Beth Ann Masarik, was born on February 6, 1984 with an over active imagination. Born an only child, she often relied on her imaginary friends for entertainment when she was little. It was her over active imagination and thirst for knowledge, that gave her the drive and passion to become the writer she is today.
Beth started writing when she was in middle school. Her first short story included the pop group *NSYNC, which is long gone and recycled. In high school, she and her best friend and author, Robin Sussman, wrote a series called Rainbow Stars, which was inspired by the anime, Sailor Moon. They wrote about five books out of nine, which are sitting in the bottom of Beth’s closet. Eventually, the two girls plan on digging them out and re-writing them now that they have more experience with writing. In addition to her short stories and novels, Beth also published a news paper article in her high school news paper, The Schreiber Times, back when she was a sophomore.
Writing didn’t always come easily to Beth Ann. She grew up with speech and learning disabilities, and often has difficulty with expressing herself. However, she worked with teachers who were willing to help her overcome her disabilities. She took several creative writing classes in high school and college, and that was when she realized that writing was her passion, and that she wanted to be an author.
For Beth, writing wasn’t just about becoming a best seller. Writing was how she expressed herself, and communicated with people effectively. What made her want to make her dream of becoming an author a reality, was that one day she found an old school journal while cleaning out her closet. In the journal, she found an entry that said, “One day, I would like to be a successful secretary and an author.” So, she dug out her novel, The World Among Us, and did a complete re-write of it. She admits that the journey of writing it was a struggle, partially because of her learning disabilities, and partially due to some online bullies, but in the end, it was worth it. She came up with something that she was proud of, and was surprised that she gained so many supporters and followers along the way. To this day, she remembers the euphoria and excitement that she felt when she completed her novel. Beth Ann hopes that she can be a role model for aspiring writers, and wants to be someone that they can look up to.
Dreams really do come true!
The summer of 2010 was a busy and important summer for Beth Ann. She wrote a short story called Murderous Regrets, which was inspired by her novel, The World Among us, and had it published in her very first anthology. The anthology came out on August 27, 2010. After dozens of rejection letters from agents, during that same week, she received a contract to get The World Among Us published from Lynn Calvert at Otherworld Publications. They were thrilled to have Beth on board, and accepted her as their first Young Adult Author. This came as a shock to Beth, mostly because she heard that you needed an agent before you could get a publisher. Once she had her attorney thoroughly investigate the contract to make sure it was legit, on October 2, 2010, she signed with Otherworld Publications, and is due to have her book released on August 19, 2011!
Life outside of writing
Writing isn’t the only thing that Beth Ann does. When she isn’t writing, Beth likes to play dungeons and dragons with her friends, bowl (her average is about 100), cosplay (You can sometimes find her at the Otakon and Katsucon conventions), playing video games, relaxing, and volunteering at her church.
At her church, Beth is on several committees, all somehow relating to young adults and children. She is on the Faith Formation board as their secretary, the religious education committee, whole community catechesis, and is now the chair of the newly formed Youth Ministry Committee. She also works with their youth minister, Veronica Ticas, and helps her run the Youth Group. In addition, Beth Ann is also a lector and a Eucharistic Minister on the weekends. Volunteering at the church, gives Beth a sense of belonging, and she feels that it has helped her to become the person she is today. Without faith and religion in her life, Beth isn’t sure where she would be.
In addition to the above, she still somehow manages to spend time with her fiance, Kevin, whom she loves very much. He is very important to her, and his support for all that she does means the world to her.
Over the last several months I have been asked several of the same questions, and therefore, have decided to put up a FAQ page that will hopefully answer some of your questions. If there is a question on here that isn’t answered, if it is within reason, please feel free to email me at bethmasarik@gmail.com. I usually answer all emails within at least two weeks depending on how busy my schedule is.
