By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bettie Boswell is a storyteller. She’s written two historical musicals, “Road to Bowling Green” and “Just Around the Bend,” which was inspired by and performed in Sylvania.
So, 10 years ago the school music teacher decided she wanted to write a novel. When she had about 40,000 words on paper, she brought it to a Christian writers conference “and found out I didn’t have a clue about writing a novel.”
She was discouraged, but undeterred. Boswell headed to the library to check out writers’ magazines “to see if there were any good workshops out there.”
This November, her first novel “On Cue” was published by Mount Zion Ridge Press. It’s available locally at Gathering Volumes in Perrysburg, from the author, and online from Amazon. She has published a few shorter pieces as well as a reader for fifth graders.
For the novel, Boswell followed the standard advice to new writers: Write what you know.
The story revolves around a school music teacher, Ginny – named for Boswell’s mother, who is staging a community musical to help raise money to save a local museum.
Ginny’s dog is a Basset Hound, Jezebel. Boswell’s family had a Bassett hound which her sons used to call Jezebel because of the messes she made that they had to pick up.
As originally conceived, the book had a fundamental problem. “I was too nice to my people,” she said. “I had a nice sweet story that just moved along sweetly and nicely.”
She learned was that “when people read a novel they expect a little drama.”
Though “the bones” of the novel remained from her original early draft, she said, “I added a lot of elements, the things the characters had to go through and conquer and become better people. The basic characters were there, but they have a lot more depth.”
Those characters include the heroine’s heart throb Scott, a college professor pressed into service to direct her musical. There’s also a former college boyfriend, who sapped her confidence, who resurfaces during auditions for the musical.
All along Boswell knew her book would be written for the Christian market. “I’m pretty much a reader of Christian fiction, so that was definitely something that played an important role,” adding “As a pastor’s wife, that’s my life.” Her husband, David Boswell, is long-time pastor of Village View Church of Christ in Bowling Green. She serves as the church’s music director. She’s written musicals both for the church and her students.
Her search for workshops led her to find a writing community, something she urges other aspiring writers to do. She joined Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, because she written for young readers as well. She’s also attended workshops presented by the Highlights Foundation. “Writing is writing.”
She’s also joined the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference.
These groups help with mastering the craft of writing. For Boswell that meant: “Learning more about the story arch. That was important. And writing from the inner voices, showing rather than telling. That was a hard one. And staying in one person’s head for a scene rather than head hopping. Those were some of the things I had to thread through and make sure I had that correct.”
In spring, she was participating an online conference hosted by the state chapter of the Christian fiction writers group. Through that she learned of an open call by the new publisher Mount Zion Ridge Press for manuscripts. Boswell sent her manuscript in, and the publisher offered her a contract for the first novel to be published from the competition.
She spent her summer editing and making revisions to the book. This editing process is crucial to the success. “It’s not done until its gone through that editing process.”
Those she worked with help “add depth” to the story.
Boswell said she’s also benefited from the help from her “critique partner,” Ann Cavera, of Bowling Green.
“She is also a writer and also a former teacher,” Boswell said. “She was really good at catching some of my grammar flaws. People have their talents and you need to be part of group to make up for talents you lack. It’s really important to have the tribe.”
Boswell said she plans to retire at the end of the school year. She spent this year teaching a second grade class online. Though most of her career has been as a music teacher, she had classroom experience, and the Sylvania district offered online positions to older teachers.
Though Sylvania does offer in-person classes in a hybrid format, a number of families opted for online only. Most of her students, she said, have a parent or older sibling or babysitter, there in background.
Retirement will offer Boswell more opportunities to write, and she has a lot in the works including a prequel to “On Cue.” She has 20,000 words drafted.
She also has a number of children’s manuscripts. “Once I retire,” she said, “I’ll sharpen those up.”
