So it got me thinking about what life was like for me at 16.
I was “Sweet 16 and never been Kissed.”
I thought something was wrong with me.
A couple of boys had tried when I was out with friends to kiss me but I shied away from contact. I wasn’t interested in them.
My first kiss came at 17 from a very nice boy who I didn’t appreciate at the time.
However, at age 16, I was writing stories with romance using my limited imagination, having never experienced romance in real life. I had read a lot of books, though, so I parroted some of what I read.
Although I had a few kisses in college and in my early 20s, I didn’t receive the kiss that really mattered until I was 24, when I had my own fairy tale romance with the man of my dreams. We fell in love and had a beautiful wedding. It was all a dream come true for me. Our marriage was good, until “til death do us part” actually happened when were still in our 40s. I lost him in a work accident.
I’ve written romances since he passed away, but now most of my characters are widowed or in some cases divorced.
Second-chance romance, a concept that was foreign to me at age 16.
Had someone told me on my wedding day that I would only have 20 years with the man of my dreams, I would have been in an even bigger hurry to say our vows. I know that because I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a moment of our lives together.
Through all the changes that have happened since I was a teenager, one constant remains. My faith in God has been with me on every step of my journey. I became a believer at a young age and was baptized. I never strayed toward the partying lifestyle. In part because our church started a youth group around that time. The fellowship and social activities gave me a place to belong, when I didn’t feel like I fit in at school.
Doors opened for me in high school that led to the opportunity to go to a Christian college and live in the dorms. It was in college that I received my second kiss. From a nice upperclassman. Nice, that is, until he broke my heart. I can laugh about my “heartbreak” now, because it was so meaningless in comparison to really getting my heart broken when my husband passed away.
I had a couple of other boyfriends, one in college and one in my early twenties, that never went beyond a few kisses. During those years, I did a lot of living: Studying, then teaching in Mexico; Leading youth group at my local church; Bible studies; and working full time at a couple of different jobs.
But I didn’t write any fiction during those years. In fact, a friend in Mexico told me that Christians shouldn’t write fiction. So I came home from there and threw out all the stories I’d written in high school.
That was a blessing in disguise, because I am embarrassed now at some of the things I wrote. I’m glad none of it was ever published.
After I married, we started a family. I became a stay-at-home mom. Suddenly, I spent all day with a baby, then a second one, without a lot of interaction. I suffered with undiagnosed postpartum depression. I disliked house work. I loved my kids and my husband, but I was bored and often lonely.
When my kids became toddlers, creativity once again blossomed in me. I wrote even through the darkest times in my life.
I wouldn’t become a published author until 2007, long after high school ended.
These days currently I have a lot of free time on my hands. I am widowed, two adult children share my house but live their own lives, and I don’t have a car, by choice, because I’ve chosen not to drive anymore due to medical issues.
Now that I have all the time I need, I have writer’s block. I haven’t written anything new for a while.
I have a few projects in various stages of completion that I’d like to finish. I have a book in the editing stages that I hope to release this summer. I may struggle to get the words typed into a document, but one thing I am convinced of:
God is not done writing MY story.
I thought I knew enough about life to write at age 16. I do know a lot more about it at age 61. But I will never stop learning what God has in store for me, as He does something new in my heart every day.
My struggles with social anxiety have made me a recluse of sorts, but God is helping me extend my “box.” I hope to make great strides this summer with participating in life outside my four walls again.
And as I begin a new year of life, at age 61, I pray that God will help me to be a blessing to others and grow my faith.
And maybe, just maybe, to complete some of the writing projects I’ve neglected.
This is the first post in my series about authors and books based in Michigan, my home state.
I met my guest today, B.R. Bates, at an author event at my local library. After our meeting, I picked up one of her books on Kindle and have started reading it. The story is fascinating. I’ll let her tell you about it in her own words.
