Summers fly by. When you're an educator.
Some people cringe when educators makes statements like that. They say, "Must be nice to have summers off. Holidays off. Weekends off."
I always respond, "I'll trade you." Then I go on to explain what I do every day, and somehow, I'm the one who ends up "being crazy."
Funny how that works.
Parents, deep down, love school. It's six-to-seven hours of respite from whiny kindergartners, emotional preteens, and know-it-all teenagers. Yet, they'd never trade that respite for summers off, holidays off, and weekends off, knowing they'd have to deal with anywhere from 18-200 (As an educator, you get more as they get older!) carbon copies of their own children, all the while being held responsible for their capability to learn.
So, if you know a teacher of administrator, pray for them in the upcoming weeks and months. Especially with the looming aftermath of a "global pandemic" that doesn't seem to want to go away.
Enough with the infomercial. :-)
Let's get to the heart of why we're here.
Let's welcome an author you may or may not know. She's got a new novel out, and I've invited her to be part of our Summer Extravaganza as being the second author we have featured this month. You, the reader, are the beneficiary of a scheduling blunder we have turned around and made into our Summer Extravaganza. :-)
Beth, pull up a chair on the Florida Front Porch (sorry about the heatwave!) and give us a quick bio about yourself.
In fifty words or less, who is Beth Westcott?
Born on Long Island and raised on a farm in New York State, I’m the youngest of seven siblings. After graduating from high school and completing my B.A. at Hartwick College, I married Frank. We parented three children and worked together in Christian ministry for 38 years.
Before you ever got a notion of becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that time of your life?
For the first six years of my life, I lived 30 miles from New York City (never visited it) on Long Island. When we moved to rural New York, I learned that milk came from cows. I loved school, belonged to 4-H, and became active in church. My life was never boring because I always had something to do.
I wanted to be a nurse. I changed my mind in third grade and decided to become a schoolteacher. Although I lived on a farm, and I enjoyed the outdoors, nature, and animals, I never wanted to become a farmer. I left that to my two older sisters.
My father loved animals, especially sheep, and we kept a variety of animals. I had market lambs and Jersey heifers as 4-H projects and exhibited them at the county fair each summer. One year my heifer qualified to be shown at the New York State Fair.
In school I sang to the elementary and high school choruses and played clarinet in the band.
As a preschooler, I loved having books and stories read to me, and I loved reading from the time I learned how to read. A poem I wrote in second grade was published in the school newspaper. I liked writing assignments and literature throughout high school and became an English major at Hartwick College. As a college English major, I had the privilege of spending a term abroad in England. At some point during college, I decided not to become a teacher. Then I married Frank.
Are you married? Single? Have kids?
Frank and I have been married for 48 years. We have three married children, two
girls and a boy, and five granddaughters. Our grandson passed away in 2017 at
the age of five and a half.
Congratulations on 48 years! Yet, I am so sorry to hear about your grandson. That's a loaded paragraph, to be sure.
What makes you cringe?
Snakes, cats on food surfaces, leaking sky lights, out-of-tune pianos, strong thunderstorms.
Based on the different personality profiles out there (Meyers-Briggs, etc.), what profile was the latest one you took, and what were the results?
It has been a long time since I last filled out a personality profile, and I don’t remember which one(s) I completed. I’m melancholic, an introvert, with perfectionist tendencies. This knowledge helps me understand who I am and how I react to life.
Cancer: an ugly word. In 1984 my husband was diagnosed with cancer. We had three young children, and he had just resigned from his job with CEF. The radiation treatments made Frank sick and weak, but the Lord chose to cure him. Along with our own families, we had the support of our church family and fellow-believers. Their prayers and love gave us a better understanding of Christian community.
Our sweet grandson Rylen was born with hydrocephalus in 2011. Although the doctors predicted he wouldn’t survive outside the womb, we were gifted with him for five-and-one-half years before he succumbed to a virus that attacked his brain. Rylen loved people and enjoyed life. He had physical and mental challenges that slowed his learning, but his contagious laugh echoes in our memories.
As an author of Christian romance, and I like happy endings, I realize that not everything in life is sweet and lovely. But God is with us though the painful times, still loving, still caring, still supporting us.
Of all the stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled you to write this story?
