Featured Interview With Betta Ferrendelli
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Trinidad,Colorado and grew up in Denver. I am a graduate of Metropolitan StateUniversity of Denver with a degree in communications and a minor in journalism.I have been lucky enough to work in my field all my professional life. I have been an award-winning journalist since 1989, working at newspapers in Denver,Seattle and Albuquerque.
I began my journalism career in 1989 working for The RatonRange, a small newspaper in northern New Mexico. During my three-year stay,I earned more than a dozen writing awards, including the Guy Radar Award, whichthen recognized best medical reporting in the state. I won the award for chronicling a man’s battle with breast cancer.
I returned to Denver in1992, to work for a group of community weekly newspapers covering the westside. I worked in the Mile High City until 1997, when I landed a job with a newspaper in Washington State. I moved to Bainbridge Island, where I lived and worked for two newspapers until 2004. I returned to the Southwest in 2004 as managing editor for the Rio RanchoObserver, covering Rio Rancho, the third largest city in New Mexico. I worked for The Observer and lived inAlbuquerque through September 2007. I earned more than a dozen writing award while leading the editorial team at TheObserver, including a “Public Service” award from the New Mexico PressAssociation. The series of articles highlighted the poor post office situation inRio Rancho. The International Society of WeeklyNewspaper Editors (ISWNE) also recognized me in 2005 and 2006 for excellence in editorial writing.
I returned to Denver in 2007 to work for the same community weekly newspapers covering Denver’s westside–this time as editor. I left those papers in 2008. In addition to being a Kindle Author, I currently write for the O&P EDGE magazine, a niche healthcare publication in Northglenn, Colorado.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I’ve always enjoyed reading for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to read and write. I wrote my first thing when I was in the seventh grade, a poem about the rain.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I’ve always enjoyed reading books by Elizabeth Berg. When it comes to dialogue, no one writes it better than she does. I like reading different genres, but mysteries and contemporary fiction are my favorites. The book that inspired me to start writing was actually the movie first and then I read the book: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I have a mystery series featuring reporter Samantha Church, and have three books already in that series: The Friday Edition, Revenge is Sweet and Dead Wrong, respectively.
My newest is Last Things and is an independent book from my mystery series in the contemporary and women’s fiction genre.
Here’s what on the back cover: Bridgette Connor is a woman on the edge. Her career is in tatters, her relationship is doomed, and after an ill-fated pregnancy, she does the one thing she’s always done best.
She runs.
Her car careens off the road leaving her battered, bruised and beaten. It is then that she meets the woman who will change her life.
Alexis Parker is a woman in control. Her business is thriving, her friends are by her side and the daughter she refused to abandon is the happiest little girl in the world. When the bloodied and broken Bridgette Connor collapses at her door, Alexis does the one thing she’s always done best.
She helps.
Last Things is a story of two women, the story of how they are different and how they are the same. It is a story of love, a story of loss, and above all, a story of friendship.
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