Rebecca Ross's Blog, page 84

Have you ever started a book, and then later wanted to change it completely?

YES.

I think this is normal for a writer.

To create is to be vulnerable. So sometimes you want to keep making your writing as perfect as it can be, but in reality, you have to learn when to edit and when to say that your book is the best you can make it.

I think that having really good beta readers can help with this. Other writers or readers who essentially “get your story” and understand the heart of your writing can help you know if you need to change something, or if you are just being an author who simply cannot stop changing something.

Hi! I just finished reading TQR and I absolutely loved this book! I really enjoyed how the adventure aspect of the book was the main focus (don’t get me wrong I loved the secret, slow-burning romance between Brienna and Cartier, but with some YA novels I f

Thank you so much! I am so happy you enjoyed TQR!

Okay, so I have been writing since I was a teen. I wrote quite a few short stories, endless chapter 1′s that went no where, and a novella when I was 16. I remember the exact feeling you are describing, because I felt that way for quite a few years. Frustrated, because all the stories I worked on didn’t seem to make it very far, or came slowly, or were too much like my other favorite books. But I kept chiseling away at words and paper. Eventually, years later, I had a breakthrough.

I was 27 when I wrote TQR, and I drafted it very quickly. I had a glimpse of Brienna sitting in a library with Cartier, and I did not let it slip away. I spent evenings, weekends, and lunch breaks drafting this book. 48 days later, I had a full manuscript. But honestly? I had been writing for fifteen years. It took me fifteen years to reach that moment.

No writing is ever wasted. It is all building material, sharpening you and molding you and challenging you to become a better writer.

And I want to encourage you to keep writing. Keep chiseling at it. Even if it comes slowly and painfully. Because you never know when you will get that breakthrough, when you will envision that character who has been waiting years and years for you to discover her.

What book served as the spark or turning point that sparked your interest in and passion for writing?

Okay, so when I was thirteen, I read MARA, DAUGHTER OF THE NILE by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. I remember being absolutely transfixed by this book, unable to put it down, swooning over Sheftu (the love interest) and being utterly despondent when it was over. Because I never wanted it to end.

It took a while for me to find another book to top this one.

MARA was the book that made me want to write. It was the first book that I remember reading that absolutely sparked my desire to write the best that I could, to dream about maybe one day writing a book that would mean as much to someone else as MARA did to me.

What are your favorite movies and TV shows?

Favorite movies:

How to Train Your Dragon

Sense and Sensibility

While You Were Sleeping

Beauty and the Beast (animated)

Ever After

Favorite TV Shows:

GoT

Survivor 

Fixer Upper

Outlander

How long did it take you to write TQR? And how long did it take to go from first day to published copies in stores? I think it’s fantastically written and you are an inspiration!

Ahh, thank you!

So, I wrote TQR in 48 days. But let me also say that there were quite a few things going on in my life at the time. I was working a full time job. My husband had just broken his ankle and had a 3 month recovery time. I was stressed to the max. And yet this book was an irresistible escape for me. I longed to have those moments in the evening and on the weekends to work on it. Let me also say that I was working at a college, and this was also the winter of Georgia’s “Snowpacalypse,” when 1 inch of snow shut down the state (because we are not well equipped for snow down here). So I ended up having about 2 weeks off of work, because the college closed for snow days. Which gave me the perfect time to draft this book.

I wrote TQR in January/February of 2015.

It didn’t arrive on bookshelves until February 6, 2018.

On average, it takes 2 years from the time a publisher acquires a manuscript to the time it is released in the wild. And that’s largely due to the fact that there are are quite a few factors that come into play to getting a book ready. The manuscript goes through three rounds of edits (at least). The sales team has to look at the publishing calendar, to see when the best season would be for a book to be released. And then if this is a debut, there is a lot that needs to be done marketing and promotional wise, to get the book plenty of exposure before it hits the shelves. 

What do you think are elements the perfect story must contain?

Flawed yet lovable characters.

Plot twists that take me by surprise.

Crackling dialogue.

A world that I want to return to. Over and over again.

But mainly? I want an author to completely manipulate my emotions. I want them to make me feel something unexpected–joy, anger, despair, love, hope.

C2E2…you were A M A Z I N G. I was overwhelmed by all the...

C2E2…you were A M A Z I N G. I was overwhelmed by all the Epic-ness. And we sold out of TQR at both the Epic Reads and the Anderson’s booths!!

Chicago, you’re so pretty!

Chicago, you’re so pretty!

Chicago, you’re so pretty!

Chicago, you’re so pretty!

Chicago, you’re so pretty!

Chicago, you’re so pretty!