1a. Hello Bitsy! How long have you been writing books and approximately how many books have you traditionally published?

I’ve been writing since my youngest was a baby, about 20 years. Of my 30 books, 25 are traditionally published. The others are published under my Andrea Lane Publishing which I created after one of my traditional publishers went out of business and I refused to let that book die. Four of them are coloring books that I had a blast working on, The 5th is the reason I self published in the first place. It’s an award-wining devotional that I self published because my publisher went out of business.

1b. You write a variety of book genres, categories, and types ‐ including children’s lit, books for adults, self‐help books, faith‐based books, ghost writing, and more. Can you please walk us along your writing journey and tell us what is your favorite to write?

I have to say the book of my heart is Mommy and Me Micro‐Moments: Nurturing Faith, Sharing Laughs. That book flowed out of me like nothing before. I thought about writing a devotional book after taking a webinar about them, and wasn’t really sure about the topic. Once I got the idea I just couldn’t stop writing. I’m really proud of it and it seems after talking with Moms that they really love it. I also feel it has the potential to reach the most amount of hearts.

I’ve written a lot of nonfiction books for the school and library market, so I know there are many kids that have read these books probably because they had to whether they were writing reports or doing research. But what I’m proud about them is that I like making things that aren’t considered “fun” fun to learn about or read about. For example one of my books is about the constitutional right to privacy. It’s for teens. No teen in their right mind is going to be excited about reading that book, unless maybe they got into trouble lol. So I really enjoyed looking at it and writing it from the perspective of, how do I get teens not only to read about this, but to get excited to read about it and to keep reading about it? So I had fun naming the chapter titles such as “You can’t go through my garbage, can you?” I was happy to see that one won an award, it was nice to see that creative effort recognized.

Ghostwriting is interesting. Not only do you have to write a book that was somebody else’s idea, under somebody else’s direction, but you also have to write it in someone else’s words using their vocabulary and their style. You have to get a sense of what kind of person they are and try to imagine what they would say or do in this scenarios they’ve given you, or in the scenarios you are making up. It’s definitely a creativity skill that you don’t use anywhere else. I think you get better the more you do it, but at the same time, is it really something you want to continue to hone ‐ ‐ getting really good at doing other people’s work? It’s not like you get great pay, you certainly don’t get any recognition, and no matter how many books are sold, since it’s a ‘for hire’ contract you don’t make any royalties. So it could sell a million copies but you don’t earn a dime outside of the flat fee you got at the start of the project.

1c. When did you first begin writing faith‐based books? How long have you studied the craft of faith‐based book writing? Please share tips for others who want to write faith‐based books.

The devotional Mommy and Me Micro Moments was the first directly Christian book I wrote. It was also the first book I wrote that wasn’t solely directed at children. I felt like that one wasn’t “work” because of how easily it flowed out of me. But getting it published, then the frustration of the publisher going out of business and me having to scramble to figure out how to keep it on the market was extremely time consuming and emotionally draining, so it was also the toughest book for me.

To give background on how I figured out the best way to write a devotional book, I was curious about them, so I did some research and took a workshop by a woman named Karen Whiting. She’s written over a hundred Christian books and I’m guessing probably half of them are devotionals. She definitely knows how to craft a devotional! After I took her class I not only purchased a whole bunch of devotionals but I read a bunch of them as well. All different ages, life stages, experience, lengths, religions. I studied them and figured out what made each one work, what made each one different, why did each book need to exist? From there I figured out what might match my personality best and how I might serve readers. When a conversation with my neighbors prompted the exact perfect book devotional book idea, the book practically wrote itself. But I never could have tackled it or even started had I not done all the research on what it takes to write a devotional, what the average word count is, what the format is, and what the expectations for devotional book are. Doesn’t matter how great a writer you are, you don’t know what the market expectation is, your book is going to fail. It’s weird because you think a unique book is what people want, but it’s not. A book seller doesn’t know what to do with a book that’s not like the others. Readers want to know what to expect from a book. They want it different from the others but just enough like the rest so that it’s familiar. Does that make sense? It’s like buying a pair of pants; you want a pair of pants that has two legs and pockets. It doesn’t have to have a zipper or belt loops, or maybe even pockets, but it has to have two leg holes for your feet and fit around your waist. If it’s much different than that, people aren’t going to know what it is, and they’re not going to wear it, they’re not going to buy it. If you aren’t researching current pant trends, or have never seen a pair of pants, what are you doing trying to make or sell a pair of pants? Always do your research no matter how clever you think you may be.

I started focusing more on faith filled children’s books, after Mommy and Me came out. Years ago I wrote a picture book about being best friends with grandma, but I didn’t do much with it. I don’t even think I sent it out anywhere because I felt something was missing. At some point it occurred to me I could add a Christian element to it simply by adding in Bible verses to each spread, without changing a single word of the text. I didn’t realize I sort of already wrote a faith based book. By adding the Bible verses, it really tied everything together. It sold to the first Christian publisher I sent it to!

