BARBARA BETTIS - Guest Author

I have a lovely surprise for you today. Barbara Bettis is a member of Ozarks Romance Authors in Springfield MO. I've known her for several years. I find her to be delightful, generous and fun. She pours her heart and soul into her writing and her debut novel, SILVERHAWK, is a shining example. I hope you'll enjoy our visit today. Then scoot on over to AMAZON to get your copy.

 Hi Angela,
Thanks so much for hosting me today.
My pleasure, Miss Barbara. I've compiled a list of questions for both readers and writers. A little something for everyone. Let's get started!


Where is your favorite place to write?
My favorite place to write new words is at my desk, where I can be alone. I edit at the dining room table when there’s no one else in the house. Otherwise, it’s back in my office.

Do you have a writing routine?
Yes. It’s bad.  Actually, I do have to work on getting social media and promotion in balance with writing.

Which comes first – Characters or Plot?
Character. Sometimes character and plot come together, but usually I see the people in my mind first.

Which of the following do you struggle with the most: Characterization, Plot, Emotions, Passive Voice  And do you work through the challenge?
I think the one thing I have to really work on is emotion. I always have to go back and layer it in. But the positive thing is, I’ve realized that it’s okay to do that. I don’t have to have everything there the first time through.

What is the best writing advice you’ve received?
Don’t worry about making it perfect the first time through. For years I thought I had to have the first part just right, and the rest would flow from there. I took me awhile to see for myself that no matter how ‘right’ I thought the chapters, they’ll probably be changed when I go back for the edits.

If you could travel forwards or backwards in time, which direction would you go and what would you most like to experience when you arrived?
No doubt—back in time to the Regency period or the Middle Ages.  Although I’d love to see my knight and live in a castle,  in actuality, early castles could be cold and damp and uncomfortable and smelly. Life, even for most nobles, was hard compared to what we have today. Although I might want to visit, I don’t think I’d want to remain there, because—no pain meds and the sanitary conditions were appalling.

Tell us something that can make you smile, even on your worst day.
Of course, my grandchildren. But they’re not always around. If I want a guaranteed smile, I read the back pages of my Columbia Journalism Review for all the headline and wording errors from newspapers and magazines. I remember making some of my own. But they weren’t nearly as funny. LOL

Most romantic thing a guy has ever done for you?
My husband was wonderful to do little, unexpected things for me and his support was absolutely phenomenal. One of the things I recall is his surprising me by moving with me for six months to Fayetteville, Ark., while I was doing my resident status for my doctorate. I’d thought I’d have to take a room somewhere for the week and drive home on weekends, or drive back and forth every night. He treated the months as a ‘vacation.’ We closed up the house and took an apartment in Fayetteville.  It turned out to be among the most wonderful experiences we shared. To me that was more romantic that all the flowers, etc., that he ever brought me. (Oh how sweet!)

Favorite Comfort food?
Anything chocolate. I absolutely believe in its calming effects. LOL. However, after hugely stressful and traumatic events—ice cream. I don’t have a favorite flavor. But I do love hot fudge. 

Favorite thing to do to relax?
I actually like to talk to friends. Otherwise, a good book, especially one by an author I know and like. I have a keeper bookcase and if my TBR pile is down, I go for a book I’ve already read and that I love. It’s like revisiting old friends.

Tell us a little about SILVERHAWK
He’s everything a proper lady should never want; she’s everything a bastard mercenary can never have.

Would you share an excerpt with us?
This scene is taken from the Lady's Garden. 

Lady Emelin knelt at a patch of straggly flowers. As Giles advanced, the bright moonlight cast his shoulders as a darker shadow on the ground ahead. By the rigid set of her back, he knew she heard him. He couldn’t explain what had prompted him to veer off course, to seek her out.

Now he stood in the midst of a dead garden, in the heart of Lincolnshire, unsure of his intent.

Emelin sat back on her heels with an exaggerated sigh. “Would you move your shoulders, Sir Knight? They block what meager light I’ve found.” If a tone could cross its arms and tap its toe, hers did. A lightness inside him felt shockingly like a smile.

That’s why he was here. She amused him.

“Where would you like me to move them, my lady?”

“London, I should think.

You show her attitude well and I love her candor as to where she'd like him to move. That line always makes me smile.

So where can our visitors purchase your book?
SILVERHAWK is available at Amazon -  http://tinyurl.com/m49lzkq


SILVERHAWK will be in wide release in November 2013

That's wonderful, Miss Barb. Thank you!  And thank you for being with us today. 
Here's a little bit more about Barbara Bettis:
Award winning author Barbara Bettis has always loved history and English. As a college freshman, she briefly considered becoming an archeologist until she realized there likely would be bugs and snakes involved. And math.

She now lives in Missouri, where by day she’s a mild-mannered English teacher, and by night she’s an intrepid plotter of tales featuring heroines to die for—and heroes to live for.

Visit her at: http://barbarabettis.com and www.barbarbbettis.blogspot.com

You will also find Barbara:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBettisAuthor
Twitter: www.twitter.com/BarbaraBettis