About Beth

Compelling storyteller

Bold encourager

Meet you at the intersection of tough times and faith

What’s Up With Beth?

I revel in reading an incredible book and lingering over deep conversations about it. I’m a soulful conversationalist. I’ll chat with anyone…anywhere. Where did I learn these winsome skills? Growing up in rural southeast Nebraska.

I’m a delightful blend of small-town gal, city dweller and world traveler. I’m also a faith follower, writing professional, fun friend and storyteller.

One of my interview subjects once asked me, “So what makes you tick?” Let me share a few ticks of my clock.

An Author Who Loves Books? Say It Isn’t So!

I loved, loved the “Imagine and Write” feature in the Weekly Reader in elementary school. Ask me to complete the story? Wooo hoo! Read my stories in front of the class? Total happiness. Those test essay questions? Young me had plenty to write.

My Mom always had a plethora of books for me to investigate. I relished exploring the world through the pages of the Encyclopedia Brittanica and World Book Encyclopedia sets in my bedroom bookcase. Maybe that’s what fueled my traveling to more than 20 countries to interview thousands of people to glean their remarkable stories.

What Is the Toughest Question You’ve Asked Yourself About Your Own Work?

Leaning toward the perfectionist side with my writing, I continually have to ask myself is this enough tweaking and fine-tuning? Learning to let go of your writing and trust it into the hands of editors and readers is always a humbling, yet necessary process.

What’s The Most Difficult Question You’ve Ever Asked?

The hardest interview questions for me to ask are ones I know will elicit tears or tender memories.

For my Lifting Our Eyes book, I had to ask Virginia Tech shooting survivors to recount what they heard and saw after one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history with 32 killed and dozens wounded.

I’ve also asked:

You’re a witch and a coven leader, have you ever sacrificed an animal?
How do you really feel about God?
It sounds like you pulled the gun’s trigger instead of your brother, did you?

Even As A Published Author? What Might Surprise You.

I used to type looking at my keyboard even after I’d written several books.

It may surprise you that I love peanut butter but dislike peanut butter cookies because they taste like stale peanuts to me.

I purposely misspelled words in our school spelling bee so I didn’t have to compete in the county spelling bee. I was a chunky youth and felt self-conscious about standing before a crowd. Now I totally enjoy public speaking. We can break outside of what we think is possible.

What Do You Know About Hardship?

I’m a pivot professional. I write about pivoting and bending when life goes sideways.

I’ve come back from three car accidents involving serious injuries, a rare disease, chronic pain, money messes and more.

So What Does It Look Like To Be An Author?

I am a morning creative for sure.

After my 6:30 a.m. dog walk, devotions and breakfast, I head to my lower-level home office.

One of the first things I do, before I start writing, is I pray out loud for God to give me the right words, and I tell Satan to take a major hike. I commit my writing to the Lord and then let my fingers fly.

Have You Only Ever Been A Writer?

Nope. My former jobs include:

cemetery grounds keeper
soybean field weed chopper
fence painter

My brothers started a mowing business and I took it over by my junior high years. The town’s historic cemetery was one of my more tranquil mowing gigs.( Well, until the day my riding mower started sliding into a sunken gravesite!) I also earned up to $3.50 an hour using a machete-type knife to clear weeds from farmers’ fields. And I loved painting fences and sheds for my dad.

Did You Always Know You Were Going to Write Books?

I never aspired to be a book author. As a college freshman, I chose a general ag major because I loved animals and the outdoors. (And hey, having mostly guys in my ag classes had its perks.)

But I made a deal with God. If I made at least a B+ in my Beginning Newswriting and Reporting class, I would add a journalism major. Well, I got an A- in the class where we started with writing newspaper obituaries. I kept my journalism promise to my Creator and focused on a magazine editorial career.

Over time, as I was asked to help people write their books, I realized that I too could share incredible stories through books.

What Gets You Fired Up?

I love to lift up those who are overlooked or left to feel less than. Part of this championing for the underdog comes from grade school running games. Connie, my slender friend with cystic fibrosis, and I of opposite size, endured the same agony of being chosen last or almost last for dodgeball.

Even after I lost 75 pounds by high school, I never forgot the underdog less-than feeling. Also, I saw my mom regain her strength after mental health and cancer bouts and that created in me a compassionate heart for those battling wars others may not see or understand.

What’s Next for Your Book Writing?

We all have challenges that try to push our nose in the dirt. But I’ve watched brave souls, including myself, painstakingly rise up and keep bending instead of breaking with life’s pressures and disruptions. We all can make courageous comebacks, even if we doubt we will. My next two books tackle these everyday issues of pivoting when our lives go sideways and delving into our family roots to uncover the secrets and the surprises. I can’t wait to share these books with you!