First and foremost, I’m an unabashed believer in Jesus as my Savior. I am also a slightly beat up cattle rancher, a writer for an eclectic assortment of books and magazines, a children’s book illustrator, and a wife. Talk about a full plate!
–Erika Bentsen
Erika’s writing career was launched after being selected as a finalist from over 5,000 entrants in the 2010 Guideposts Writer’s Workshop contest. Since then, her writing has appeared in numerous magazines such as Guideposts, Angels on Earth, Mysterious Ways, RANGE, The CATTLE Mag and The AG Mag. She also writes inspirational devotions based on the bumps and bruises of her own life in Walking in Grace devotional books, formerly Daily Guideposts.
Illustrating children’s books began as a happy accident when a birthday card she had drawn for her twelve year old niece caught the eye of New Zealand author, Colin Fisher. Her debut illustrations in the book, The Adventures of Captain Stinky and Sailor Puss, Capt Stinky & Sailor Puss Meet a Pirate sparked a series of four books.
Erika met Oregon author Sandra Cole at a book signing. Together, Sandra’s poetry and Erika’s artistry brought The Finest Gifts–A Christmas Story to life. A Spanish version is also available.
Following in her aunt’s footsteps (but at a much faster pace), Erika’s niece, Haley, began her writing career at the age of eighteen. Erika’s career didn’t launch until she was–um–no longer eighteen. Haley’s debut story is about a sheep that just cannot fall asleep.