Beth Ziarnik: Never give up!

Dear Friends and Readers~

It's always a treat to host a good friend on my blog. Beth Ziarnik is no exception. Beth and I met about 20 years ago at a Christian Writers Conference at Green Lake Conference Center. Together, we rode together (my husband driving the van) to Write-to-Publish Conference. We also flew to Kansas City together to attend one of the first ACFW (then ACRW) Conferences. Beth stayed overnight at my house in Milwaukee. I can tell you that her story, Her Deadly Inheritance, has been on her heart at least that long. Beth has honed her craft and revised her manuscript several times before getting it to a place where she felt comfortable submitting it.

So my question for Beth is -- Why did you write Her Deadly Inheritance?

"I remember clearly what brought me to writing Her Deadly Inheritance. Wannabe writers are often told:

“Write what you read!” I loved reading romantic suspense, especially Phyllis A. Whitney’s intriguing stories. In her articles on writing, she said a writer should pen the stories that were on her heart, even if no one was publishing that genre yet. She insisted, if the writer were faithful to her dream, the train of opportunity would eventually stop at her station, and she would be ready to board. I took her advice.Though no Christian publisher would touch romantic suspense back then, I started planning my novels. I was sure the Lord wanted me to write romantic suspense with Christians as heroes and heroines. So, I partially wrote six novels and worked on acquiring fiction writing skills—much different from those needed to write the nonfiction articles I was regularly getting published. "It took years, but I was told that if I didn’t quit, I could realize my “impossible” dream. As much as I sometimes wanted to throw the whole thing in the air and run, I stayed. I wrote, learned, rewrote, submitted my efforts for critique and evaluation, rewrote some more, studied, tweaked and polished, and rewrote some more.

"Then one day … an agent, Jim Hart of Hartline Literary Agency, declared he loved my novel and offered a contract to represent me. A year later, Her Deadly Inheritance won an award during the 2014 Write-to-Publish Conference banquet. Six months later, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas offered a contract to publish it. A year after that, on January 2, 2016, my dream came true. My novel debuted."

Beth, what did God teach you through writing Her Deadly Inheritance? 

"To believe in Him and the writing dream He put on my heart. To persevere, no matter what. Most of all, I discovered what a wonderful writing partner the Lord is—leading and guiding to the right resources, providing teachers and encouragers, and making the dream come true in the right way and at the right time—if we don’t quit."

What a wonderful message to other writers who may be struggling with writing their first novel--or even their second. Many times authors can feel discouraged after rejection notices show up in their inboxes or mailboxes.  Thank you, Beth.

Readers, find Beth's book available in online bookstores, including Amazon.com 

You can find out more about Beth, by logging on to her website. BethZiarnik.com/

Thank you, Beth, for stopping by Everything Writerly.