunting,” she explained. “Even if you have a publisher, you still have to do stuff to promote your books. You actually have to talk to people.”Recently, Littau did a book signing at a truck stop in Meade as part of the promotion of her novel. Coming up, she will be doing a book signing at the Barnes and Noble in Amarillo, Texas, and at Hastings in Liberal. And despite the challenges, she said writing is something she plans to continue. Littau lives with her husband of almost 33 years on a piece of land just south of Perryton, and her three sons are grown and married. “I’m an empty nester and a church secretary. You only work until like 3 in the afternoon, then you have a lot of time after that. I thought, ‘Well, this is going to
be boring for the rest of my life,’” she said.
Now, however, she tries to write a little each day. She finished the sequel to Nan’s
Journey much more quickly than the first, she said, and currently has six ideas for other books in her head, with three of four of them in the works.“Honestly, I’m pretty vanilla,”
she said. “I just had a big dream.”Littau will have a book signing at Hastings from 1 to 3
p.m. Feb. 23. The store will have some of her books in stock, and Littau will bring extras along with some copies of the audio book.