#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Beth Mims

I’d like to welcome Beth Mims to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

Hardest part of being a writer: Marketing and social media. This is so out of my comfort zone.

The easiest thing about being a writer: Writing when the ideas are flowing and the whole house is quiet.

Things I need for writing and things that hamper – What I need to write depends on where I am. If I’m in the car or outside, I will settle for a pencil and notepad. I have used a napkin, and sometimes I use the notes app on my phone when I am desperate. These days, though, I prefer to be at my computer. The words flow more quickly than I can write them by hand.

Interruptions hamper. Distractions hamper, and I can make a distraction out of anything, say a pile of laundry or a pillow out of place. I’m really good at distracting myself. I can also interrupt myself if no one happens to be around to do it for me.

Words that describe me: Words that describe me, but I wish they didn’t. Unfortunately, I’m a perfectionist, and I wish I wasn’t. That is a terrible burden to bear (for everyone).

Favorite Places You’ve Been/Places You Never Want to Go Again Maine, I wish I could live there for a year. Our trip was much too short. But I would also like to revisit British Columbia. There are so many beautiful places in this world.

Disneyworld. I prefer nature over the make believe. We took the children when they were small, and I guess I could go back, but it’s at the very bottom of my list.

Favorite books or genre/Books you wouldn’t buy Bible; Historical fiction; Books with great characters, a little suspense, and a satisfying ending – that covers a lot of territory. I want to feel good when I finish reading a book. There is enough in the world to feel bad about.

I don’t buy horror books or those filled with graphic violence, vulgarity, and misdeeds. Again, there’s enough of that in real life.

Favorite things to do/things you’d run through a fire… I always enjoy spending time with my family. I love a good book or a day fishing with my husband. Days at the coast are always a joy, and I love to just ride and look, especially when the seasons are changing. I piddle around with my plants, and I also wander around taking photographs whenever I get the chance. I love close ups that magnify the little miracles God has created.

If you’re watching sports on television, I’ll choose to read my book or go for a walk, although I do enjoy watching a live baseball game.

The first 8-track, yes I’m old enough to have bought an 8-track, was of a gospel group called the Inspirations. They are still around, although I don’t think it’s the original group.

 I don’t enjoy music that is screechingly (my word) loud or vulgar.

My favorite book as a child is a hard question. There were too many. I loved Island of the Blue Dolphins. I loved The Lion’s Paw. I wasn’t much older when I fell in love with Christy, by Catherine Marshall. I think that book was part of the reason I became a teacher.

My favorite movie had to be The Sound of Music followed closely by Mary Poppins. To this day, I remain a loyal Julie Andrews fan. The best complement I ever received was the day a second-grade student in my class said after listening to a song from Mary Poppins, “Mrs. Mims, she sings just like you.” He was biased, but I have always loved that child.

I could always tell by the opening music of a movie or television show if I would be able to watch the show. The one show that I could never watch was “The Twilight Zone.” I did one time, and it took me several years to forget the black widow spider that crawled slowly down a string of web to fatally bite the poor woman tied in the chair. Maybe I still haven’t forgotten it. At least it doesn’t keep me awake still.

Something you’re really good at/bad at I am a great organizer. I enjoy putting things in their places and keeping things in their places, sometimes to the dismay of other people.

I’m really, unfortunately, bad at building/putting things together. Ask my family. If something arrives in pieces, I call for support. I can do it, but it takes me forever, and I usually have to redo it several times to get it right. And then there are the pieces that are left over.

About Beth:

Beth Mims is a career educator with over four decades of experience. She holds degrees in Elementary, Early Childhood Education and Educational Leadership. A native of the Florida Panhandle, she has lived in multiple states across the southeast, but she always seems to land back in the fertile soil close to the salt marshes of the gulf. 

While Beth often refers to herself as a haphazard gardener, her writing reflects her love of the outdoors, the soil, and her family. She and her husband of forty-six years have two beautiful daughters and five brilliant grandchildren. Whether fishing, cutting trees, or traveling, they stay close. Faith is the anchor that holds their busy, challenging life together.

A lover of words, Beth weaves her words to tell of The Word. Her greatest joy is writing and speaking of the grace of Jesus Christ. Beth is an active member of Word Weavers, International and has previously published poems in “A Time of Singing Poetry Journal”, “Cantos, A Literary and Arts Journal”, and devotions in ChristianDevotions.us. Wrapped in Grace, her first book, was released in February 2026.

Let’s Be Social:

You can contact her at www.bethmims.com.