Readers often ask where I get an idea for a story, and my answer usually is, “I don’t know.” Which is usually correct. I don’t know. Most always when a story comes to me, it’s because of the crazy way my brain combines three or four separate incidents, characters, stories, or a combination of all […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Leeann Betts looks to numbers
When I sat down 15 years ago to see if I had one book in me, I had no clue where to start. And now, all this time and more than 30 books later, every time I face the blank page, it’s the same. Where to start? I’m an avid reader of mysteries, particularly what is […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Leeann Betts discusses the fact that she is a pseudonym
Several people have asked me “Why a pseudonym?”, so I thought perhaps more readers and authors might want to know the answer, as well. Within the Christian community, I’ve had folks who said, “Isn’t that like lying?” The answer to the first question is perhaps easier than to the second. So I’ll start with the […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Leeann Betts and the book you always wanted to write
So you have a great idea for a book. You’ve done some character sketches. You know where the story is going. The only thing that’s left, apart from the writing, is to decide where to set your book. Your hometown? No, too many people know you there. That little town where you went on vacation […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Leeann Betts adds up the numbers to solve the crime
Writers hear this all the time at conferences: write what you know. As a new writer, I took this advice seriously. So when I sat down to write my first book, I asked myself: what do you know? I knew numbers. I was trained as a bookkeeper, had worked for many years in accounting departments, and I […]
Behind the Scenes: Alter-ego author Leeann Betts talks about how she chooses settings
Today we’re hearing from an alter ego! Leeann Betts, a pen name for Donna Schlachter, wants to share her own thoughts on how a writer chooses setting. With so many great places to set a book, how do authors go about selecting that perfect location that is not merely a backdrop to the plot but […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Donna Schlacter and her alter ego, Leeann
Leeann, my alter ego, and I were chatting the other day. She wanted to know why I created her. “I was writing and hoping to publish in two different genres: historical suspense and contemporary suspense. I didn’t want to confuse my readers by writing in different genres.” “How did you pick my name?” “My husband’s […]