Her debut novel, Death and a Crocodile, won several awards, including Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021). Betz, infuses her novels with authentic characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. To everyone who has creative dreams or a story to share with the world, may you learn from my mistakes and know God is with you every step of the way.Īn engineer-turned-mystery-writer, Lisa E. God helped me renew my mind, replacing the old beliefs (that I would hate marketing) with a better attitude (sharing a product I’m passionate about is enjoyable and worthwhile). The attempts weren’t all wildly successful, but they taught me that marketing wasn’t as awful as I’d feared. Every time I attempted a marketing task outside my comfort zone, God was with me. “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (HCSB) It helped that I could stand on the promise in Philippians:

Despite my fears, I needed to continue following his will, even when it meant scary marketing tasks. I’d spent years creating my debut novel, and God’s plans for it weren’t finished. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT) Yet, so long as I believed my inner critic’s lies-that I would be a failure at marketing, and I would hate every bit of it-I wouldn’t be doing all I should to bring my writing to potential readers. He gave me the talent to write, he put certain stories and characters in my heart, and he knew who needed to hear those stories. This time around, my attitude has been much healthier, because over the past year, God has been showing me how my attitude and my fear were hindering his plan. In January, I released my second mystery, Fountains and Secrets. It was up to me to promote my book, and I was sure I’d be a dismal failure. Why? Because I dreaded the task of book marketing. Seeing my first novel in print was a long-term dream come true, but my elation was smothered by fear.

Death and a Crocodile by Lisa E. Betz