Author Interview: Rebecca L Marsh

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Publishing Date: July 8, 2019

After a family dinner turns into a bitter fight, sisters Maria, Lauren, and Avery decide to go their separate ways. Their father warns them that someday they will need one another. When he dies suddenly, they learn that he intends to make sure that they do. He’s left them a substantial inheritance, far more than any of them ever imagined.

There’s just one catch. If they want the money, they will have to spend two weeks together at a secluded lake house and follow all of their father’s instructions—no matter how strange.

Their task seems simple enough, but each one is holding onto painful secrets and old grudges the others know nothing about. But if they can learn to trust each other again, they might be able to mend the rift between them and give their father his dying wish.

Interview:



When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? 
When I was 12. 
That’s a good age to start figuring out what you want to do. How long does it take you to write a book? 
The first one took me 5 years. It was a little faster with the second one. And the third (that one is just a rough draft right now) was much faster. 
That gives me hope! The first one I published took me seven years – that’s the editing and everything that goes with it though. The writing takes a lot less time. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? The ideas? Most of the time I don’t really know. But the ones that I am conscience of have come from many different places: conversations, songs, or something I heard or saw. The information? I guess you mean research here. That depends on the story and what I need. I’ve been fortunate to be able to get a lot from people I know. The the book that is just releasing, I went into a writer’s forum hoping for some help on a subject and ended up getting connected to a nurse in Australia, who worked specifically with the disorder I needed to know about. A friend of hers was a writer who saw my message to the forum and it all went from there.
It’s so awesome how things align perfectly sometimes. Does writing energize or exhaust you? 
Depends on how it is going.
I hear you! Do you try more to be original or deliver to readers what they want?  
I just write the stories that are in my head. 
I think that’s the best way to do it sometimes. What other authors are you friends with and how do they help you become a better writer? 
I’m beginning to know a few in the wide world through some groups I’ve joined, but the ones I really have to credit the most are the local ones I know. A year and a half ago, I joined the local writer’s guild and they have helped me a great deal. We critique each other’s work and I grow a lot from that. A couple of them have helped me as beta readers for this book. And I’ve even learned a lot about the tech world (still limping along in that world, but getting better).
 Yes!! Local writer groups are fantastic! I get the tech dilemma, too. That one’s a struggle for a lot of us. Did you base your characters on real people?  
No. I’m sure there are bits and pieces of myself and people I know in there, but I do not intentionally model characters after people I know and none of my characters are “just like” anyone that I know.
 I think characters tend to take on a life of their own and develop into their own people. What does literary success look like to you?  That keeps changing. When I first set off to self-publish my first book, I asked myself a question like this one. I decided then that if my book really meant something to even one person, it would be worthwhile. Since then, I have had many people tell me how much they enjoyed reading the book. So now, even though I’d love to be able to say I’m making money too (still working on that), I think each person that gets something from reading my work is a new success.
  That’s probably the best attitude to have. What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex? 
Trying to write conversations about sports and cars. 
 LOL! How do you select the names of your characters? 
It varies. Sometimes the name of a character just seems to come to me and I know it’s the right one. Other times, I have to think about it for a while. Recently, I used my author FB page to ask for help with names of minor characters and, so far, I’ve used 3 of those suggested names in the novel I’m currently working on. 

Rebecca L. Marsh is an author of women’s fiction and a member of the Paulding County Writer’s Guild. She grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and now lives in Dallas, Georgia, with her husband and daughter.
When not writing or caring for her family (cats and dog included), Rebecca occasionally makes home-made candy and works on her scrapbooks (she is woefully behind).
Her novel When the Storm Ends is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook form. Paperbacks are available for order here also if you’d like a signed copy. Just click the books tab and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Marsh is also the author of When The Storm Ends. If interested, click on the link and check it out!