We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Betty Collier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Betty, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
In 2017, I was approached by an artist and sculptor whom I did not know, Terry Gurley, who is also the creator of The Gospel Symbol. He posed a simple question: “Can you write a fictional story about this symbol?” That was all he asked.
He left it up to me to create the story to introduce the symbol to the world through a book. He had no idea what the book would be about or that the symbol would end up being a birthday gift found in the Middle East. I had to ingeniously create a fictional story tied to “the greatest story ever told” and somehow reveal Terry’s most prized creation, The Gospel Symbol. Little did I know at the time that I was also opening the door for four additional books that would become “The Birthday Gift” book series.
Initially I doubted that I could write fiction. I am an inspirational, Christian author, and all of my work prior to this time had been nonfiction. I love sharing emotional journeys of love, hope, faith, compassion, forgiveness, and triumph. I had been doing so since 2009 with the sole purpose of bringing honor and glory to God in my “Living Inside The Testimony” book series.
I had become comfortable in the nonfiction genre but lacked the confidence to write fictional stories, especially one so profound and monumental that would literally be part of a global mission. In Terry’s own words, this is how he described his mission for which I would be part of: “The vision for John 3:16 Global Placement Mission is to place The Message of the Bible monument into all nations. The plan is to supply churches and believers with sculpture molds and send them to other countries. Believers produce the monuments and anchor them into their world. One mold yields over 1,000 sculptures and will last a very long time. Since concrete only gets harder, we can expect them to be here for hundreds of years.”
Now, getting back to this book series and how I became part of this life-changing mission. Reluctantly I agreed to write the book. I started chapter 1 and came to an abrupt halt. I had no ideas left in me. I put it off a whole year, then I sat down and rewrote chapter 1. I moved on to chapter 2 but never got much inspiration and waited another whole year before getting serious. Finally in late 2019, after much prayer, the inspiration hit me. I began writing as if my life depended on it. A few months later, I released what I thought at the time would be the only book I wrote as part of this mission, entitled “The Birthday Gift.” By then, we were in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world was on lockdown, so I hosted a Facebook virtual e-Book launch. “The Birthday Gift” instantly became a #1 hot new release and bestseller on Amazon. WHEW! I was finished with the book and could return to my former life.
Not so!
Instead, as soon as the book was released, Terry asked me to write a sequel. What I didn’t tell him at the time of his request, and what he didn’t find out until he read the manuscript for the second book is that I wanted no part of writing the sequel. I had become so emotionally attached to Mrs. Williams, the main character in the first book, that I could not fathom writing another story. This was a very painful process for me because of the real-life connection I felt with Mrs. Williams.
What people didn’t know was that I had strategically and symbolically named the main character Mrs. Williams because my husband’s first name is William. As I poured out her heart, her grief, her pain, and her anguish over losing her husband, I did so in such dramatic fashion because I put myself in her shoes. I imagined how it would feel if my real-life beloved husband of over thirty-five years, the absolute love of my life, had been the victim of such a cold-blooded murder.
When I tell people that I hope readers get so involved with my characters as if they are part of their own families, I mean it. I literally dreamed about the characters in the first book and felt their emotions all throughout my writing journey. I didn’t think I could do that again because I was physically and emotionally drained. I had nothing left to give.
However, I decided to fervently pray about it. The end result was “Dear John: Book 2” in The Birthday Gift Book Series which was released in 2022. I am currently working on the third book scheduled for release later this year: “I Can Only Imagine: Bella’s Journey.” I have plans for the 4th and 5th book in the series as well, scheduled for release in 2024 and 2025.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Betty Collier, a wife, mother, nurse, author, and child of the King. I describe myself as a nurse by profession, author by passion, and storyteller by the grace of God.
I began this journey in 2009 with the sole purpose of bringing honor and glory to God. I dreamed about the front cover of what I thought would be my first and only book and immediately began writing “Living Inside The Testimony” the very next morning.
