By The Keystone Newspaper By Kara Armstrong
Laura Conaway, a 2020 graduate of KU, is making a name for herself in the notoriously competitive publishing world. Conaway is the author of Expired Vows, Silencing the Witness and Rescued Duty, forthcoming March 11, 2025.
Photo Credit: Laura Conaway
Her journey to publication, somewhat unconventional, started with a Facebook follow.
“I followed an author that I had read growing up, and she had started a publishing company back in 2019,” recollected Conaway. “Through her posts, she shared that she was working with well-known authors and trying to help newer authors establish their careers in the field.”
Sunrise Publishing, founded by Lindsay Harrel and Susan May Warren, focuses on mentorship, combining the expertise of multi-published authors with the talent of new-to-market authors, like Conaway.
Conaway’s first attempt to work with Sunrise Publishing ended in a near miss. She submitted a story idea for a suspense author’s series, and after making it to the final round of entries, Conaway’s entry was rejected.
“They said ‘you know, we really love your giftedness in writing; we just don’t think the plot and the premise of this story will fit the world that this author is helping to facilitate,’” Conaway explained. Her work made an impression, though, and Sunrise Publishing encouraged her to resubmit at a later date.
Two days before the next submission closed, Conaway decided to try her hand again. Once again, her work made it to the final round of entries. She was asked to submit a full first chapter of her proposed novel, and soon after, she secured the contract for the novel that would become Expired Vows.
“It was really cool to see how the Lord opened up doors for me to pursue something in a non-traditional way with writing,” Conaway said.
Expired Vows is the fourth book in the Last Chance Fire and Rescue series. The Last Chance Fire and Rescue series consists of tie-in novels to author Lisa Phillips’s Last Chance County series. Conaway’s Expired Vows tells a story of grief, faith and perseverance from the dual perspectives of EMT Trace Bently and counselor Kelsey Scott. It has been years since Trace and Kelsey have seen one another, but they share a long history and one devastating loss: Renee, Trace’s wife and Kelsey’s best friend. When Kelsey becomes the target of a series of dangerous attacks, Trace steps in to protect his wife’s best friend. Their proximity forces Trace to confront his past and Kelsey to confront the feelings she’s been suppressing all these years.
“The full-circle moment came when I got to hold my author copies in my hand,” Conaway said. “For the first time I was like—oh, this wasn’t just on the computer screen, this is actually out in print and in person.”
Conaway’s second novel, Silencing the Witness, was published in Jan. 2024 by Love Inspired Suspense, a division of HarperCollins, and earned a spot on the Publisher’s Weekly bestseller list. This novel tells the story of Avery Sanford, a key witness to a murder. After her identity in the witness protection program is compromised, Avery has no choice but to accept help from former army commander Seth Brown, who must keep Avery safe from a ruthless drug ring before they can silence her testimony.
Now, Conaway is prepping for the release of Rescued Duty, book five in the latest Last Chance Fire and Rescue series (also presented by Lisa Phillips). Rescued Duty follows investigative reporter Naya Michél and Rescue Squad firefighter Zack Stephens in a pulse-pounding tale of second chances, found family and the unbreakable bonds forged in the face of adversity.
“It is so surreal and very exciting,” Conaway said about the upcoming publication.
With all her writing deadlines met, she has turned her focus to the marketing side of publishing.
“I’m reaching out to different podcast hosts and author friends to chat about the book,” Conaway said. “I’m looking at different bookstores to do book signings at and radio talks shows to get on. It’s just getting the word out and encouraging readers as we’re gearing up for the release.”
The details of her signings and appearances will start to be finalized about three months before the release. For Conaway, these book signings and podcasts are a highlight of the job. She names connecting with readers as “by far” the most rewarding part of her writing journey.
“I feel like I’m an anomaly with writers because I’m very much of an extrovert, so getting to go out and do book signings or receive those emails or connect with readers is just such a fun part,” she said. “And actually seeing there are people behind the story, and they have a life and a story that can be told as well.”
Just because the writing deadlines have been met on Rescued Duty, does not mean Conaway is stepping away from the keyboard any time soon. She’s keeping busy with future projects, and she recently turned in the first draft of a Christmas novella to her publisher. The novella is around 12 – 13 chapters and will be included in a collection of stories all taking place within the span of 48 hours.
“There’s a big snowstorm that continually gets worse and worse,” she explained. “A van that was transporting convicts to the prison ward crashes, and all the prisoners escape, so each one is going to be a different story of the local law enforcement trying to capture the prisoners.”
This collection of stories will be presented by Lisa Phillips. Conaway’s also working on an original three-book series, which she and her agent hope to pitch to Big Five publishing houses.
Conaway has come a long way since her first encounter with writing. Her passion began in elementary school during a presentation given by an author whose name has been lost to time. After walking through his own creative process, the author encouraged everyone to write their own story.
“That was an encouraging catalyst for me,” Conaway said. “Especially as a young elementary school student to think, ‘wow someone actually values the thoughts and the words that I have and wants me to put that down on the page.’”
She continued to develop her passion and skill for writing throughout her schooling.
As a student at KU, Conaway took Professor Jeffrey Voccola’s Writing the Novel course, which proved to be a pivotal moment in her writing journey. “It was really transformative for me. It was like ‘okay, I’ve always wanted to write a novel, but I’ve never actually written one, so now’s the time for me to put the work into that,’” she said.
During her time in Writing the Novel, she began a contemporary romance novel which she then finished during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“That was the first full-length novel that I’d ever written, and I would say that it was honestly more for me and just an encouragement of ‘hey, I can write a novel, and I can finish it, and I can see it through from start to end,’” she said. “But through that whole story, I felt like something was missing.”
That missing piece was suspense.
“I grew up loving suspense stories,” she said. “I was a very avid Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew reader, and I’ve always looked at the world like ‘oh, what’s the hidden secret here, or what’s actually going on behind the scenes?’”
Conaway found that the extra tension makes it easier to keep the writing flowing, the pages turning and her readers on the edge of their seats. It wouldn’t be a Laura Conaway novel if it wasn’t a page-turning, edge-of-your-seat piece of fiction.
Another hallmark of Conaway’s writing is her faith.
“I would be remiss to not give the Lord credit for what He has allowed to happen,” she said. “[My first publication] being through a blind audition really showed that I did not have any role or capacity in this, and it was really just held with open hands.”
Through her writing, she hopes to authentically weave in God’s influence, praying readers “are able to see that there is hope and that there is purpose because oftentimes we can feel like there are just so many heavy things in the world.”Readers can connect with Conaway via social media (@conaway_laura on Instagram) or through a monthly newsletter, designed to serve readers and writers alike with “different tips and encouragement.”