Jeanette and Beth on beauty

Humor/inspirational author and speaker Jeanette Levellie has published five books and hundreds of articles, columns, and stories. Jeanette enjoys speaking to groups of all kinds, offering hope and humor in every message. She and her pastor husband Kevin live in Paris, IL.

First-time author and fiber artist, Beth Gormong, is excited to share her heartfelt words in her first book. She lives in Farmersburg, outside of Terre Haute, IN with her husband, Jeff, a farmer.

Tell us about your newest book.

In Hello, Beautiful, Jeanette Levellie and Beth Gormong lead women on a hopeful journey to find lasting beauty in the eye of the beholder: God. This inspirational gift book contains forty stories based on some of the authors most vulnerable moments, highlighting how God redeemed the pain and taught them how to love themselves. Each chapter of this 40-day soul makeover begins with a Bible verse describing God’s view of us, His precious creation. Chapters end with a special feature, a journaling prompt giving readers the opportunity to apply the principles.

What genre do you focus on and why?

Inspirational non-fiction with humor sprinkled in. I love to help others discover more about God than they originally thought or were taught. For instance, he not only loves you, he likes you! I also love to use humor to make my point, because it opens the heart and gives us hope. People will listen better if they’re laughing, or at least, smiling.

Why do you write?

I’ve (Jeanette) always loved to write, from the time I was a child. What drives me is the desire to have someone, even one person, walk up to me in heaven someday and say, “I read your book (article, story) and it helped me believe.”

Sometimes I (Beth) sit at my computer or journal and wonder that myself, and then seemingly out of nowhere, it’s as if God whispers in my ear. My hand and pen can’t keep up with my brain when that happens.

What does a day in your writing world look like?

Because I (Jeanette) have a day job, I write early in the morning before I go to work, then in little snatches during the day when I’m caught up on tasks at my job (my boss is wonderful). I also write some on the weekends, if my husband is gone.

I (Beth) wish I could say I have a daily routine, but for me it’s a much more “write when I can” style. I “free-write” every morning, but that is mostly not usable writing. It’s more like priming the pump, getting the ideas flowing.

What is the hardest part of being an author? Why?

It’s sometimes hard to start a story I (Jeanette) have in my brain, but have no idea how to tell it. So I allow myself to write a really awful first draft, just to get some words on the page. Then I fix it later. I also don’t like all the time that marketing and social media take away from actual writing. I love people and I love to talk, but I don’t like to have to do it.

The hardest part is forcing myself to sit down and write. I (Beth) can come up with ideas all day, but doing the work takes discipline. I’m learning that I can do the work, do the hard thing.

What’s the best part of your author’s life? Why?

Someone telling me they read a book or story of mine and it helped them in some way. That makes all the tears and hours of hard work worth it. Loving and helping people is what my writing is all about.

Do you have other books? We’d love to know.

Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top, a humorous devotional

The Heart of Humor: Sixty Helpings of Hilarity to Nourish Your Soul

Touchable God: Finding the Lord’s Friendship through Prayer

What are you working on now?

I (Jeanette) recently became a Guidepostsmagazine writer so I’m working on stories for their publications. I will have two short pieces published in the May and June issues.

I’m (Beth) filling several knitting and crocheting commissions, blogging and mapping out ideas for my next writing projects.

Website: www.jeanettelevellie.com

Link to book:

Social media links:

Facebook: http://bit.ly/1P766rm

Author Central Page: http://amzn.to/1TisY7w

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JenLevellie

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenlevellie/

Google+ http://bit.ly/1R6YXVP

Beth Gormong

Website: https://www.bgormong.com

Pinterest: @bethgormong

Instagram: @bethgormong

Facebook: @bgormong

Twitter:@bgormong