If you’ve ever had the opportunity to join a broadcast on Authors Up, you’ve probably heard one of the hosts express the fact that 7:00pm on Sunday evening has become their favorite time of the week because Authors Up has become their favorite thing to do. I can’t speak for my two partners in crime, but for me, it’s a time to meet the most amazing people who are gifted authors, writers, storytellers, and those who enjoy reading great books and tapping into their own journey with the wonderful world of words. Besides, who wouldn’t enjoy the company of some genuinely great human beings!

While the show has evolved over the last six years, it continues to surprise us.  We’re no longer just a local on-line radio show. Authors Up is internet radio/TV, and a podcast where we have had guests join us from Canada, Australia, the UK and other parts of the world, as well as here in the states. Each author and interview gives us a chance to not only broaden our horizons but share our adventures with all of those who choose to come along for the ride.

We’ve interviewed authors of “how to” books and “how not to” books; stories for the young and the young at heart; guides to becoming a better you; memoirs and magic; and the list goes on. You name it and I’m pretty sure it’s been on our radar.

But every now and then we get to go beyond the written page and enter the real live world, of a real live author, and enjoy their real live journey in real time. And so it was on Saturday, October 11, 2025.

Enter Laura Elizabeth

Laura Elizabeth is the brilliant author of All Is Not Lost and A Special Kind of Heartache. Laura says she writes “cozy mysteries that excite your curiosity and give you a little low country island magic.” Trust me, she doesn’t disappoint.

Her stories take place on a fictional island based on Daufuskie Island in South Carolina. We enjoyed her books, but I must say we enjoyed interviewing Laura even more. When we learned Laura did tours of Daufuskie AND she extended an invitation for us to get on the schedule and allow her to show us the island she had grown to love, it was a no-brainer. Calendars were checked, the date was set, and before we knew it we were taking the ferry from Hilton Head to Daufuskie Island. To meet an author up close, in person that you have interviewed, and have that encounter at their place of inspiration is a priceless experience.

Laura knew so much about the Island. She unlocked historical nuggets about people, places, and things that gave her stories life is a way that is difficult to explain. Intriguing, compelling, warm, exciting, etc., I don’t know if there is one word that could describe it.

I could tell you the weather wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t matter. I could try and explain the treasures we discovered in the one room museum; the small schoolhouse with the coffee shop where the author of The Prince of Tides spent time teaching the island children; and the church that is open every day year-round but only has service on Sundays at 10:00am… I could try to capture it but I’m not sure I’d be very successful. There would not be enough space in this blog, and I could never do it justice.

Needless to say, Laura created the get-away-of-a-lifetime with an amazing tour that held a story down every road, around every corner and with every unscheduled conversation along the way. As if that wasn’t enough, she prepared a wonderful lunch of culinary delights that made us feel like royalty.

I know I left the island feeling as if I had time traveled to a place that planted seeds of creativity and ignited my curiosity in ways I could never have imagined.

Island mysteries, books you want to read. Laura Elizabeth, an author you’d want to know. Daufuskie Island, a hidden treasure to be discovered. If you have a bucket list, add it. If you don’t have one, make one and put this awakening right at the top!

To learn more about Laura Elizabeth, visit her website at https://www.theislandmysteries.com/.

To purchase copies of her books and support independent bookstores, visit our bookshop at https://bookshop.org/shop/authors-up-show.