How long haveyou been writing, and what inspired you to begin seriously devoting yourself tothe craft of writing?

I remember writing my thesis ingrad school and desperately wanting to write something else, something FUN.That’s when I knew for sure I wanted to be a writer. When my sons were babiesand toddlers, I enrolled in courses from The Institute of Children’s Literatureand learned everything I could about the craft. I started writing andsubmitting seriously when my younger son started second grade.

How do youlive your life like a writer?  What day-to-day habits must you incorporateinto your routine?

Writing is my job, so most mornings I head straight to my computer to getstarted. I use two strategies to keeping organized – making lists and keeping acalendar by my desk. I write lists of things I need to do, from writing thankyou notes to mailing book orders to researching article topics. Without thelists, I would forget things, that’s for sure! My calendar has big squares so Ican write multiple entries for each day. For instance, on today’s date I wrote,“interview on Scott’s blog.” J

As any work-from-home mom will tell you, multitasking is a necessaryhabit, too. I fit in other tasks while writing - putting dinner in the crockpot, grooming the dog, doing laundry. Luckily, the laundry room is close to mycomputer so I can hear the dryer buzzer – LOL.

Who are someof the authors you lean on most for inspiration and craft when you get stuck inyour own writing? 

Forinspiration, I read anything by Kathi Macias http://www.kathimacias.com/ who writes powerful novels as well as women’s nonfiction books. Rightnow I’m reading No Greater Love, thefirst book in her Extreme Devotion series. For inspiration and craft, I likewriter Kristi Holl’s blog at http://writers-first-aid.blogspot.com/

In youropinion, how important is the link between avid reading and strong writing?

Just about every writer will tell you that reading and writing gohand-in-hand, especially for those of us who love to work with words. I writearticles for magazines and find it helpful to analyze nonfiction. But when Itry to study the writing in a novel, but I usually end up lost in the story andforget to analyze it! Peeking into someone else’s life in fiction is so muchfun. J

What can youtell us about your current projects? 

I'm working on two children's book manuscripts right now.  One is a follow up to In My Bath.  The other is an ABC book, which is new territory for me.  I'm busy keeping up with my new website and blogs, too.

Where can we go to learn more about you?

Readers can visit me at http://www.bethbencereinke.com. My website contains a bio, links to food andnutrition articles I’ve written and two blogs. My “Food & Faith” blogcontains nutrition tips and healthy recipes. To read children’s book reviews,check out “Beth’s Book Basket.”

To learn about my illustrator, Ginger Nelson, please visit http://www.gingernielson.com.   She does the bestestwork!

CONTEST!

Any tub adventure needs rubber duckies!  Beth has graciously offered a set of five, squirting rubber duckies to the contest winner. Just reply, in the Comments section of this blog, with the answer to the question to register.  A winner will be selected at random on July 5.

Question:  What is the title of Beth's next book (listed as "Coming Soon" on her website)?

~Scott

"Live, Learn, Teach"

www.scotthbooks.com