Owner, LE Publishing
Branch Served:
- North Dakota Army National Guard (6 years)
Q: What was deployment like?
A: I deployed to Kosovo in 2000, and we were gone for about seven months. I went from being a newlywed full-time college student to a full-time soldier working in construction. My squad constructed sea-huts for Camp Bond-steel, poured bridge embankments outside the wire, and pulled guard duty.
Kosovo is gorgeous. Each morning I got to wake up to the stunning view of Ljuboten, a peak in the mountain range between Kosovo and Macedonia. When we arrived in the country, it was January, and we worked through a summer heat wave before going home.
My husband transferred units to deploy with us. So, that was a unique experience. We lived in different buildings with other members of our platoon. We would go to the chow hall together each night if we were both back from our respective job sites. After we were there for several months, a USO center was formed so we could go see movies on the weekends and any comedy acts or bands that visited.
Q: What was your first job after service and what was that experience like?
A: After the deployment, I started working as a phlebotomist at what is now the downtown Sanford Hospital in Fargo. I’d work a shift in the early morning before classes started, and then I worked the night shift on the weekends. The job could be challenging, but I enjoyed the hospital environment, and I appreciated living on my own schedule again.
About Lisa Elijah
Lisa Elijah was born and raised in North Dakota. She joined the National Guard after high school and returned home in time to be activated for the flood of 1997. She met her husband during that time, and now they live together outside of Mandan with two of their four kids. Their oldest child goes to college in Wyoming and the next oldest plays volleyball for a college in Maine.
Years ago, after Elijah’s third child was born, she left her career as a public health microbiologist to stay home but would pick up part-time work with clinic labs. Eventually, she traded in her lab coat for a laptop and started writing romance books. Once she finished her first book, she never looked back. In December, it’ll be ten years since Elijah published my first book.
Q: Did you have any struggles after returning to civilian life?
A: I wasn’t on active duty, so the biggest struggle of returning to civilian life was after the deployment. I was already delayed a semester because of basic training and AIT, and the deployment set me back another semester. Since I wasn’t on a normal four-year track, I had to figure out how and when to get all the credits I needed to keep from taking even longer to graduate.
Q: Can you tell me about your company?
A: I started LE Publishing shortly after I began publishing my first series. Forming a publishing company has helped me run it as the business it is. I started writing and self-publishing to earn an income, so it never was a hobby for me. Now I have two pen names, almost 85 books and novellas, and all the full-length books have an e-book and print version. I also have 13 audiobooks and will be publishing my 11th German translation.
My main pen name is Marie Johnston, and as her, I’ve written in different sub-genres of romance. I’ve narrowed Marie down to small-town romance, with fictional settings located in North Dakota. At the beginning of the year, I started the second pen name, also romance, and it’s been fun to compare and contrast different writing and publishing tactics and outline strategies for each name.
Q: Did you plan to start your company before enlisting in the service?
A: I never thought I would be self-employed. I went to school for microbiology and medical laboratory science, and I have a master’s degree in clinical laboratory science. I thought I would work in a lab for forty years.
Q: What does a normal day on the job look like for you?
A: My days can vary a lot, but that’s one reason why I began this career. I needed a flexible job with four kids. Two of those kids are now away for college, but I still have two, one in high school and one in middle school. I work from home, and I get as much done during the school day as I can. Then I continue to do admin tasks, answer emails, and attend to social media in the evenings after games or practices are done. Some of my best word count is done while waiting for my kids while they’re at practice. I’ll often work the weekends, but I’m trying to scale back. It’s hard because I enjoy my job, and I don’t mind putting a lot of hours in.
Q: How did your family react when you told them you were pursuing service?
A: My parents were relieved that I would have help getting through college. My brother had joined the Marines, so having a kid enlist was nothing new to them.
Q: What do you remember about your first day of business?
A: I was so nervous to hit publish that first time. Even now, I still get a case of nerves, but it’s because I know glitches happen and they’re out of my control.
Q: Has your service experience changed your business mindset?
A: After deploying and after working in healthcare, I’m probably more laid back when things go wrong. I don’t have someone’s safety or government equipment on the other end of a mistake or a glitch.
Q: Have you found any resources or support networks that have been instrumental in your entrepreneurial journey as a veteran?
A: Thanks to your magazine, I found the Veteran’s Business Outreach Center earlier this year. I’ve been published for ten years, but it really helped to hear Doug Sanzone tell me I’ve been making beneficial changes in my business and that I’m on the right track. It was so much more than I’d had before.
Q: What was the hardest challenge in opening your business?
A: I had zero business knowledge when I began. It’s been a long learning curve. Since I’m a solopreneur, there’s no one there to chat with or to bounce ideas off of. It’s hard to find resources when I’m not sure what I need to be looking for, but I’ve been able to find various groups of romance authors who are very business-minded and I continually learn from them.
Q: What does being a veteran symbolize to you?
A: There’s an instant connection with other veterans. A sense of belonging. We could’ve served in different branches, at different times, and in different places, but we have the military in common, and with that comes a specific familiarity that not many others understand.
Q: Who are your biggest mentors?
A: Writing and publishing had been such a solitary venture. I still functioned as a stay-at-home mom even while working, so that left me with very little time to make connections. I was fortunate to find legitimate teachers online for whatever I was looking for when it came to marketing and promotion.
Q: What advice do you have for other businesses out there?
A: One piece of advice I’ve heard a lot over the years, and that I found important to keep in mind, is to know what only I can do in the business and as soon as I can, hire out the rest. I can’t write books if I’m trying to catch up on too many admin tasks, but I can hire an accountant, a personal assistant, a cover artist, etc.
Q; What advice do you have for other considering enlisting?
A: It’s important to be informed going into a recruiting office. If you can walk in with an idea of the benefits and bonuses they can offer, you have a better chance at getting the best deal possible, which will only benefit your future in and out of the military. If possible, talk to people who are currently enlisted or who have recently served. Learn what they’d do differently and what they would recommend.
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