Carol: B.R., thank you for being my guest today. Let’s start off with you telling us a bit about yourself:
B.R. Bates: I am a writer based in Michigan, specifically the larger Detroit area. I grew up in a small town in mid-Michigan. I’ve been a writer all of my life, since I first learned penmanship, actually, and I pasted together ruled sheets of paper to make my first “book.” Since then, I’ve written a little bit of everything – poetry and short stories in my earlier years, then novels, then I spent much of my career researching and writing pop-culture reference books on classic TV shows. More recently I have done two true-crime books on convicted Detroit serial killers. All through the years of my writing career, I’ve also done writing and communications for my “day job,” working in daily newspapers for about a decade, then branching out to the corporate world, then to ministry work in the South for a few years, then to federal government web management on the East Coast. So I’ve lived all over the place and worked in a variety of fields, and writing has been a constant in my life.
Carol: What are your books about?
B.R. Bates: The true-crime books are “The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer: The John Eric Armstrong Homicides” and “The Crack City Strangler: The Homicides of Serial Killer Benjamin Atkins.” They explore the cases of these two convicted serials. Armstrong was known to kill five women in Detroit, but he also assaulted five others who survived, which is an unusual ratio for a serial. The thing that people tend to remember about this case is that after he was arrested in Detroit in April 2000, he confessed to killing 10 others around the world while traveling with the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Nimitz. That idea of a traveling naval killer has been adopted as a storyline for a few different TV crime dramas, inspired by this case.
In the other book, Atkins was dubbed the country’s fastest-moving serial when he was arrested in August 1992. He was known to kill 11 women in a timeframe that could have been as short as six months. The local papers at the time were calling him the Woodward Corridor Killer and the Woodward Strangler, but a paper in Canada – before he was identified and arrested – referred to this killer terrorizing Detroit as the Crack City Strangler. That’s an interesting perspective for them to take, and my publisher felt that really captured it, so thus the title of the book. I love Detroit and would never think of it as “Crack City,” but from a sociological perspective, I guess it was an interesting way in which this case was viewed at the time. Crack was a significant part of this case.
Carol: I’m a fan of true stories and suspense novels, so I picked up your book, The ‘Baby Doll’ Serial Killer on Kindle. I’ve started reading it. Your details and the interviews with family members of the victims are fascinating.
Now for some questions our readers want to know:
1. Are you a night owl or morning person?
I am definitely a morning person. I can get up and go, and I do my best work early in the day. That’s how I’ve always been. I wind down in the evening, maybe watching a little TV then crawling into bed with a book around 8 or 8:30 p.m., where I read until 9:30 or 10 p.m. Then I’m out! If I am ever away from home past 10 p.m., boy, am I struggling! LOL.
2. Do you experience writer’s block? What do you do to get through it?
Believe it or not, I never get writer’s block. I can always write. It’s like breathing to me. I always see writing as getting your thoughts onto the page, not worrying about it being perfect, and refining it later. I think some writers get bogged down – maybe just subconsciously – in the idea that it has to be perfect at the get-go. That paralyzes them. I learned in journalism school that you just start writing, because there’s an editing process, so don’t worry about perfection. Start writing and let it flow, then work out what needs to be worked out later. That’s how I advise people, because I am always hearing from people who want to write a book. It seems like it’s human nature, to want to write a book. But I’ve heard from some folks who don’t know how to start it. I always tell them, start anywhere – start in the middle, if you want. If you know you want to include a certain story or bit, write that first, even if it goes in the middle. Just get it down, then go back and write the beginning, or the end. Just start writing, and the wonderful thing about Microsoft Word (and hey, I first learned on an actual typewriter all those years ago!) is that you can go back and edit so easily! You can copy and paste, you can delete. So just write.
Carol: These are great tips. I’m one of those writers who want to get it right the first time, so I can take this advice to heart.
