All About Liz
The Biography
Elizabeth Bemis, writes in a fun, highly-readable style that’s wise, witty–and a little bit wild. A four-time Golden Heart Finalist, she has also won the prestigious Maggie, Laurie and Dixie contests, and has placed in numerous other contests of regional and national fame. Her most recent work, “EDGE OF MIDNIGHT” represents her seventeenth completed novel.
When she’s not writing romance, Elizabeth operates Bemis Promotions, a freelance Graphic Design and Programming firm specializing in author and small business websites–and fights for control of her office with her dog, Elvis, and cat, Fritz. Sadly, they usually win.
Liz’s Life (so far)
Even in early childhood, I loved books, so it only stands to reason that I should want to make my living giving back to the thing that has given me the greatest pleasure in life.
I had my first short story published in the fourth grade in an all-county elementary school collection of short stories. The story was about a Leprechaun wedding gone bad and was entitled “The Dangerous Things That Can Happen at Weddings”. I believe it may have been influenced by an episode of the Smurfs. 
Clearly, I was no prodigy but that was enough for the writing bug to truly bite me. My first romance followed in the sixth grade and won an all county contest. (Quite unfortunately, repeatedly ransacking of my house, my scrap book collection and my mom’s garage has not yet yielded the actual story.)
In high school, I was a member of the Newspaper staff, and I continued with my short story writing. Though to be honest, I have only the beginning of one story to show for it. - So, sue me… I found boys about then.
I finished my first full length romance novel (after numerous aborted attempts) in 1994 - Entitled INDIAN SUMMER. I do still have it, but I leave it tucked away on a shelf where I won’t trip over the training wheels!
In the meantime, I became a computer geek, because it paid a lot better than many things I’d tried over the years (including (in no particular order) waiting tables third shift at Denny’s, photographer, receptionist, bill collector, phone salesperson, secretary, executive administrative assistant, supervisor in a retail clothing store and singing telegram deliverer) and I found I wasn’t too bad at it… www.bemispromotions.com
I began taking my writing seriously in the summer of 1999. A mostly completed un-named manuscript still resides on my computer as proof. The summer of 2000 I took a Summer Writing class at the University of Iowa from prolific Harlequin Author, Leigh Michaels. I learned a great deal during that week which I was able to apply to the second novel I finished - HER BEST FRIEND’S BABY - and the first novel I ever submitted for publication. (Sadly rejection soon followed.)
In 2004, my manuscript THE MARRIAGE PACT, finaled in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest, the biggest award that exists in unpublished romance writing. The next year, FOR BETTER OR WORSE (now titled LIGHTS… CAMERA… MARRIAGE!) finaled. Much submitting and increasingly “Good Rejections” followed. In 2009, I double-finaled in the Golden Heart with LIGHTS…CAMERA…MARRIAGE and with LOVE & OREOS.
