A Stranger's Promise

Author: Betsy Lowery
Located in: Birmingham, AL
Submitted: September 04, 2019

    Tell us a little about yourself.  I'm a Southern Baptist "preacher's kid" from North Carolina who wound up in Alabama in my early 20's after God's ministry call took me to seminary. Writing has been a lifelong passion for me and the primary expression of that ministry calling.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  This book was inspired in 2011 when Alewine Pottery in Gatlinburg sponsored a TV broadcast of the 1947 film Southern Highlanders while my family and I were there on vacation. The characters, plot, and detailed setting of A Stranger's Promise came along gradually over the next several years, as did the idea for a sequel titled No Doubt It's Love (set in Atlanta).

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  I hope readers will be entertained, moved, involved, educated a little, and struck with some essential and encouraging truths about the heart and the ways of God.

    How were you personally impacted by working on this project?  Writing not just one, but two, lengthy works of fiction definitely challenged me as a writer. At some major conferences I learned valuable lessons about technique including point of view and character development. Social media and personal conversations before and since publication have allowed and required me to speak up boldly about my path as a Christian writer.

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  Writers of fiction whose works have impacted me include Betty Cavanna, Beverly Cleary, Julie Campbell/Kathryn Kenny (the Trixie Belden series), Grace Livingston Hill and Jane Austen.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  I count it a huge blessing to now have three books published, and I continue to find that whole process not only a joy, but a valuable learning experience. Just as with any profession or hobby, there definitely is no sitting on one's laurels here. It's work to produce books and it's work to be a proper steward of completed books.

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