Now I’m a 7x bestselling, 6x award-winning inspirational Christian author working on my 10th book.
My desire is to inspire and encourage readers with my Living Inside the Testimony nonfiction book series, which feature emotional journeys of love, hope, faith, compassion, forgiveness, and triumph.
In my fictional work, The Birthday Gift book series, I take you on intriguing tales of heartbreak and hope, leaving you in suspense until the very end. What these books have in common is they all beautifully deliver the gospel message found in John 3:16. The Birthday Gift was only the beginning though. To publish the second book in the series, I created a new business, John316 Global Publishing. Prior to this time, my books were self-published using other companies, but now I own a publishing company myself.
On a personal note, I’ve been married for 36 years (and counting) to the absolute love of my life, William Collier. We first met in middle school where he was a basketball player, and I was a cheerleader. We fell in love in 9th grade. His near fatal head injury (resulting from an assault by a classmate) requiring emergency brain surgery to save his life less than a week before our high school graduation was the divine catalyst that brought us together. We are the proud parents of two baby boys who are now in their 20’s and a daughter-in-love surely sent as a gift from above to join our family.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My mission is simple: honor and glorify God in all that I do. How I do that is the difficult part. I am an author, and unbeknownst to me when I began my writing journey in 2009, the book business can be one of the most gratifying experiences. However, it can also be one of the most disappointing and horrendous ordeals one can subject themselves to. In today’s world of cut-throat authors and publishers, I was surprised at how much negativity runs rampant and how untrustworthy people are in this business. I had to surrender my self-esteem in order to stay in the race. I also had to realize not everyone would be as excited as I am about my writing journey.
Because of the anonymity of social media and hiding behind the cell phone or laptop, many people feel empowered to complain and criticize without blinking or thinking twice. Common courtesy has been lost. I had to quickly come to terms with the fact that my writing style is not for everyone because many people are not truly looking for inspiration, nor are they looking for God. I believe I have a God-given gift of storytelling, so I will continue sharing my stories as long as the Lord leads me. I believe that will be until I take my final breath.
What I find interesting is how effective my style is for those who choose to read my books. Most are surprised at how good they really are. Of course I am compelled to entertain people and keep their attention so they will want to turn the page and not put the book down. That is a comment I receive often from people: “Your book was so good that I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in one day because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.” That makes it all worthwhile because I know I have succeeded as an author.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
It’s not easy putting your all into every project not knowing how it will be received by others. In general, it seems people tend to be loose with their comments and remarks without thinking about the negative impact it may have on the person who created what they are criticizing. People need to stop and think before they speak or post a comment.
“What if you had to walk in my shoes for a day?”
“Imagine how you would feel if you were in the other person’s position?”
One example is an Amazon book review for one of my nonfiction books. Obviously since it’s nonfiction, the stories were all true. Someone criticized my writing because there was a happy ending to each of the 5 short-stories in the book. They said the book was not helpful to them, and they couldn’t relate. The person never actually said anything about my writing ability or skill. They were just unhappy that everyone in the book prevailed against all obstacles, and through their resilience and fortitude, they came out ahead after facing many adversities. It wasn’t my fault the reader did not find their stories inspirational. Her main complaint was that they all had happy endings which she felt was unhelpful to her. That person obviously needed some counseling and something other than my book. If she had read the book synopsis, she would have known it was not what she needed. The point is, don’t criticize a creative for their work if it doesn’t meet your personal needs. Perhaps people need to be more selective about the end result they are looking for BEFORE making a purchase. These days, there is a description of everything before you buy it. If it turns out to be EXACTLY as described, don’t criticize it if it doesn’t work for you. Perhaps you are the one looking for something other than what you purchased. Don’t blame the creative.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://livinginsidethetestimony.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bettycollier/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BettyCollier.Author
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/betty-collier-5b12a0a/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BettyCollier
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/InsideTheTestimony/videos
- Other: TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@bettycollier1storyteller