Since then I’ve written maybe four more faith picture books. I’ve sent them out to editors and agents and have had them rejected. I am refining them and working on them, and in fact I just had another new idea last night. I’m not giving up just because they haven’t found a home yet. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to self‐publishing, but I sure don’t regret any of the books I did that way.

What would you say are the themes across all of your book writing efforts?

I like to think my books spark joy, inspire giggles, and help kids feel seen.

What themes are represented in your Faith‐based book titled Mommy and Me: Micro‐Moments?

For the most part the theme is that God isn’t something you make time for, He’s already there with you, all the time, you just have to say hi. Prayer isn’t something that has to be a big production, it can be a simple thank you. But most importantly, I think the theme is that faith can be fun! It’s not something we need to be afraid of or ashamed of or save for later. It can be a part of our everyday life just like breathing. Those that didn’t grow up with faith, that don’t know how to introduce it; shouldn’t fear it either. Have conversations with God the same way you have conversations with your friends, and show your children how to do that too. He’s our friend that wants what’s best for us and is by our side no matter what!

Why did you want to write Mommy and Me: Micro‐Moments? What did you want to tell the world?

I wrote the book to show that there is enough time in the day for prayer, for thanksgiving, for grace. Each entry in the book just takes five short minutes and moms have told me and kids have told me, it’s the best 5 minutes of their day.

What is the significance of this message?

It’s not just me saying micro moments have value! Psychologists, Oprah Winfrey, Obama, the Dalai Lama, even The Pope have all acknowledged the significance and value of taking small breaks throughout the day, of spending small moments of time on prayer, reflection, family time, reading, rest, or self‐assessment. Oprah, for example, has said “If you train yourself to say thank you every day, you walk through life feeling the abundance instead of the scarcity.” It takes but a micro‐moment! By demonstrating this with your children, they’ll grow up knowing and valuing and importance of a short prayer and a quick thank you.

Why is this message good for mothers and children, especially concerning humor?

Anytime you can wrap something in humor and turn it into something playful, it feels less like a lesson or a task. It’s, well, more fun! Who doesn’t want to do fun things?

What did you want to say about Faith and Mothering?

It honestly doesn’t matter to me what religion people are, we are all talking to the same God. It doesn’t matter how or when or how we talk to Him as long as we are talking. It’s the relationship, the connection, that we create that makes a difference. When a stranger walks up to you and asks for a favor it feels very different than when a child or cousin that you know very well asks. It’s not that you won’t help a stranger, but it just feels different. You’re more invested in helping someone you love. And in a perfect world, we would love a stranger as much as our family, but do we? When we have a relationship with someone, an ongoing honest relationship, we will do anything for that person. By instilling faith in our child as a mom, we’re offering them the gift of our relationship with God. No matter what you call God, He’s your friend. You can call on Him in moments of frustration as a parent and ask for help or patience or guidance. Without the faith that He’ll step in and help, why would you bother asking?

Any new books or events on the horizon that you want to mention?

I have a a picture book coming up called Best Friends With Grandma. It comes out in the middle of July. It’s a lyrical love letter to grandmas everywhere, rooted in faith, filled with grace, and wrapped in the magic of everyday moments. It’s been described as a heartwarming picture book that celebrates the legacy of a grandmother’s love; how small gestures leave a lasting imprint. Anchored by thoughtfully‐selected Bible verses, featuring culturally‐diverse families, the tender story gently reveals ordinary moments reflecting God’s love. Each spread has a Bible quote that summarizes and reflects the message on the page. It arrives just in time for Grandparents Day! Then next year I have its follow‐on, Best Friends With Grandpa. With any luck I’ll have some new contracts before then as well!

How can people purchase your books?

Amazon is a great way to find my books, by searching Bitsy Kemper, but a lot of my older books are there, and they’re overpriced LOL, because they’re older and harder to find. The best place to order my books is https://bitsykemper.com/books Thanks for asking!

So, you have offered a treat for Moms who read and comment on this blog. One lucky person will get to download for free the coloring pages that go with your book, Mommy and Me: Micro‐Moments. That is great. Any words to encourage people to read this blog and comment on it?

Not at this time. Maybe just, coloring is fun.

Any other words, phrases, or thoughts you want to share?

I’d love to point out that anyone with Kindle unlimited can download Mommy and Me ‐ Micro Moments for free. It’s not really great as an ebook, but it’s the best way to have a look at the entire book to understand its value. It’s really hard to explain how the book works and how fun it really is without holding the book in your hand or seeing the whole thing online and being able to skim through it. So, I encourage everyone to go take a look.

I also would love to mention that my upcoming picture book, Best friends with Grandma is available for pre‐order you can find it at Barnes & Noble or just about anywhere books are sold, or at this link that currently has it for a discount. You can buy it now and it will be shipped the second it’s available in July. It’s a perfect gift for Grandparents Day, the first Sunday in September.

Thank you!!!