Author Interview: Eva Marie Everson

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Miss Beth Bettencourt by Eva Marie Everson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Eva Marie Everson is one of my favorite authors, especially her historical fiction. She has this way of capturing everyday life and placing us inside the heads of the characters so that we truly feel like we’re living within the story.

As soon as I heard she had a new book coming out, I couldn’t wait to read it. Miss Beth Bettencourt did not disappoint. I’m excited to be able to share about the story with a behind-the-scenes interview with author Eva Marie Everson.

About the Book

Title: Miss Beth Bettencourt
Author: Eva Marie Everson
Publisher: Kregel
Release Date: May 12, 2026
Genre: Southern Fiction/Christian Fiction

Will an unlikely romance tear down Beth’s walls of indifference?

It’s 1962 in Bynum, Georgia, and Beth Bettencourt’s world is turned upside down when she wakes to a man snoring in the guest bedroom.

She’s home alone; her parents are traveling abroad, grieving her twin sister’s unexpected death. Instead of accompanying them, Beth stayed in Bynum to tend to her kindergarten and closely guard her own heart.

A beautiful and beloved member of the community, Beth is an unusual specimen for her time as she nears thirty and remains unmarried. She holds deep-seated unforgiveness toward her twin, Elise, who ran off with Beth’s beau. To make matters worse, Elise took their grandmother’s ring, which had been promised to Beth.

But now a stranger enters her home and her world. David Patrick Martin seems ready to break down her walls of indifference and find the core of Miss Beth Bettencourt. But can he be trusted with Beth’s past, her present, and more importantly, her future?

Author Interview

You’ve written nonfiction and fiction, contemporary and historical. Even a children’s picture book. What is your favorite genre to write? Why?

I am discovering, more and more, that Historical (and by that I mean right around the time of the Vietnam War) Southern Fiction is my favorite. Having been born in the latter 1950s, these were “my years” of discovery. They were fun times in terms of music and fashion (we saw a lot of changes), but they were also turbulent because of the war, rioting, a nation of young people who questioned as they never had before. Those two opposites make that whole era exceptional to write in.

What book is the closest to your heart?

That I wrote or that someone else wrote? (And I assume we are not including the Bible.)

The book that I wrote that is closest to my heart (other than the one I am promoting (because . . . well . . . always!) . . . is Reflections of God’s Holy Land; A Personal Journey Through Israel because I wrote it with my friend, Miriam Feinberg Vamosh. Miriam (a bestselling author in Israel) and I—a Jewish woman and a Christian woman—walked “the land” for 2 weeks, then wrote this book. There will be little else like it in my lifetime, I’m sure.

The book someone else wrote that is closest to my heart is Mr. & Mrs. Bo Jo Jones by Ann Head . . . because, having read it at 14, I knew that I knew that I knew that one day I would be a writer.

What character do you connect with the most?

In Miss Beth Bettencourt I actually connected with both Marty and Beth. Marty because I have forgiven much and Beth because I have been deeply wounded by those who should have loved me.

Tell us the inspiration behind Miss Beth Bettencourt.

LOL . . . the genesis of inspiration was a Dear Abby column I read about 40 years ago. But the subject of forgiveness is nearly always at the center of my work. I have been forgiven much and I have forgiven much. I find it to be one of the most critical issues that can keep us separated from God, even when we think we have no issues.

Why the early 60’s?

I didn’t want any kind of modern availability such as the internet, Google, Facebook. The discovery (the big one!) within the book had to come with shoe leather, so to speak. At one time, I had thought about the mid-60s, but at that point, the world was in chaos and Marty’s story may not fly as well. Then I thought 1963 . . . until I remembered November 1963. So, I bumped it back one year.

That . . . and . . . well, the clothes! 😊

What was the greatest challenge you faced while writing Miss Beth Bettencourt?

To dig deep into Beth wounds and her inability to forgive, I had to drag up old wounds that I had already given to God. I had to recall the hurt. The anguish. The sorrow. That was difficult enough, but then I had to take it all back to God. 😊 He gladly accepted it. 😊

Anything else you’d like to share?

I am so passionate about the message of this book; I hope my readers will see that. I pray they will look within and see what hurts they have not left with God. I pray they will walk in the freedom that forgiveness offers.

About the Author

Eva Marie Everson is a bestselling, multi-award-winning author of nearly 50 works of fiction and nonfiction. Collectively, her novels have sold over 300,000 copies. She is the CEO of Word Weavers International, the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, and a popular speaker at writers conferences across the nation. Eva Marie is a double magna cum laude graduate of Andersonville Theological Seminary (Associate of Biblical Studies and Bachelor of Biblical Exposition) and of Tzemach Institute (a two-year program in Biblical Studies). In 2022, she was awarded the Yvonne Lehman Legacy Award and presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association). She and her husband live in Central Florida where they enjoy their children and grandchildren. They are owned by a Norwegian Forest cat named Vanessa.

Connect with Eva Marie by visiting evamarieeversonauthor.com to follow her on social media and subscribe to email updates.

Tour Giveaway

(5) winners will each receive a copy of Miss Beth Bettencourt (winner’s choice between ebook or print), Southern recipes, a Miss Beth Bettencourt bookmark, and a $10 Amazon gift card!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight May 11, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 18, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

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