Announcing the Winner and...

Congratulations to: TINA SCOTT
This weeks prize is a Costco size bag of Ghirardelli's chocolate.

Now for more questions to Betsy...


 Have you experienced writer’s block? And if so, how did you cure it?
Writer’s block is a natural part of the writing process. When I first started writing and I’d get stuck I’d go back and edit and re-edit what I’d written. Now when I’m stuck, I interview my character on paper. For instance, I have this one character named David. I knew his story, but I just couldn’t’ figure out how to start the book. This went on for weeks. Finally one day I sat down at the computer and typed this:

ME:David, who the heck are you and what is it you want? I picture you as a Jewish man living in Babylon. But for some reason every time I visualize you I see a blond haired, blue eyed boy.

DAVID: That’s because I’m not Jewish, I’m Scandinavian.

ME: What? How in the heck then did you end up Jewish?

And of course from there David unfolded this amazing story of how he came to be not only Jewish but a translated immortal being. I’m still writing that story.

When is your next book due out, and what’s it about?
Well, if you’re talking about Soulfire, it should be out like any second! I keep checking Amazon.com to see if it’s available.

http://www.amazon.com/Soulfire-Betsy-Love/dp/1599928523/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334115708&sr=8-1

About Your latest book: How did you come up with your premise for Soufire?

That’s a good question. I loved writing short stories. This novel originally started as a short story. I loved the character so much that I wanted to expand what I’d written.

Are there any fun tid-bits about this story you can share with us?

When I wrote this story I knew how I wanted it to end, and I knew loosely what would happen in the middle, however as I started writing I had a character show up in chapter 2. I had no idea who Rachael was, other than there she was in the middle of the market with 5 children. (I took out two of them as she’s certainly not old enough to have that many.) As I wrote the scene I honestly didn’t have any idea what to do with her. I left her in, thinking I’d probably have to write her out at some point down the line. What happened as I continued to write was that she had a pivotal role to play in the story. I learned that she was a harlot and Zephenia’s love interest visited her, a lot!

How did you decide on the setting?

The setting was easy. Since it’s a Book of Mormon novel and the research of the day placed the history of these people in Mesoamerica I knew I wanted to stay true to that setting. The research was a lot of fun. I spent close to three years reading everything I could get my hands on about the people of the part of the world.

Is there a message in Soulfire you want readers to grasp?

The central theme of Soulfire goes along with the Young Women’s Theme in the LDS church—which is: “I will stand as His witness at all times, in all things and in all places.”

What is the purchase link (and cost)?

http://www.amazon.com/Soulfire-Betsy-Love/dp/1599928523/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334115708&sr=8-1

Can you tell us what review of your story meant the most to you and why.

Heather B. Moore (H.B. Moore) has written several Book of Mormon novels. I asked her if she would be willing to read the manuscript (the one I gave to my publisher prior to my editor’s revisions) and give me an endorsement. I was thrilled when she sent this back to me:

“Zephenia finds herself in the middle of a religious revolt in the city of Nephi. Torn between her family’s wishes and following the believers to a place they can worship freely, Zephenia must decide if she has the courage to stand up for her heart’s true desire. Soulfire is an edge-of-your-seat adventure mixed with a sprinkle of romance. I wasn’t able to turn pages fast enough until I learned Zephenia’s fate.” –H.B. Moore, Best of State &Whitney Award Winning Author.

As for reviews, the one that meant the most to me was for my book Identity in Deseret News. The reviewer is someone I don’t know. And I heard a rumor that the reviewers rarely give good reviews. So for Mike Whitmer to give me such a glowing review made me smile for days on end. You can read the review here:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705396927/Book-review-Identity-is-a-mystery-of-twin-proportions.html