Holiday Guest Spotlight: Betty Mermelstein

BIO:

Betty is originally from Indiana, and she and her husband have lived in New York,
Connecticut, and California before moving to Arizona 27 years ago. They have two sons
who have their own families now, and she enjoys spending time with all of them.
Betty has had a variety of articles, humorous personal essays, and poetry published and
has self-published ebooks for children and adults on Amazon, Smashwords, and Lulu.
Her own experiences have been the inspirations for much of what she writes.
Ballroom dancing is also a big part of her life, as well as travelling and volunteering.

AUTHOR Q&A:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

BM: I was about ten when I wrote a short reply to a local newspaper question asking what the moon was made of. It was meant to be a creative, fictional answer, and mine won a big award of one dollar! After that, I always knew that eventually I would write for publication.

How long does it take to write your book(s)?

BM: I can only guess, since my collection of short stories took months to put together, in between teaching and taking care of my family. My short novels and children’s books would probably be the same.

What is your work schedule like when writing a book?

BM: I usually write during the day since I’ve been retired, but when I was writing my published ebooks, it was almost always in the evening for a couple of hours.

Where do you get your ideas or information for your book?

BM: My own experiences have been my inspirations, whether from my childhood or the situations I’ve encountered while traveling. The latter have gone into my articles and my short humorous essays I’ve had published.

When did you write your first book?

BM: It was about fifteen years ago.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

BM: I’m an avid ballroom dancer, and I love travelling and spending time with our sons and their families.

What does your family think of your writing?

BM: I think they see it as just a part of me: something I do.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your books?

BM: When I read them back, I was actually pleased with them! Plus, when I worked with my illustrators on my children’s books, I learned about each artist’s process, and I found it to be a very satisfying experience with all of them.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

BM: I’ve written four illustrated children’s books, one book for about third grade that is not illustrated, two short novels for preteens, one short novel for teens and above, and a collection of short stories, which makes nine books. I can’t choose a favorite at this time!

Any tips/suggestions on getting started?

BM: Write what you are interested in and passionate about. Keep your audience in mind, but don’t write to fulfill the constraints of a genre you really don’t care about. As an example, don’t try to create a fantasy story if dragons, unicorns, warring nations, magic objects, etc. don’t truly matter to you.

What do you think makes a good story?

BM: A good story has believable characters with an interesting plot. Good descriptions full of adjectives, adverbs, metaphors, and similes allow the readers to capture the images in their minds.