Meadow Song was republished by Scrivenings Press in 2020, and I have other, unpublished novels. However, because Heart’s Desire has just been released, I’ll call that my favorite for now. In elementary school I had a best friend with whom I shared many interests, and she and I spent a lot of time together outside of school. As time passed, our interests began to diverge, and I discovered that she had a new best friend. Our relationship distanced. I decided to write a story about why friendships change as we grow up. I learned about the Iroquois “Three Sisters” garden, which included corn, beans, and squash growing together, mutually benefitting each other. Aubrey White, Katie Mann, and Haleigh Abbott became the Three Sisters, “best friends forever” until middle school, when their less than cordial split -up occurred. Originally intending to write one book for teens, I instead developed a series of three romance novels, a romance for each of the friends, and over the course of the three novels, the three friends reunite. Heart’s Desire is Aubrey’s story, the first in the series.
Tell us about what project you are currently working on.
I intended Meadow Song to be a stand-alone novel, but readers asked for a sequel. I’m currently working on the proposal for the sequel, Melody of Life, which begins about six months after Meadow Song ends and focuses on two secondary characters from the first novel.
Knowing what you know now about writing, publishing, etc., what piece of advice would you give to the person thinking about writing that novel they have always wanted to pursue since they were young, or the person who believes they have a non-fiction book in them that would be helpful to others?
Don’t just think about it--start writing. Many
authors keep journals, or they write short stories or articles which they
submit first. And don’t think you’re a failure when you receive a rejection
letter or your novel doesn’t become a best-seller. Attend writers’ conferences
to learn the craft and connect with other writers, editors, publishers, agents,
and anyone else in the industry. Take advantage of on-line classes and join
groups of like-minded people. Colleges offer classes. You can also use and
improve your writing skills writing for church newsletters, sending editorials
to your local newspaper, or volunteering to write on behalf of a non-profit.
Send a thoughtful, caring letter to someone shut-in, ill, or experiencing
another difficulty. Learn how to write well. Expect to invest effort, time, and
money as you would in training for any job or career. And don’t give up.
I’m satisfied with contemporary romance, but I sometimes think I’d like to try romantic suspense or historical romance. I also desire to be a devotional writer, to encourage readers in their walk with God.
If you had one person you could meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus, and why?
I’d like to meet and spend time with Daniel because he knew who he was and to Whom he belonged. He “purposed in his heart” to stay true to God when torn from his home and everything familiar and taken captive to Babylon. They changed his name, immersed him in their culture, and threatened his life if he didn’t give in to their religious practices, but he remained firm in his stand for the Lord God and His Word. With God’s help, he performed his given responsibilities well and earned the respect of the king.
Why do you live where you live?
I’m back where I came from, in a manner of speaking. I’ve lived in New York State for most of my life. I grew up in the rural town of Otego, and I attended school in the village of Otego. I moved away when I married Frank because of his work. We lived in other places, mostly small towns, for over forty years, including six years in Pennsylvania. We returned to our home area when Frank was called to pastor a church here and to help care for our aging mothers. When Frank retired, we moved to Otego and now reside about five miles from where I grew up.
What Bible scripture has impacted your life the most, and why?
Provers 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (NKJV)
Is my faith in God strong enough to believe that He will do what He says He will do? Can I trust Him to keep His promises? My knowledge and understanding are limited, but God's knowledge and wisdom are limitless. He loves me and wants me to depend on Him. So often I’ve had to turn back to these verses to be reminded that the wisest choice is to believe, obey, and acknowledge Him in every aspect of my life, even when circumstances try to convince me to respond otherwise. I can trust Him to direct me the right way.
If you had life to do all over again, would there be any changes? If so, what would they be?
If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and to ask other people for help, and I’d be more open and vulnerable. I’d step out to help others more often as well.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover?
In Heart’s Desire, Aubrey is motivated to “make her life count” in part by the death of a close friend while they’re in high school. I believe that every person desires to be significant in some way, to make their life count. Writing gives me an avenue to honor God and touch readers’ lives as I put words together in a meaningful way, to share God’s truths by using story. Authors and readers form an essential team to encourage and support one another.
How true. Authors love it when readers makes comments, leave reviews, telling them how they liked a book, what it meant to them, etc. It's definitely a two-way street.
Beth, we appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to allow our readers to take a glimpse into your life.
Readers, if you wish to find out more about Beth and her writing, you can look her up in the following locations on the web:
Website: www.bethewestcott.com
FB
author page: https://www.facebook.com/bethewestcott
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/beth-e-westcott
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/29201094-beth-westcott
Twitter: Beth E. Westcott (@BethWAuthor) / Twitter
Kevin
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