AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Bette and Wayne Price

Today I've invited two writers - a husband and wife team - to join me in my question and answer author interview. I hope you enjoy!

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

Our writing is a true testimony of God’s reality even though it sometimes sounds like fiction. Bette and I have been in a close marriage for 51 years. We have worked together much of that time. In fact, the strength of our relationship forms the foundation of our books.  In our writing, we needed to have a way to separate our voices and individual experiences while talking about parallel events. Both she and I have much to say. The format of our book shows the two vantage points with Wayne’s words printed in plain type while Bette’s are printed in italics. This style works for the majority of our readers.

We could have written two books, one by Bette and one by Wayne. All they would have been is two life stories of ups and downs. By contrast, God Moment shows these stories, but it also includes the tenuous and exciting personal interactions so necessary for an enjoyable reading experience. This interview is written in the ‘dual, first-person’ technique that developed—Bette is speaking next.

I love the Lord so much I want to share that love with others. I worked managing low income housing in a rural town. After fourteen years I was forced to give that position up due to health problems. Over the course of those years I had occasional opportunities to encourage people by relating some of the things the Lord has done for me. I miss not being able to personally share some of our tumultuous but miraculous life events. Finding a way to share with others, like these wonderful people, prompted us to write a book about those miracles.

After listening to a Christian television talk show about authorship, we were further inspired to write. Now, having our story in paperback and Kindle makes sharing easy. While the project was in its early stages, we found such an appreciation of, and wonder at, the awesomeness of God in our lives. The words just flowed from those realizations—the process has been enlightening and satisfying!   

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I used to be a morning person but now I find myself taking forever to get into gear. We enjoy a relaxed morning of talking and drinking home-made mocha's. I am willing to work in the early afternoon. Because Wayne has developed into a morning (really an all-day) person we needed a workable compromise.

Our workday usually starts at 11 in the morning and ends around five or so. We try to write something Monday thru Saturday but normal day-to-day duties and errands take up a large amount of time for us. We gratefully write approximately 30 hours a week since we are both retired.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down?

We write together and at the same time. The desk, PC, and two monitors work for us. Since Bette cannot sit at a desk for long periods, she sometimes shares her ideas and dictates paragraphs from a living room chair. The desk is nearby at one end of the room so this works out fine. 

I count myself blessed being able to share my heart in this manner. I formerly worked at a computer typing much of my days, however, Wayne is now the better typist of the two of us. He tends to edit and even format while typing. All of this helps us put words on the page.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

Writing is exhilarating and refreshing for me! I love it! Most days I find myself waiting somewhat impatiently to get to the desk and start working. The day usually ends long before I am ready to stop—that’s my least favorite part.  

My husband loves to work, however, I find writing to be a challenge.  I enjoy talking about what the Lord has done, but I have never been able to share my feelings easily. Writing God Moment has challenged me to be more transparent and open. This was the hardest part for me. True life sounds like a wonderful genre but it sometimes requires me to remember difficult situations and often hidden feelings. However, I find as I remember the positive blessings I have received I am more articulate and now truly enjoy the writing process.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

Life as we have lived it has resulted in many miraculous interventions by God. Many years of sharing life with each other and remembering these awesome events has convinced us we have something important to share. Namely, that God is real and He can actually change things in normal life.

Of course, with this being our first book, we started writing without thought of a thesis or outline, you know, re-inventing the wheel. In the beginning we started by speaking into a tape recorder—literal tapes, old technology! As we became comfortable with just putting words directly onto a PC keyboard, we matured into the twenty first century.

The added step of transcription made it take far too long for us to produce this book. Unfortunately that’s how we started. The good news is that talking out loud onto a tape revealed a spontaneity that is now in our writing. With editing, cover design, formatting, and other publishing duties, we spent three years on and off to make it right.   

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

Marketing has a steep learning curve. Getting nearly a thousand free books out to our readers was easy. Paid sales are naturally slower. Our attempts so far include using Christian Facebook groups and several commercial marketing sites. In addition, we conducted a radio interview and a personal appearance. We look forward to utilizing writer groups, a web site, and so much more of all the ways to market books. And of course blog visibility is needed with this being our first entry into that potential, thanks to you Kathryn!

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

We are excited about our next book, ‘Pure God.’ We are hopeful it will be out this fall. It’s fun starting from the beginning again and actually writing rather than doing all the other author things.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

To me, back burner things always seem to be on the front. Bette’s illnesses are the biggest projects we are working on besides writing. We have already seen many divine healings for her. Receiving more is a major focus of book two.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn’t believe he/she has enough talent?

The best advice we ever received about becoming a good writer is to start writing and then keep on writing.

There are many paths to becoming published. We did it on our own. However,  if you do try it yourself, be prepared to learn many new disciplines. You may prefer getting help. Either way keep going, do not stop, enjoy!

Learn more about Bette and Wayne Price:

http://amazon.com/dp/1508928991 for paperback

http://amazon.com/dp/B00YNNF4QK  for Kindle

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Our question of you is: What is your focus for marketing your new book, Heaven 24/7? It sounds fabulous!

It is - fabulous! My friend and I got together to share our life experiences. It has been a great journey! Perhaps the best way I can show you how helpful and life changing it will be for readers is to have them listen to the book trailer.