Interview with inspirational Christian fiction author Betty Collier

Inspirational Christian fiction author Betty Collier joins me today and we’re chatting about The Birthday Gift: Book 1.

During her two-week virtual book tour with Write Now Literary, Betty will be giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below!

Bio:
Betty Collier describes herself as a nurse by profession, author by passion, and storyteller by the grace of God. She is a 5x bestselling, 4x award-winning inspirational Christian author. She writes with a purpose, and that is to bring honor and glory to God.

Her first book series, Living Inside the Testimony is a collection of inspirational nonfiction stories. Betty showcases her gift of storytelling by engulfing her readers from the very beginning and captivating their attention throughout the emotional journeys.

In her second book series, The Birthday Gift, Betty displays her creative storytelling in a surprisingly extraordinary way with her fictional work. She continues to inspire while lifting the words right off the pages to bring her characters to life. Readers will find themselves hoping for the best and dreaming about the characters as if they were members of their own family.

Betty also co-authored 2 anthologies with visionary author, Paulette Harper. Both are Amazon #1 bestsellers, For Such a Time as This and The Breaking Point. They feature incredible and inspirational stories from 20 different men and women from all across America.

Betty’s fictional work in The Birthday Gift Book Series is included in the John 3:16 Global Placement Mission as commissioned by founder, Terry Gurley. She uses her talent to introduce readers to the greatest gift ever given to mankind. While taking them on intriguing tales of heartbreak and hope, Betty intricately weaves together stories leaving readers in suspense until the very end. What they have in common is they all beautifully deliver the gospel message found in John 3:16.

On a personal note, Betty has been married since 1986 to William Collier, the absolute love of her life, after first meeting him in middle school. They are the proud parents of two sons and a daughter-in-love, all of whom reside in Shelby County, TN.

Welcome, Betty. Please tell us about your current release.
An unexpected knock on the door derails a birthday celebration as Mrs. Williams recalls the mysterious events that prevented her beloved husband from flying back home with their daughter’s priceless, life-changing gift he discovered at a flea market in the Middle East. In the opening scene, she learns in a most dramatic fashion that the absolute love of her life was murdered while in route to Los Angeles. Her faith and fortitude are unimaginably tested, but Mrs. Williams ultimately realizes that she possesses the greatest gift inside of her.

This Book Excellence Award-Winning Book is an exceptionally thought-provoking and intriguing tale that takes the reader on an emotional journey of profound heartbreak to surprising hope for the future. Although a catastrophic loss occurs, one comes away with a great sense of hopefulness in this increasingly violent world. The author intricately weaves this story together leaving readers in suspense until the very end. Be uplifted and inspired as you discover your own faith while experiencing the gift of a lifetime so cleverly embedded within the pages of this book.

What inspired you to write this book?
I wrote The Birthday Gift: Book 1 at the request of Terry Gurley, a visionary artist and sculptor who is the Principle Director/Creator of The Gospel Symbol. One of his pieces is The Message of the Bible sculpture. It explains the gospel of John 3:16 using a picture story. Terry approached me the first day we met after learning that I was an author and asked me to write a fictional story about the sculpture he created. He provided no guidelines for what I should write and simply asked that the gospel symbol be part of the story. I had to create a plot and storyline that would be befitting such a monumental sculpture.

 

Excerpt from The Birthday Gift: Book 1:
The next thing I remember hearing is “Code Blue.” It was now pitch-black outside my ICU window at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. I don’t know what happened on that beautiful sunny morning after I opened my front door for the police officer. He was standing there in the last ray of sunshine I would see for quite some time. I guess I could look at the police report or medical records, but what’s the point. I really don’t want to be reminded of the single most horrific day in my entire life. What happened? Why was the police officer talking in slow motion?

Bill had been in Israel for thirty-three days. It was time for him to come back home. I had been expecting a phone call from him during his layover at Heathrow. Instead of Bill’s much anticipated call, I got that abominable knock at my front door!

Then I heard it again. “Code Blue.”

Everything went black. As I reflect on that disastrous day, everything was already black. My world had gone dark and void.

From what I’ve been told, I woke up the following morning with no recollection of the previous day. Apparently, those words my ears had refused to allow my mind to process were no less true just because I refused to hear them, let alone accept them.

My heart was broken. I was broken. Life as I once knew it no longer existed. There was no reason to go to the airport. Bill never boarded his connecting flight in London. The only thing at the airport now was his luggage, and there certainly wasn’t any reason for me to go claim that. Well, no reason that I knew of at the time.

 

What exciting story are you working on next?
Completing the series of 5 books birthed from The Birthday Gift is my top priority. Dear John is the 2^nd book in the series, which will be released later in 2022. The 3^rd book, I Can Only Imagine: Bella’s Journey will make its debut in 2023. Following that will be book # 4, Mary, Did You Know? coming in 2024, and finally the climactic end to the series, book #5, WILL Is a Gift from God, which readers will have to wait for until 2025. After reading The Birthday Gift, it becomes apparent why there has to be multiple sequels.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I literally became a writer overnight after I dreamed about the front cover of my first book, Living Inside The Testimony. I had never wanted to be a writer, but I woke up the next morning after that dream and started writing. I finished the manuscript in one month and self-published it.

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I describe myself as a nurse by profession, author by passion, and storyteller by the grace of God. I have a full-time job as a nurse case manager. Because my passion is writing, I have to make time for it, but of course that can be very challenging when I add in all my other responsibilities of being a wife, mother, church administrator, and bookkeeper for my husband’s business. Simply put, it’s really by the grace of God.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t make an outline before I start writing. I pray about what stories to write, and it’s only after I feel the Lord is leading me to pen a certain book do I start the process. It’s always the same in that I sit down at a blank Word document and begin typing based on the ideas floating around in my head. Then I dream about the characters in the book and anxiously wait for ideas to unfold. I never know how a story will end until I write it.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I never had definitive plans, but being an analytical and scientific type of person with outrageous math skills, I assumed it would be something along those lines. Being an author was the farthest thing from my mind. I have a bachelor’s degree in management information systems as well, and I was a computer programmer analyst before I settled into being a nurse case manager after the birth of my first child. The schedule was much more accommodating for a new mom, and I started by working part-time from home when my now 28-year-old was only 3-months old.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Thank you for taking the time to share part of your day with me. I count it an honor and privilege when readers are interested in hearing about me as an author and the books I am writing. My desire is to inspire and encourage you through my nonfiction and fictional work. Join me on these emotional journeys of love, hope, faith, compassion, forgiveness, and triumph.

Links:
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Thanks for being here today, Betty!

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