Celebrate Susan K. Beatty’s
Faces of Courage
Faces of Courage just released. It’s time to order Susan Beatty’s debut novel.
Over the past four years, this talented debut author and I have spent many hours together. As members of Serious Scribblers, our critique group, we four writers are sounding boards for each other. That’s where Susy began sharing chapters of this novel, Faces of Courage. Her writing is contemporary and faith-based. Her well-written stories will draw you into a world of believable characters grappling with difficult issues, and you’ll want to read more. Well done, Susy!
My Interview with Susan K. Beatty About Her Debut Novel,
Faces of Courage
Q (Nancy): What is your novel, Faces of Courage, about? And what genre is it?
A (Susan): Faces of Courage is women’s Christian fiction. It is the story of a young wife and mother who had a difficult childhood and now faces several difficulties, including an increasingly abusive husband and a cancer diagnosis. She starts out believing herself to lack courage but begins with the help of the Lord and some mentors in her life, to recognize she can find courage at the intersection of faith and grit.
Q: Why did you choose the theme of “courage at the intersection of faith and grit”?
A: My daughter has been dealing with breast cancer, now deemed metastatic, for several years. Her example of courage during this time inspired me to show readers through the stories I write how to find courage through even the most difficult circumstances.
Q: Tell us about the main character? Was this character hard to write, and why or why not?
A: The main character is Olivia, and she is married to Frank, a former football player. Having lost her birth parents as a child, she spent time in foster care, and then was adopted by a wonderful Christian family, only to lose them due to a boating accident when she was in college. These experiences shaped her desire for a loving husband and family. It also conditioned her to allow her husband to mistreat her. She wants to be brave, and she really tries. Just as she thinks she’s getting a handle on dealing with her husband, she receives a cancer diagnosis. Her courage begins to blossom during this time. The character Olivia was only hard to write because of what she was going through. It was difficult to write scenes in which she was being abused and then suffering from her cancer treatments.
Q: What kind of research did you do for the cancer scenes?
A: My daughter was my expert information resource. She read every scene in which cancer was involved and helped me make sure they were authentic.
Q: What is the setting of your novel, and why did you choose it?
A: Faces of Courage takes place in Orange County, California where I live. Most settings mentioned are real. For example, Olivia lives in the real town of Villa Park and visits such real locations as the Brea Mall, Huntington Beach (although not named in the novel), Santiago Oaks Regional Park, and Disneyland.
Q: This is your debut, full-length novel. What else have you written?
A: The novel is part of the Faces of Courage series. Two novelettes, House of Courage and Isobel’s Mission of Courage, with main characters mentioned in the novel, have been published. A third connected novelette, Carmen’s Journey of Courage, will be released in September. I’ve also released Courage for Your Everyday Life – A Flash Fiction Devotional.
Q: Are you at work on a new novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
A: Yes! I’m almost done writing The Fragrance of Violets. The main character is Fiona, who was abandoned by the man who she thought was her father. As an adult, she runs into him and is forced to do business with him. She struggles to forgive him. Nason, her erstwhile father, is the second viewpoint character. He also struggles with his abandonment of Fiona and the need to ask her for forgiveness. Do they forgive and reconcile? This novel is due for release in May 2022.
Q: Where can we find your books?
A: On my website www.SusanKBeatty.com. There you’ll find links to Amazon, BookBub, and Goodreads.
Q: Tell us a little bit about what you do when you’re not writing.
A: In my spare time, I love to read, watch British TV, and try new restaurants (and am happy the pandemic is lessening and places are opening back up). Our family participates in cancer fundraisers and loves classic cars and motorsports, and we also enjoy camping. I love my family and have four children, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, plus a former foster son and his wife and two children.
Meet Susan K. Beatty, author
About Susan Beatty
Susan K. Beatty is in her third career—from journalist to homeschool tech writer to her life-long dream as a novelist. After thirty-five years of serving as a leader in statewide and national homeschooling, she retired to focus on writing fiction. She is proof you can start a new writing career later in life. Susan released her first published fiction in September 2019 and is continuing to release other novelettes. Susan is the author of the California Homeschool Manual (in her second career), was the assistant director of the SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference, and is the president of her local ACFW-OC Chapter.
Where can readers find you online?
Author Website – https://www.susankbeatty.com/
Facebook Author Page – https://www.facebook.com/
Facebook Readers Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1169775503218317/
Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/author/
Goodreads Author – https://www.goodreads.com/
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/
Instagram – Susan K. Beatty https://www.instagram.com/susankbeattyauthor/
Susan – Where can readers purchase your writing?
Click to purchase Susan’s debut novel on Amazon (ebook and print): Faces of Courage
Click to purchase Susan’s debut novel on Barnes & Noble (ebook and print): Faces of Courage
These previously published novelettes and devotional are available, too:
- Isobel’s Mission of Courage: A Faces of Courage Novelette
- House of Courage: A Faces of Courage Novelette
- Courage for Your Everyday Life: A Faces of Courage Flash Fiction Devotional
Thanks for joining us, Susan. Congratulations on the release of your debut novel, Faces of Courage! Come visit again when the next book in your series, The Fragrance of Violets, is released. — Talk to you later! Nancy (sign up for Nancy’s blogs, newsletters, and a free short story here)
Note: This blog may use affiliate links that contribute to my writing time.
I enjoyed getting to know you better! I’m also a resident of the OC and a late-blooming author. Best of luck with the book.
Thanks, Alina, for your kind words! And Susan appreciates your reading my interview of her book! I’ll be “seeing” you around!–Nancy
Alina, Thank you for reading the interview and your well wishes. Nice to meet another OC resident. And, here’s to us late-blooming authors! I hope you find great enjoyment and success as an author. — Susan
Oh my gosh. What an inspiring, heart wrenching story. Your book sounds wonderful. And I admire your daughter’s courage. Best wishes!
Hi, Alicia, Thank you for your kind words and well wishes. I’m learning that everyone can find their “face of courage.” I hope you’ll read Faces of Courage and that you enjoy it. Best wishes to you! –Susan
Ally–Thanks for dropping into Susan’s interview! I’ll see you around!–Nancy