3. Were there any surprises that came up as you wrote your story?
I think the thing that surprised me the most about my research into these two serial killers was how much I related to the victims. I knew I wanted to make these books very victim-centric, and that’s why they both begin with chapters focusing on each one of the victims. Beyond that, though, I am the same age that many of the victims would be right now, even though these two killers operated at different times. It was very much a case of “there but by the grace of God go I,” because my upbringing was not the best. There could have been a wrong turn or two in my life that sent me in that direction. These were women living at risk on the street. Most of them were drug-addicted. They were not out there by choice. They were there because of circumstances, and often it was circumstances beyond their control.
These females present a challenge to the reader, and I hate to say that many people fail that challenge. Do we value all human life, or just the life that fits with our sense of right and wrong? Does the Lord love everybody? Did He die for everybody? Was He maybe punishing them for their life choices? These are tough questions, and I think we resist confronting them on a conscious level. We don’t realize when we’re judging, half the time.
One of the survivors of Armstrong, her name is Zelda, is a true champion for the Lord these days. She lives in victory. She knows she has been delivered, and she sings it all day long. She witnesses. She touches other people’s lives. She’s the one I think of as a true success story, because she knows exactly what she was delivered from. It’s like the parable in Luke 7 about the person who was forgiven for the greatest debt. I’m very inspired by that. I know another survivor of Armstrong who has really struggled over the years. She’s a friend of mine now, and I hear from her often, and I pray for her (and I hope readers will, too). I believe the Lord can work just as strongly in her life. I have also become a friend of one of Atkins’ survivors, and she is perhaps somewhere in the middle. She is strong, but it hasn’t been easy for her. But the greatest challenges have the greatest rewards, right? I think for me the biggest reward of doing these two books has been getting to know these three survivors, who have, in ways large and small, turned their lives around and made something different from them, despite whatever circumstances.
Carol: It’s amazing that you have gotten to know the survivors during the writing process. I’m glad they are finding their paths to healing. We can all learn something positive from their stories.
4. Do you reward yourself when a book is finished? If so, what is your favorite treat?
You know, I do reward myself when there has been an accomplishment, or when something good has happened. I used to reward myself each time I moved up to a better job through my 20s and 30s. When I got my job at The Detroit News, I went to the mall and bought a black leather biker-type jacket at the Wilson leather shop. I’ve gone to the Tiff and Co. at Somerset mall in Troy to buy myself something as a reward. I think that’s important. I have a strong work ethic – I can work, work, work. And I think to reward yourself is a reminder to slow down and smell the roses, as they say. To take stock and let your foot off the gas once in a while, because sometimes you can drive yourself too hard.
5. What are your three favorite books?
The most life-changing book I’ve read is the Bible, first and foremost – I have read it over and over again, at a slow rate, about a chapter a day, throughout my life. And I alternate between different Bibles. My boss at my job in D.C. gave me a chronological Bible, and that’s a really interesting way to read the Scriptures – I’ve gone through that Bible a couple times. I have various translations of the Bible, and I recently got a Catholic Bible and an Ethiopian Bible. I think when I finish the latest translation I’ve been reading, I’m going to start the Ethiopian Bible, because I’m intrigued to discover what it has that my traditional Bible does not, and why. Same thing with the Catholic Bible – I’ve never read those extra books it has, since I grew up Protestant. I’ve always been curious about them.
As far as other books, I was profoundly affected and awed by these two books when I read them for college literature courses: “Notes from Underground” by Dostoevsky and “The Stranger” by Camus.
And our final question from readers, if you didn’t write books, what would you do for a living?
If I had not gone into journalism in college, and if I had not been writing all these years, I would have gone into the psychology field. Psychology, and even sociology, have always deeply fascinated me. I love studying people and why they do the things they do. I took a couple courses in college, and I actually got out those old college textbooks a few months ago and read them over. (Yes, reading a textbook when I didn’t have to, LOL.) I have often in my life cited the basic psychological terms I learned in those courses, and I know they have informed my creative writing, if not my true-crime writing, as well.
Carol: I’ve very much enjoyed our interview and getting to know about you as an author. I know my readers will want to find out more about you and your books.
