Interview Rebecca Grace

by

Cheryl N. Warner

1) Rebecca, thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions. Please tell me how your writing career began. What prompted or inspired you to sit down and write that very first novel?

I’ve been writing since I was ten years old. I loved making up stories about people and being the person who chose how they turned out. Romances were always my favorite books as I grew older so it just seemed natural that I started writing romances. I wrote my first romance novel when I was 19 in pencil in one week and I still have it squirreled away somewhere. It will never see the light of day, but I can still remember the storyline and the characters.

2) Congratulations on your newest release, entitled, Home Fires Burning. The title is intriguing. Can you explain a little about how and why you chose it? Do you come up with titles for your books before, during, or after you write a story?

Home Fires Burning was a title I came up with because it basically said what I wanted to in the story--keep the home fires burning until everyone comes home. I usually come up with my titles as I write the story. I’ll be working on the story and something will hit me and I’ll choose that title or I might change it as I go along.

I usually have a lot of problems coming up with my titles. For me, my books usually start with an idea or with characters in a certain situation, and I’ll start writing long before a title ever occurs to me.

3) Where does the story take place? Is there a special reason you chose that particular location?

I set the story in Southern Colorado because that was where I grew up and the area was the basis for my story. Home Fires Burning has special meaning to me because I based it around a story my mother often used to tell. She said that when she was 11 years old,,and saw my father for the first time, she knew he was the man she would eventually marry, even though he was 8 years older than she was at the time. The event happened at her family’s ranch and my Dad was there as one of the ranch hands. She spent that whole first summer being a pest to him, just like little Bonita is in the story. I wanted to write a story around that concept of love at first sight, though in my parents’ case, my mother never left the area. Eventually, as she grew older the time came when my Dad finally noticed her and fell in love with her. They married after he came back from serving in WWII and were together for 48 years.

4) When you’re writing, do you place yourself in the middle of the action or are you on the outside looking in?

I’m usually doing both. At times, I find myself as an outside observer, seeing the scene and painting it as though I were watching a movie. I do this for setting the scene or describing a character as though I’m facing them. When it comes to emotional scenes, I find myself in the middle of it, feeling some of the same emotions as the characters, living it as close to them as I can get. I cry at my keyboard or get angry.

5) What’s the biggest distraction that keeps you from writing?

My biggest distractions are email and being on the computer. I’m always looking things up or finding reasons to be online. My other distractions are reading or watching movies. I love stories of all kinds. 

6) Do you plan on authoring books in any genre other than romance?

While I doubt I’ll ever stray far from romance, because I love that man-woman tug of war of emotions, I do enjoy writing other genres. I’ve finished two romantic suspense books, a mystery (with a love connection) and a time travel with lots of romance. Currently I’m working on a chick lit mystery and of course there will be lots of romance in that, too.

7) Which do you regret most in your life, something you’ve done or something you haven’t done?

I don’t have many regrets in my life. I’ve been very lucky in being able to do the things I want to do and not having to do anything I didn’t want. I think I would rather make a mistake, though, and take a chance on something than to hold back and be afraid to try something I really wanted to do.

I do regret that I let a lot of time go by without trying to get some of my writing published. After several years of rejections from big publishers, I stopped submitting and it took nearly 15 years before I decided to try again. I never stopped writing, though, and I don’t think I ever will.

8) Socially, are you an introvert or an extrovert? How about when you’re writing?

Socially I’m sort of both. I find myself being very quiet in groups where I’m a stranger, and yet at the same time I’m not afraid to thrust myself into social situations where I don’t know anyone and have to talk to people. When I’m around my friends I am usually an extrovert. When I’m writing I think I’m really an extrovert.

9) Between writing novels, your freelance job, and everyday responsibilities, you’re an extremely busy lady. Do you have any time management advice for the rest of us?

To me, having time to myself is really important. Setting a schedule is important and getting things done is necessary, but I like to have some downtime for myself and I’ve always guarded that. Lots of times I consider that time to write as my time and I make certain I retain it. If I’m overwhelmed, I’ll take an hour and go sit in a coffee shop or go to lunch alone and just sit and get my thoughts together and write.

Thanks for a great interview, Rebecca. I wish you the best with your future writings.