Amazon Category:  Humor Publisher: Word For Word/Milligan Books ISBN-10:  1889732257 Type: Fiction Pages: 50 Copyright: Jun 17 1997 The hilarious story of a sanctimonious elderly woman named Sister Betty, who receives phone call from God. He says He's coming by but doesn't give a time. She’s a member of Reverend Knott Enuff Money’s, Ain’t Nobody Else Right But Us-All Others Goin’ To Hell church. What could God possibly want to discuss? Within minutes of entering Heaven, Angel-in-training Joe Bill found out that he couldn't get his wings until he made Rev. Knott Enuff Money and his spiritually-challenged congregation from the Ain't Nobody Else Right But Us-All Others Goin' To Hell church start praising God the right way. They had been back-biting, mudslinging and downright ridiculous for a long time, so it would not be easy. After much crying and begging, from Joe Bill, Heaven decided to give him a little help. Who do they give him? They give him Sister Betty, one of the churches most sanctified and hypocritical elderly members. She may work out okay, but she'll have to be shown the light first. Of course, she'll have to get past the eagle eyes of two rambucious ten-year-old cousins, Lil Bit and June Bug. The only way to deal with this congregation is to see the humor in their actions. They give him plenty to laugh about. Sister Betty was a true child of the King. That was her testimony to any and everybody she came in contact with. After all everyone knew whom she thought she was, therefore she expected to be treated as such. That was before, while watching her favorite soap opera, she received a phone call from God. Who could she tell and who would believe her? Everyone in Pelzer, SC, from the young to the old, had their own opinions and reactions. Excerpt It seemed to Lil Bit that Sister Betty had put a spell on her, because before she knew it, she had told everything June Bug had said "---And Sister Betty, I didn't believe a word that lying June Bug was saying about you. I know Jesus ain't gonna call nobody up on no telephone and tell them nothing. I don't know why June Bug would say something so stupid, and especially about you Sister Betty." She leaned down to Sister Betty and whispered, "I think he's gone and got himself possessed." Raising back up again, Lil Bit ranted, "Now Ma Cile has gone to get some braided switches or tree limbs and she gonna whip us because June Bug is possessed. I don't know why I got to get a whipping too; June Bug the one with the lying demon!" Lil Bit was talking so fast, while pleading her case, that she didn't realize that she had twisted the hem of her dress into a knot. Poor child wore panties that read "Tuesday" exposed to everyone who knew that day was Friday.

A Humorous Yet Thought Provoking Look Into the Soul
Sister Betty is a hilarious book told in the straightforward, homespun language reminiscent of Langston Hughes' characters in "Simple." Although this book will leave you gasping with laughter, at the same time, it evokes deep-seated memories of childhood. Ma Cile has got to be one of the most memorable characters I've ever read about, with her brown eye and store-bought blue eye. Her strenghth reminds me of the grandmother in Maya Angelou's first book, "I know Why The Caged Bird Sing." If you weren't raised with the benefits of being reared by the wise old "souls," you can derive benefits vicariously through these stories. Although "Sister Betty" is a forerunner in the new genre of "Gospel Comedy," these stories are deceptively real. This book will make you laugh, but most of all, it will make you think. It poses the universal question: Am I my brother's keeper? Sure to carve out a place in the literary Hall of Fame of Afrocentric characters, (such as Walter Mosley's Easy, Mouse and Socrates), readers will remember Sister Betty, Sister Connie Fuse and the others long after they have closed the pages of the book.
Maxine Thompson, author of No Pockets In a Shroud/Ebony Tree


Tooo Funny
One of the funniest religious pieces I've ever read or seen. What a message! It came all wrapped up in an in-your-face recognizable Holier Than Thou blanket.
Tony Robinson, Editor/ Behind The Scenes magazine






So Imaginative
This is so smart and so original and so imaginatively written..
Doris Cooper, Editor/Hearst Book Company