Before we go, where can readers find you online?
I have a website at BRBates.com, and I do a blog at br-bates.blogspot.com, where I do a series I call “Killer Comparisons” – I compare another serial killer in our cultural history with one of the two Detroit serials I have researched. I find great value – from that psychological perspective that I love so much – in seeing how the backgrounds of these serials are similar or different. It’s all about answering the million-dollar question of why they cross that line to take human life. Is it nature or nurture? Those are the ideas I tackle with Killer Comparisons.
I’m so thankful for God’s mercy upon me. Many things could have turned tragic but He delivered me from them all. He pulled me out of situations where my faith would suffer or my values would be compromised. And He allowed my personal mistakes to turn out for the greater good.
There is hope for recovery and healing no matter what mental health issues you find yourself in. But it may require you to seek out professional help. To tell someone who is trained to help you understand your personal struggles and put your past into perspective.
Healing will likely require proper medication prescribed by a doctor. And adhering to the restrictions that come with the prescription. To stay on it and talk to your doctor about side effects or ongoing struggles so they can adjust the doses.
Support from family and friends is also vital for recovery. If you don’t have that or have burned those bridges then a support group in a professional setting can be helpful.
And also finding a church that allows you to be honest about your mental health issues is essential. There are churches and people who believe faith and prayer are all you need for healing. I tried that and ended up in worse condition.
I have found that my faith in God has been strengthened throughput my many years of struggles. I have learned to lean into Him during especially trying times, to trust my health care professionals and to be honest with my support system and ask for help.
I’m here to tell that you that you can manage your mental health condition and live a normal life. You will struggle however. Likely in times of personal loss, unexpected changes and fractures in relationships.
It’s important to learn to read your emotions and test your responses. To seek counseling to get you through those difficult times. And just as importantly, not to turn to unhealthy ways of escape including substances.
I’ve struggled with my mental health most of my life. I had a complete breakdown in 2003 and was hospitalized. But God and all of the above have helped me keep on the path to a good life.
Good morning. Today I’m interviewing author Katy Eeten.
I became acquainted with Katy a few years ago. She is one of my favorite Christian authors.
Katy, thank you for joining me on my blog. I’m really excited to talk about your new release, A Stalker to Die For.
But first, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’ve lived in southeast Wisconsin most of my life, which is where I currently reside with my husband and our two teenage sons. I work full time as a Senior Office Administrator at a large corporation, but I do my best to squeeze in writing off hours. A Stalker to Die For is my sixth published book and my first attempt at suspense. My other books are all contemporary Christian romances, including three Christmas novellas. When I’m not working or writing, I enjoy playing board games, baking, taking walks, and spending time with my family.
Your new book, A Stalker to Die for, releases today.
What is the book about?
Ashley Morris thought the worst part of online dating was awkward small talk. She was wrong.After one disastrous date, a man named Nick won’t take no for an answer. His calls and texts escalate into threats, break-ins, and a terror that shadows her every move. Desperate for safety, Ashley hires Jackson Russo—a talented painter with a kind heart and a protective streak—to renovate her home. But as their friendship deepens into something more, Nick’s obsession turns deadly.Caught between a stalker’s rage and a love she never expected, Ashley must trust God’s protection and her own instincts to survive. With Jackson by her side, she’ll fight for her life—and for a future worth living.A faith-filled romantic suspense with a slow-burn, closed-door romance and a guaranteed happily ever after. No graphic content. Perfect for fans of Lynette Eason, Dani Pettrey, and Dee Henderson.
I love how you weave your faith into the fabric of your stories. I can’t wait to read this one!
Now let’s do a Q&A so our readers can find out more about you and your writing style:
Are you a night owl or morning person?
Sadly, I don’t consider myself either. Maybe I’m more of an afternoon person? Ha! I typically fall asleep on the couch before 10 PM while watching TV with my husband. And on the weekends, I love to sleep in—although to me, that means 8 AM. I don’t often sleep later than that, and during the week I’m up by 6 AM to get ready for work, so maybe that makes me a morning person? I guess it depends on what you consider early.
