Welcome, Bettie Boswell

We're so happy to have Bettie Boswell join us today. 

Hi Bettie: Let’s find out your favorites in the Fast Four:

What is your favorite?

Coffee or Tea? I mostly drink water.

M&Ms or Reece’s Pieces?

Peanut M&Ms if I had to choose

Cat or Dog Person?

Both, but we are retired from animals. Now there is more time to write and travel. 

Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter?

Spring or fall because I like moderate temperatures.

We’re excited to learn more about you:

Do you have any upcoming projects, releases, or sales?

My newest book is a children's picture book called Lucy and Thunder. Its premiere will be May 1st. I will have it and my novels: On Cue, and Free to Love at the Mt. Zion Ridge booth, Jeffersonville, OH at the Ohio Author's Book Fair on May 27th.

What genre do you like to read?
I like Christian romance in any sub-genre including suspense, mystery, contemporary or historical. 

When you aren’t reading or writing, what do you like to do?

I enjoy taking pictures of plant life while walking. My three grandchildren keep me on my toes before and after school. Volunteering as a docent at the Mazza Museum of children's book illustrations satisfies my joy of teaching others about picture books.

 Do you have a new release you'd like to tell us about?

On May 1st, Lucy and Thunder will be published.  It is the first picture book where I am author and illustrator. The story is about a young creature that is afraid of Thunder. When Thunder comes booming into her house, Lucy doesn't know what to do. Her family gives her good advice. Lucy tries, but it will take a prayer to help her realize what she needs to do. I had fun creating the characters for this book. I hope parents and teachers will read this one to their little ones and explore some of the suggested activities in the back matter.

This past July my split-time romance, Free to Love made its way into the world. It follows a couple in a forced marriage, and their friends (former owners) who travel north for freedom from slavery and freedom from living the lifestyle of slave owners. Ginny from my first novel, On Cue, plays a narrating role as she researches for the musical in the former book. The new book, Free to Love serves as a prequel to the first book. Those books may be read in any order. I've had many positive comments about both tales. I just submitted a sequel to complete a trilogy for Ginny's story. The future story is also split-time involving a post WW2 romance and Ginny's new marriage.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

All the books about Ginny involved historical research. Both On Cue and Free to Love required knowledge of the Underground Railroad in northwest Ohio and a general understanding of the lifestyles during the early to mid-1800s. I originally did the research for a community musical I co-wrote for Ohio's bi-centennial in 2003. That research has been recycled for both of Ginny's books and a children's reader called Sidetracked. I put in several years researching northwest Ohio.

With my non-fiction children's book called Skateboarding. I had about three weeks to learn about the sport, and write the piece. That research included plenty of library books and an interview with some locals at a skate park. It is a hi-lo book which means high interest for upper grades with simple vocabulary readable at a lower grade level.

How do you select the names of your characters?

I've used names of family and friends in many of my novels/manuscripts, but sometimes I just pick a name that works with the other characters or situations in the book.

My manuscripts for children mostly have non-family names. In Lucy's case, the inspiration for the main character is a younger relative's fear of storms. However, the only Lucy I knew of was my husband's late aunt, and she wasn't the scared young lady in my life who loves to cuddle with her pets.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

Check out the little bat in Lucy and Thunder. That's all I'm saying for now.

Just for fun:

If you could have any super power, which would it be?

The ability to stretch or shorten time would be a wonderful asset. Think of all the extra hours for completing a story and all those chores that get in the way. Once the book was submitted and accepted, waiting for publication could be shortened so the reader (and the writer) could get the book sooner.

Bettie Boswell has always loved to read and create stories. That interest helped her create musicals for both church and school and eventually she decided to write and illustrate stories to share with the world. Her first experience with Christian romance started when she spent a summer with her grandmother during her early teen years and read a Grace Livingston Hill novel. Now she reads a Christian novel every week and sometimes more than one. Her writing interests extend from children's to adult fiction and non-fiction. Her first romance novel, On Cue, debuted November 2020. The prequel to that novel, called Free to Love is also available from Mt. Zion Ridge Press. Her children's books include Skateboarding and Sidetracked. In 2023 she has two more children's books coming, where she will be both author and illustrator. They are Lucy and Thunder and Dottie's Dream Horse. She has also contributed to educational works, magazine articles, and devotional and short story anthologies. She has two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, three grandchildren, and a busy minister husband.

Bettie is giving away an ebook. If you are interested in winning one, comment on the blog and include your email address by May 3, 2023. We need five comments to choose a winner.