A Kansas City, Missouri native, Betty Ost-Everley has always known she was a creative. As someone who had been drawn to the arts, she studied music, photography and graphic arts. A natural extension of that is her writing, where she utilizes her artist's ear and eye. "In a small house with two little children and a 40 pound dog, I couldn't put up an easel and leave it. Instead, I learned to paint with words. I found that I could use my imagination and invoke the reader's imagination as well." While she had published a few trade articles early in her professional career as an administrative assistant, her real publishing break came in 2008 after joining the Heart of America Christian Writers' Network. Not only did she receive additional writing tips at the monthly meetings, Ost-Everley took full advantage of publishing opportunities that came from the group as well as their annual writers' conference. Now internationally published in various compilations, Ost-Everley looks forward to pursuing writing full-time after retirement in a few years.