Who was your favorite character to create?
Although she’s a very minor character, I very much enjoyed Ashley’s friend Stacie. She’s the comedic sidekick that eases the mood when things get too tense, but she’s also a faithful friend that truly wants the best for Ashley.
How did you come up with the names of your hero and/or heroine?
Jackson is the name of one of my sons. I had already used my other son’s name (Lincoln) in my novella Christmas in Meadow Creek, so I thought I might as well make it fair, lol. And the name Ashley is just one of those names I’ve always wanted to use in a story but haven’t yet. I think the names pair together quite nicely
Are you a plotter or a panster?
I would say I’m a mix of the two! I definitely don’t have the entire story mapped out, outlined and neatly tied together before I start writing, but I do try to have the broad strokes in place before I start fleshing out the details. But the plot often takes a twist or turn I didn’t originally intend as I proceed with writing the detailed scenes. I would love to see what happens in the mind of a true plotter and a true panster as they work through their process!
If you didn’t write books, what would you do for a living?
I feel that I have incredible attention to detail. So, if I could make enough money doing it, I would love to be a proofreader. That way, I’d get to read all sorts of books for a living while making minor edits and helping other authors put their best foot forward.
Do you experience writer’s block? What do you do to get through it?
All the time! I wish I had a surefire method for working through it, but I usually just walk away until I’m feeling inspired again. Since writing is just a side hobby for me and not my full-time job, I can afford to go long bouts without writing. Eventually, the creative muse returns and then I try to cram as much writing in as possible.
How can readers find your new book?
And last question, tell us what’s next for you as an author?
I am working on a Women’s Fiction that’s told in first person present tense from the alternating points of view of four former college friends navigating life, careers, and relationships. It’s been a long time in the making, but I’m excited at how it’s shaping up and hope to get it out in the world someday (and someday soon would be even better).
It was great chatting with you, Katy. Before we go, where can readers find you online?
Today on my blog I’m interviewing Samantha Fury and some of her author friends that are working on a great series, Men of the West. We’re going to be talking with Samantha and one of her authors in this series, Ivy Hart. The series as of now has 9 books with more being added throughout the year.
First, we’ll be talking with Samantha Fury.
Samantha, tell us a little bit about yourself:
A big Kentucky howdy to everyone. It’s nice to be here today. My name is Samantha Fury and I wear many hats. I’m an author, designer, wife, fur baby mom, and way too many other things that circle around publishing books for and with other authors. I’ve helped Carol with some of her books, and I have a lot of authors I work with. Right now, I’m working with several great ladies on a Multi-Author Project. It’s a lot of fun. I’ve created all of the covers, and I’ve invited some of the authors to join me here today. Later in the year I hope to have a book out in this series.
I’ve really appreciated the work you’ve done on my book covers and expertise in helping with the publishing.
Samantha, tell me what a Multi-Author Project is.
Sure. It’s a lot of fun working with other authors, and each of them has at least one book in the series and some have two. The books are not connected so you can read them in any order, and they each circle around the idea for the series. The books can cover any state out West where a female character meets with the man with the titles using the man’s occupation. Samples are: The Blacksmith, Liveryman, Shopkeeper, Miner, and many other interesting titles.
In some books, the match may have bumps in the road, or they may hit it off splendidly and falter due to a villain. Every book in this series is different, but the main ingredient is romance that never goes according to plan. So be prepared for several bumps on the road to happiness. Enjoy meeting adventurous ladies and men of every occupation.
That sounds like so much fun. Samantha we’re going to ask Ivy Hart a couple of questions then we’ll come back to you in a minute. Ivy, what is the inspiration behind your story?
