LOVE ARRIVES IN PIECES - Betsy St Amant - One Free Book

Bio: Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana with her young daughter and has a heart for sharing the amazing news of God's grace through her novels. A freelance journalist, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing.

Welcome, Betsy. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

It varies, but there is always a piece of me that ends up in my main heroine, whether I mean to do it or not! Be it a favorite color, a hairstyle, a hobby, or an emotional scar, something is always incorporated. I think that helps me write more openly and honestly.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

I’m really OCD about pictures being straight. I’ve walked into professional businesses or people’s houses I don’t know well and straightened their art on the walls. I also have a quirky habit of ripping straw wrappers at fast food restaurants or Starbucks up into teeny tiny pieces and making confetti while sitting and visiting. I usually don’t even realize I’m doing it until later in the conversation when I realize I’m being looked at funny! haha.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

When I was in elementary school, my short stories were always finagling in different school-wide projects. I just loved to read, more than anything else, but later, when I became a teenager, I decided to get serious about pursing writing as more than a play-around-thing on our home computer. I began attending courses and conferences on writing and speaking and learning all I could!

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

I read contemporary romance, of course, since that’s what I write. But I also love YA novels and historical of all time periods.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

Oh, I do????? Thanks Lena! ::wink:: Honestly, some days I don’t feel sane at all. I feel overwhelmed and pressured and struggling to chase myself in a circle. I’m a single mom who works full time outside of writing, and has a side job freelancing for a local newspaper. I’ve never understood the word “bored” but somehow, in the midst of the chaos, God sews it all together. Some days those stitches are dripping with my tears, other days are covered in my laughter, but every day somehow manages to accomplish what it needs to. He is so sufficient!

How do you choose your characters’ names?

I usually have an idea of the “vibe” I want the name to carry, and comb through baby-name-meaning website until I see it and it shouts at me. Or, I might think of a definition I want the name to mean, and search that way.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

I’m really proud of where I’ve come since my divorce. I’ve gone from a weak, distraught, hopeless, defeated woman sobbing on her kitchen floor, to a strong woman who knows her value and worth in Christ, a woman of hope and courage, a woman who encourages others who knows how it feels to bleed out from the heart. I’m proud of where I’ve come, all while knowing it’s all because of the Lord and His strength in me. His grace, His mercy, His love, and His rescuing me. He is so good!

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

I think I’d be a horse. I love open space and beautiful scenery and roaming around outside. I love the feeling of wind and freedom. Horses remind me of all those things. They were always my favorite animal growing up.

What is your favorite food?

Chips and salsa! I could eat it (and sometimes do) by the gallon. Sometimes every day. (We might need an intervention!)

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Time. It still is my greatest roadblock at times, but like I said earlier, the overcoming is nothing but the grace of God! I have to take writing one day at a time.

Tell us about the featured book.

LOVE ARRIVES IN PIECES is the book of my heart. It features a divorced heroine who is hiding from her past and afraid to shine, afraid of all the things she was once proud of because she believes they contributed to the destruction of her marriage. So she hides her desires, her beauty, and talents in an effort to keep her heart safe. But when she’s forced to work beside a former flame on the renovation of the town’s beloved old theater, she realizes he still has the uncanny knack for drawing her out of herself—piece by piece. And she begins to see that sometimes, God can take even the tiniest of fragments and form beautiful masterpieces.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

I’m at www.betsystamant.com and www.writergetsreal.blogspot.com and my FB author page is  https://www.facebook.com/BetsySt.Amant

Thank you, Betsy, for sharing this new book with us. I'm anxious to read it, and I know my blog readers will be, too.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

Love Arrives in Pieces - Christianbook.com
Love Arrives in Pieces - Amazon
Love Arrives in Pieces - Kindle

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