Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Betty Hechtman is not only a talented writer of crochet
mysteries but a lovely person as well. How do I know that; when I’ve only
briefly met her recently at a needle work show? Recently we had a phone conversation that
lasted for over an hour; it was like having a crochet friend over for coffee. I
was so excited about our interesting conversation that I sat down immediately to
capture my impressions about her fascinating career!
A native Chicagoan, Betty has lived in LA since 1970, but
she still has strong ties to the South Side of Chicago and returns here about every
6 weeks. She has a degree in Fine Arts from Roosevelt University in Chicago
(also my daughter’ alma mater) where she wrote for the school newspaper. Betty
told me that she wanted to write since she was a child. Before writing her
first book in 2006, Blue Swartz and
Nephritides’ Necklace, a kids’ mystery, she had experience writing for newspapers,
magazine, short stories and scripts. In her first career, she worked for the
family business.
Betty came by her writing skills honestly;her father was
a writer, as well. “My father taught me how to submit my ideas,” Betty recalls.
“He also taught me to accept ‘rejection!’” Betty now has 8 books in her Crochet Mystery series and 1 in her Yarn Retreat Mystery series with contracts for 3 more books! I love the sense of humor that she brings to
the titles, i. e. “If Hooks Could Kill,” “Behind the Seams,” and “Dead Men
Don’t Crochet”! Stay turned to my blog to read my review of her newest crochet
mystery, If Hooks Could Kill.
When I asked Betty what it was about the topic of crochet
that motivated her to include it so prominently in her mysteries, she replied,
“I’ve had a life-long fascination with crochet and as a child I loved granny
squares. I sewed all my life and my mother was an excellent seamstress. Once I
bought a vintage granny store afghan in a resale shop and I was so intrigued to
figure out how it could have all those spaces without collapsing!
At that point, I taught myself how to do single crochet. The
‘ah-ha’ moment came, though, in 2005 when I was in Las Vegas. As I walked
through the shopping mall of one of the large hotels, I went into FAO Schwartz store
because I love toys. As I passed through the aisle, the ‘Golden Door of
Crochet’ opened for me. Right there at eye level was a kit, Learn to Make Granny Squares. There was
no hesitation; I had to buy it and learn to make my beloved granny squares!”
Soon after, Betty took a crochet class at Michael’s and her
crochet journey began. “At that time,” Betty recalls, “my agent had a client who
was having great success with a knitting series. She suggested I mix my
interest in crochet with my mystery writing. I figured it would be a great way
to learn more about crochet, and the rest is history!”
Betty explained to me where she conjures up her
characters, “They come from real life. I may have a vision
in my head from my imagination, but then I’ll see someone on the street and
recognize that this is the character I was imagining. I also conceive a lot of
my characters from my gym. It is for women only and my exercise class has
mirrors on the wall. I can watch many in
the class and they have no clue that I am scoping out their attributes which
may turn into one of my characters. I can also watch people working out on the
machines through the glass wall and they contribute some great material!"
It is, indeed, an honor to have such a celebrated author
dedicate her writing talents to the exclusive topic of crochet; and she does so
in a friendly bi-stitchural manner touching on knitting along the way. Not only do
readers receive a great story when they buy one of her crochet mysteries, but Betty
also includes old family recipes and a free crochet pattern or two at the
conclusion of her books. She says that as a child she sewed doll clothes and
those skills translated to her abilities to design crochet patterns. I am proud
to count Betty Hechtman among the members of the Crochet Guild of America.
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