About Lisa E. Betz - Lisa E Betz

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 and Physics to Bible and 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. However, engineers are problem-solvers, so she knew she could figure it out.

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 that had been growing in her heart—to become an author?

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). Her third Livia Aemilia Mystery novel releases in October of 2024, and she is at work on the fourth.

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 enhanced her ability to develop complex, lovable, sometimes snarky characters.

While publishing a novel was the culmination of one dream, it birthed new goals and a redefined ministry focus: to equip others to develop their God-given gifts and callings, and help them quit fulfilling other people’s expectations so they can live a purposeful life with confidence and joy.

In addition to equipping others through her intentional living blog, Lisa teaches writing workshops, speaks at conferences and retreats, and works as a speaking coach with Christian Speaker’s Bootcamp.

Lisa 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 experiments with ancient Roman recipes, eats too much chocolate, and enjoys long walks in the woods.