The short version
An engineer-turned-mystery-writer and entertaining speaker, Lisa E. Betz infuses her stories with unconventional characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her Livia Aemilia Mysteries have won several awards, including Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021). Lisa combines her love of research with her quirky imagination to bring the world of the early church to life.
She is passionate about inspiring others (real and fictional) to become their best selves, living with intention, authenticity and purpose. She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in the Livia Aemilia Mysteries. Lisa also directs church dramas, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes. Visit www.lisaebetz.com.
The full story
Lisa Betz never intended to become a writer. She followed her love of math and science to Lehigh University, a degree in mechanical engineering, and a job as a hard-hat- wearing engineer at an aluminum manufacturing plant. (She knows the real reason aluminum foil is shiny on one side and dull on the other.)
After six years in industry, parenthood led her to change jobs and become a high school substitute, where she enjoyed teaching everything from Algebra Two and Physics to English Lit. Although she didn’t yet realize it at the time, this career change would ultimately lead her toward the world of novels and book publishers.
Her journey to authordom began in earnest when students needed someone to direct a high school play. Lisa volunteered, although she was pretty sure her college courses in Thermodynamics and Differential Calculus wouldn’t be much help. Engineers are problem-solvers, so she figured she could figure it out.
It might be helpful at this juncture to point out that Lisa was exposed to quality theater from an early age. Also, she spent her youth writing, directing, and producing silly skits for her sisters and friends to perform.
Lisa’s directorial debut was a success, which led to a dozen more plays, everything from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde, plus and one pun-filled melodrama she wrote herself.
By this time Lisa’s creative side had caught up with her analytical side. When her youngest went off to college she faced a dilemma—should she return to engineering, or should she dare to follow the new dream of being a writer that had been growing in her heart?
As you can guess, she chose the latter. After ten years of learning the craft, getting critiques, and writing practice novels, Lisa’s mystery manuscript was a finalist in the ACFW Genesis Contest. That led to a publishing contract for her first novel, Death and a Crocodile, which has won several awards including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021).
Looking back, Lisa can see how her unconventional path to authordom prepared her to create her quirky, unusual mysteries. Her years leading Bible studies gave her a deep understanding and appreciation for the first century setting of her books. Her analytical mind helped her create complex, clever mystery plots. And her years directing plays gave her a deeper understanding of how to develop complex, lovable, sometimes snarky characters.
In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose, experiments with ancient Roman recipes, eats too much chocolate, and enjoys long walks in the woods. She and her husband live on a beautiful, wooded hillside on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with their rambunctious cat, Scallywag, who is the inspiration for Nemesis, the mischief-making cat who stalks the pages of the Livia Aemilia Mysteries.
Lisa enjoys speaking to groups large and small. She speaks on topics related to authenticity, intentional living, and faith, and she also teaches writing workshops. For more information, go to her speaking page.
Media Kit
- Lisa E. Betz Bios and headshots
- Press Kit pdf
- Press Kit page
Recent Interviews
- Being comfortable in your own skin. Part one of an awesome conversation with Janell Rardon at Today’s Heartlife with Janell
- Talking about my unconventional journey from engineer to novelist with Ann Harrison at Inspirational Journeys: Stories that Matter
- Thoughts on ancient Roman cooking at Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers
- Talking about people pleasing with Dawn Damon at Arise Esther: This is Your Moment
- An interview with Alison Treat at Historical Fiction Unpacked.
- An interview with LeAnna Shields at The Cozy Sleuth podcast.
- From Engineer to Mystery Writer, an interview on Kickass Boomers podcast.
- A Historical Perspective on Living by the Bible on Heart of the Matter Radio with Cynthia L. Simmons.
- Talking about embracing who God made you to be on the All Things Podcast with Athena Dean Holtz
- A guest post about countercultural faith on the Reading Is My Superpower blog
MEMBERSHIPS
- ACFW – American Christian Fiction Writers
- HNS – Historical Novel Society
- SinC – Sisters in Crime
- AWSA – Advanced Writers and Speakers Association
- CIPA – Christian Indie Publishing Association