Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Goff.
Hi Elizabeth, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been creative for as long as I can remember. Dabbled in writing and photography throughout my childhood and teenage years. I picked up photography again in my 20s, earned my bachelor’s in photography, and graduated in ’25. Started writing again in 2020, then tapered off and picked it back up in November of 25. I published my first book in March of ’26 and my second in July ’26. I’m currently writing the next 3 to wrap up that series, with plans for others as well. When I made a career shift in ’25 after graduation, I couldn’t continue my photography for a while, and I needed to stay creative, so I took a chance and started writing again; it’s become my full-time second job. When I am not writing, I take notes and think through my characters and plots. I am doing my own marketing, promotion, writing, and editing. I just signed on with a publisher this week, and that is in the works. I’m picking up my photography a little here and there this weekend, and I’ve also been modeling on the side for fun over the last couple of years. Creating is something that I need, like oxygen. It’s a way to make something beautiful in varying formats. I’ve done mental health shoots collecting people’s stories, as well as more fun editorial shoots and family life portraits. I have a huge push for mental health. I write mafia dark romance, but the books are very trauma-centric, exploring assault, mental health, and healing dynamics. As someone who has struggled my entire life with mental health, assault, and abuse, I am an advocate. Writing about these things has helped me heal, and knowing that the photography sessions I have done and that my books have helped others find their voices are my biggest successes in life. I’m just a small-town country girl who wants to make a difference but to also have fun on that journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My entire life has not been a smooth road. I have suffered from abuse, assault, rape, and almost being killed in domestic situations from the time that I was 6 until I was in my 30s. I have struggled with the fallout of trauma, mental health disorders, and just discovered in the last several years that I am autistic and have ADHD. A lot of things made more sense after that, and I was able to navigate my life a bit better by understanding how my brain was different and how I could turn those struggles into strengths. I worked full time while earning my bachelor’s and filled my weekends with photoshoots for school and building a portfolio, which meant long nights and not much sleep while also dealing with a very abusive work environment at that time and struggling with regulating my mental health. In November of ’25, I changed jobs, and everything in my life has fallen more into place since then. A healthy environment has given me the confidence to step up and truly start living and creating without any restraint. I’ve worked on myself and fully committed to my writing journey with a strong support system. I spent over 30 years struggling, and while I still have my setbacks, I am finally at a place where I can help others through theirs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My full-time job is in veterinary medicine. I was a technician for years before I took on a receptionist role, though I still step in to tech on occasion. I love animals and have committed my life to caring for them and their parents. It’s a fulfilling job, but it is also very intense and mentally taxing. I hold the greatest respect for my coworkers, my doctors, and anyone in the field. If I were known for anything in this field, it would be that I truly care about what I do, and I will do everything in my power to ensure my clients and patients are taken care of. My photography and my writing are what drive me. Both of these side careers are what fuel my healing and my creativity. I take great pride in my photography and in how I make my clients feel during our sessions. There’s nothing more rewarding than taking someone who is very uncomfortable in front of a camera and making them laugh, open up, and find their confidence, and then seeing their reactions to the final product. The mental health sessions I have done have been healing experiences for those involved, and just existing with them in that moment, going through their trauma and their struggles- it helps me just as much, because I am able to be there for them when no one was ever there for me. With my writing, it is a blast creating these worlds that people literally from all over the world have come to love. I have sold books in 18 countries so far, and that fact still has me reeling and humbled. The genre isn’t for everyone, but finding my people with this shared interest has also helped me make new friends, and when they tell me that my representations of assault survival or mental health have been accurately portrayed and how they have given them a voice or helped them understand a loved one- that’s all that matters. I never imagined publishing a book, and I just wrote because it was something that I loved. Having my novels reach others and help them with mental health is the most successful thing. If I only sold one book and that book helped the reader- that’s success. That’s my idea of making it. What sets me apart, I guess, would be my down-to-earth nature and my honesty. I have a genuine “what you see is what you get” personality. I was raised with Southern roots, but with a directness passed on from my father and no driving need to be or pretend that I am something or someone I’m not.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I am not religious, but I do believe that I have many angels in the form of family and my best friend who have passed on, and there have been countless times that I’ve had my share of “miracles” or interventions that have literally saved my life and also steered me down the right paths intuitively. I’ve been blessed with amazing opportunities and people in my life who have stepped up to help me along the way, but luck has nothing to do with it. I am where I am now because of genuine hard work. I may manifest goodness in my life now that I feel like I deserve it, but I work for everything I have, and I will keep working for what I want in this life for myself and for others.
Pricing:
- Starting photography sessions: $300 +
- Event photography starts at $800 +
- Specialized photography can be $500+
- Books can be found on amazon and in select book stores or through me.
Contact Info:
- Website: Working on an author site
- Instagram: @shewritessmut_ and @snapshotswithellie