Hello Carol. That’s a great question. The inspiration for The Drover came from a single, powerful question: What if a man whose entire identity was built on healing—a doctor—was forced into hiding because he believed his hands only brought death? That idea became the seed for my hero, Griff. He’s a man running from a past tragedy, carrying a secret that isolates him from the world, yet his very nature is to protect and mend.
I wanted to place this broken man in the path of someone with unshakable faith. That’s how Ellie, a young widow struggling to keep her homestead, came to be. Her situation was heavily inspired by the biblical story of the Widow of Zarephath—a woman on the brink of starvation who is asked to give her last bit of food to a stranger, and through that act of faith, is provided for.
The story became about exploring how these two people—one running from God and the other running to Him—could find hope and redemption together in the harsh, unforgiving beauty of the 1870s Kansas frontier. It’s a story about how even in our darkest moments, faith can light a path toward healing.
That answer really pulls us into the story as a reader Can you tell me, were there any surprises that came up as you wrote your story?
The biggest surprise was the depth of Griff’s guilt. I knew he was a doctor on the run, but I didn’t realize how profoundly he saw himself as a failure—as “poison,” to use his own term. In my initial outline, his secret was more of a plot device, a reason for him to be a fugitive. But as I wrote him, his internal struggle became the absolute heart of the story. This wasn’t just about him hiding his past; it was about him fighting a deep-seated belief that he was unworthy of forgiveness, love, or a second chance. It made his journey toward redemption, and his relationship with the ever-faithful Ellie, so much more powerful and emotional than I had originally planned. He really broke my heart before he started to heal, and that was a journey he led me on as much as I led him.
Ivy, are you a plotter or a pantser?
I like to call myself a “plantser”—I’m a plotter with a pantser’s heart! For a story like The Drover, with its historical details and suspenseful elements like the range war, I absolutely need a solid plot. I had the major story beats mapped out: Griff’s arrival, the blizzard that forces them together, the escalating conflict with the cattle baron, and the final confrontation. That structure is my roadmap. However, I always leave room for the characters to breathe and surprise me. As I mentioned, Griff’s internal struggle took the story in a much deeper emotional direction than I’d first plotted. When a character’s motivation feels more real or powerful by deviating from the plan, I follow them. The plot is the skeleton, but the characters are the ones who give the story its heart and soul.
Thanks Ivy, for sharing and for joining us today. The Drover sounds like a great, faith-filledstory. We’ll show the cover and a link at the end of the article. For now, let’s change gears and ask you a personal question before we go back to Samantha. Are you a night owl or morning person?
Thanks Carol, it’s been fun joining you today and that’s a fun question. I’m Definitely a night owl! There’s something magical about the quiet of the late hours, when the rest of the world is asleep. It feels like the perfect time for characters to start whispering their secrets, and I find I can focus most deeply on their emotional journeys without any distractions.
Samantha, what about you, night or morning?
I agree with Ivy. I’m a night person, though I do love the mornings and chatting with my family. At night the phone doesn’t ring, the dogs are sleeping, hubby is watching YouTube, so it just gives me more time to think clearly.
That makes sense. You mention your family. What do they think of your writing?
They are very proud of what I’ve accomplished and they are very supportive. My aunt edits, my mom markets like only a mother can. My other aunt and cousins love what I do and are always telling me which cover they like best.
What is your mom’s favorite book and yours?
My mother has two: Sweet Prince and Maid for Martin. Mine, goodness, I love them all. Street Justice book one, Sweet Prince, Rachels Ransom, Aria.
Who was your favorite character to create?
That is easy: Angel Morganson. He was one of my first characters and he’ll always be special to me.
Samantha, thanks for joining us today. A few last questions. First, what’s next for you as an author and Second, where can readers find you online?
I’m working for a lot of authors right now, but I hope to write more. I have so many stories I want to publish. And you can find me at my website. There you can learn more about me and find all of my books. I write under Samantha Lovern, and Samantha Fury. Lovern is clean romance. Fury is more Christian. Thanks for having me!
Inspirational Author 