Reciprocal Blog with Interview with Betty Owens

Dear Readers, since this is a reciprocal blog, I hope you will read Betty's info below then scoot on over to read my interview on her blog today. http://www.bettythomasonowens.com/2014/09/rose-mccauley-authorview.htmlYou get two for the price of one--FREE!

Hi, Betty, Please tell us about your favorite book as a child and your favorite book as an adult. Can you see a connection between those books?

As a child, my all-time favorite book was The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. As an adult, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Do you see the connection?

I absolutely can. The strong, determined heroine overcomes a troubled childhood, and a loveless life. Mary brings new life to a hopeless, dying garden. Jane brings warmth and life to a hopeless, dying soul.

Two of my fave books also, Betty. I love your connections. What is your favorite Scripture? Do you also have a favorite Scripture that encourages you in your writing?

There are so many! I love the Word of God.

I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

For writing and other work: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. NKJV Ephesians 2:10

If you could go to any place in the world to research/write a book, what setting would you choose? Orcas Island, in the Puget Sound. I find it inspiring and achingly beautiful throughout the region. I think my blood calls me back to the Pacific Northwest, where my mother grew up. Where I was born.

4. I often wonder if I would write if I had to do it the old-fashioned way without computers and spell-checks and email. Is there anything about technology that you don't like? Or anything about it that you feel enhances your writing?

I don’t like when it malfunctions. Sometimes, I’ll admit, it’s user error. Inspiring? The shiny white page, pristine and empty, inspires me to fill it with thoughts and words. But I remember the same inspiration when presented with a sheet of paper and a pencil, or a fresh sheet of typing paper positioned on the platen. Ah, but technology makes it so much easier and you can’t see where you’ve erased. Remember the dirty eraser marks?

Yes, I do remember those eraser smudges! As a writer how have you had to grow and stretch out of your comfort zone?

I think this is our greatest challenge. Promoting myself. Swallowing my pride. Believing in myself. To not be afraid to push “send.”

Amen! What advice would you give to a beginning writer that you wish someone had given you?

Don’t be afraid to wipe the slate clean and start over. And...nobody’s perfect. We all start out in the same place.

Do you want to add anything about your book such as how to order it?

I have two fantasy-adventure novels published by Sign of the Whale Books, an imprint of Olivia Kimbrell Press, The Lady of the Haven and A Gathering of Eagles. You can read about them and order them here: http://www.bettythomasonowens.com/p/blog-page_16.html

Special Note: For those of you who live in the Lexington, Kentucky area, I will be at the Local Kentucky Author Book Bazaar at Bakery, Blessings & Bookstore at the Bar on Saturday, October 18th, 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

I also have a 1920’s historical releasing very soon through Write Integrity Press, the first in the 3-book Legacy Series, Amelia’s Legacy.

Bio

Born in the Pacific Northwest, Owens grew up in such exotic places as West Tennessee and San Diego, California. She lives in Kentucky with her husband. They have three grown sons living in the area, along with their daughters-in-law, four beautiful granddaughters, and two handsome grandsons.

Though she’s always had an interest in storytelling, her writing career began to take off in 1986. As a busy homeschooling mom, she needed an outlet for all the extra joy in the house. She has two fantasy-adventure novels in a second edition published by Sign of the Whale Books, an imprint of Olivia Kimbrell Press.

Now semiretired, Betty spends most of her time writing, studying about writing, and critiquing other peoples’ writing. She is one of twelve authors featured in the romantic novella, A Dozen Apologies, released Valentine’s Day, 2014 by Write Integrity Press.

Betty is an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), where she leads a critique group, and Bluegrass Christian Writers, a lively group of Kentucky writers, who meet quarterly in a Lexington, Kentucky bookstore.

Visit her webpage at www.bettythomasonowens.com, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.