We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Beth Duke a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Beth, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
It’s been said that fiction is an empathy engine. I find it true both as a reader and a writer; there is no more effective way to experience and understand others’ points of view. Of course, I am grateful to have grown up in a family in which it was important to help and comfort those less fortunate. That foundation enabled me to fully appreciate and develop empathy for those in all walks of life.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am proud to have been an Amazon #1 Best Selling Author for years, and the recipient of numerous honors for my fiction on two continents.
I joke that I am eyeing the other five.
My recent sequel, DARK ENOUGH TO SEE THE STARS, is a finalist in the 2023 Publisher’s Weekly Readers’ Favorite Awards. TAPESTRY and IT ALL COMES BACK TO YOU won numerous honors as well. The awards are nice, but meaningless in contrast to the joy connecting with readers brings me. Knowing someone enjoyed my work and it resonates with them…that’s the best. I’m so grateful for regular meetings with book clubs all around the U.S. and Canada; they never fail to remind me how wonderful the camaraderie and deep the connections between book group women are.
They are my favorite part of being an author.
Country music superstar Randy Owen once said, “Beth Duke’s works are as real as grits and gravy in The South, and her usage of her Southern English has the taste of Mama’s biscuits.” That’s hugely important to me, because my books are all love letters to my home state of Alabama, and to The South in general. Years and years of negative media portrayals have inspired me to write about overlooked parts of Alabama, from the Marshall Space Center and The Alabama Shakespeare Festival to the incredibly important Africatown near Mobile and Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall near Florence.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Every writer is first and foremost a reader. Books have been an important part of my life from my toddler years on. As an author, I never stop learning from both classic and contemporary literature. So, READ.
In addition, I just plain love words. From ridiculous puns to the pretty-to-pronounce “ephemeral” and “incandescent” to archaic gems like “armipotent”, I collect them the way a philatelist might stamp their album (see what I did there?).
My advice to everyone who wants to write a book (and I get that a lot) is simply to begin. That’s the hardest part, sitting down and letting the words begin to flow. The second-hardest is perseverance. I recommend a very great deal of dedicated perseverance to anyone who wants a writing career.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Without doubt, my mother’s reading to me everything from Hiawatha to Winnie-the-Pooh to selected passages about ancient Egypt had a profound impact. I grew up thinking every toddler’s mother threw words like “hieroglyph” and “pharaoh” around. Mom modeled reading as a fun and exciting activity. Trips to the library were sacred. Reading time in the afternoon was a given, whether in my room or ensconced between the branches of my favorite climbing tree.
To me, parents encouraging literacy is paramount to a successful future. I’d add that listening to books is every bit as valid as reading them traditionally.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bethduke.com
- Instagram: @onlythebethforyou
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bethidee
