Daily Inspiration: Meet Katherine Bitner

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katherine Bitner.

Hi Katherine, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been a storyteller and writer! I consider myself a jill-of-all-trades regarding professions – I’ve dabbled in just about everything. Though I went to college for interior design and was in the field for nearly eight years, I’ve always been called back to another thing – writing. When I ran a home decor blog or worked for an online interior design company, my favorite job ‘duty’ was always the writing part. Fast forward to 2021, my husband and I decided to sell all of our possessions, house included, and travel the country in an RV. We did so for a year, and it not only allowed me to open my mind to new possibilities for myself and my future, I had a lot of time on my hands! This is when I rediscovered my love of reading, something I hadn’t done much when I was working 50+ hours a week in the corporate world. I got myself a kindle, and any chance I had downtime, I’d read. It was shortly after a few months of reading that I decided I could write a book. The jokes on me because writing a novel was the hardest thing I’ve ever done! But I went into it naively, wrote my heart out, and learned a lot. Eight months after the day I decided to write a fiction novel, I was holding my published book in my hand! And I never looked back. My first novel, Time To Bloom, has been out since May 2022, and in February 2023, I will be publishing my second novel, The Way You See Me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been the craziest journey. I knew nothing about writing a novel or publishing it. All I knew was that I loved to write, I’d been successfully writing for work, and my motto was “I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out!”. I joined just about every forum and the Facebook group of writings, publishers, storytellers, etc., that I could find. I learned from my peers and met so many amazing people in the book/author community on Instagram and TikTok. Everyone is so willing to help each other out and support each other’s work – it’s really quite amazing to me.

The biggest struggle is truly just believing in yourself – especially as a self-published author. You don’t have an agent reassuring you that your work is excellent and will sell. You have yourself, and if you’re lucky, some friends, author friends, or family who stand behind you and believe in your dream too. There were many days I wanted to delete my whole manuscript and say never mind! But writing a novel was on my lifelong bucket list, and I kept trucking on. I’m so glad now that I didn’t give up.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write fiction novels that revolve around a female main character. I wouldn’t say my novels are romances, but they always have a romance subplot because I’m a sucker for love and love stories! I like to focus though on the story of the female lead, her journey to finding her voice, self-discovery, falling in love, friendship, etc.

I’ve only written two books, with the second one out in 2023, but the feedback I’ve gotten is that my characters and stories are super relatable and realistic, which I love. I want a reader to be able to read my books and feel like they are right there, in the character’s shoes, experiencing this journey with them or as them. That’s a good book to me!

I don’t shy away from the reality of things either – my characters are not perfect. They have issues, they struggle with mental health at times, they cuss, and they do things that everyone does because I think speaking truth to the human experience is important.

What I’m most proud of is just putting myself out there. I figured out everything as I went, and though there were sleepless nights and tears, the reward of knowing I did this myself is so sweet.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books – I can’t recommend the book Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert enough. She speaks right to creatives’ and author’s minds in this book, and it’s really changed my perspective on my author career.

Podcasts – This is not book-related or author-related, but when I feel stressed or like I need to take a break from screens, I listen to The Bananas Podcast. It’s just a silly podcast about ridiculous happenings in the world. It’s wholesome and funny and gives my mind a break. When I’m laughing and feeling relaxed, that’s when my best workflows!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.katherinebitner.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekatherinebitner/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@katherine.bitner.writes

Image Credits
All taken by Katherine Bitner