Interview with Rebecca Goings:
Hi Rebecca. Thank you for doing this interview. I would like to welcome you to the Romance at Heart Interview and Author Grilling session. *bg* We are interested to find out as much about you as we possibly can, so lets get started...
- How do we find out about you and your books?
Currently I have three publishers, By Grace Publishing, Champagne Books, and Inara Press. You can go to any of their websites to find my books, or you can simply go to www.rebeccagoings.com and see what I’m up to.
- Why did you decide to write romance novels?
My parents divorced when I was 12, and my father worked the swing shift at a casino. This meant that I was alone from the time I got home from school to the time I went to bed at night. So I was a very lonely child. I’d write stories about other people because it made me feel good, to give them a happy ending.
I found my first romance in my sister’s room after she had left for college when I was 12, and I learned a lot about sex from those books. **grin** But I also learned that this is what I wanted to write, I wanted people to be happy, to be loved, and to stay together for always. And I wanted to share those stories with others. Thus a romance author was born.
- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
A lot, actually. If there is a date or an address or some kind of number in my books, it usually means something to me. And the cars that some of my heroines have driven have belonged to me in the past. One of my heroes actually has one of my family names as his last name. And a lot of my heroines have a touch of vulnerability in them; they want to be taken care of by the hero. And that is something that is very much rooted inside of me, being able to lean on the man I love and know he’s there for me. A lot of my heroines are also self-conscious or not too confident of themselves, and I grew up struggling with these issues myself. So I like to explore those feelings and give these women a strong man who will protect them and love them with every fiber of their being.
- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I’d always wanted to be a writer, since I was a small child. As a young teen, I made up some fantasy stories that were actually pretty bad. But the idea behind them had merit. So once I grew up, I decided to blow the dust off and resurrect them. That ended up being my very first novel, entitled THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE. This book was once published at New Age Dimensions, but has been pulled as that publishing house has gone under. But I decided to write a series after that book was finally finished 8 years later, and thus the Wolverine Chronicles were born.
I started the first book in 1996 and finished it in 2004. When I finally wrote THE END on it, it sparked that dream of becoming an author inside of me that I thought had long since died as a pipe dream. The book was rejected three times by the big New York houses, and while I was submitting it around, I was writing other books, Inspirationals, mainstreams, you name it, I was writing it. It was as if the floodgates had opened!
But the desire to finally be published was strong, and I didn’t give up. I’d talked with people on message boards, famous authors such as Mercedes Lackey, R. A. Salvatore, Kate Douglas, Joanne Rock… I realized I wanted to be like them. So I took a leap of faith and submitted my books. Now here I am!
- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
The interruptions are constant. I have 4 kids (5 if you count DH) and everyone has something they need to tell me, ask me, or have me do. My kids are 7, 5, 4, & 3, so they’re still pretty young. The only time I can get guaranteed uninterrupted time is late at night when everyone is sleeping. The trick is being able to come back to the middle of a scene and being able to pick up where you left off without it sounding choppy.
- Where do your ideas come from?
My head, mostly. I either daydream these scenarios or I ask myself the “what if” questions. Sometimes I get book plots from dreams. A new shapeshifter series that is coming out with Champagne Books actually came to me in a dream. I love to do different things in my books, think of something no one else is doing and run with it. In a book coming this fall from Inara Press entitled HEARTS ETERNAL, I have both a ghost *and* a vampire in it. In my shifter books, I knew everyone else was writing about curses and family traits, but had anyone done the genetically altered angle yet?? I decided to go for it. I’d also love to bring more paranormal into historical books. But I’m definitely not hurting for ideas. I’ll be around for awhile
- How many books have you written, how many have been published?
I have written 12 books, of which only 8 are published, but my ninth book, HEARTS ETERNAL, has just been contracted and will be published this fall. The three that aren’t published are in my Wolverine Chronicles, THE CRYSTAL OF MYNOS, THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE, & THE WOLVERINE AND THE JEWEL. But these books are currently being queried at Mundania Press, so I’m hoping to hear good news from them soon.
- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?
Yes I have! I’ve bought paperbacks of my own books for my own personal brag shelf. I also frequently go back through and read my books from time to time. It’s nice to go back to that world and revisit the characters, remembering the feelings and excitement I had while writing them. I don’t think anyone has read my books as many times as I have myself!
- Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?
My favorite book of all is THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE. Maybe because it was my first book, maybe because of the characters or the nostalgia of writing a novel from an idea I had as a 13 year old, but this book will always be “on a pedestal” so to speak.
My favorite Inspirational is HEART OF GOLD, because it only took me 2 weeks to write, and it was the one book that taught me I could write anything I wanted. After I finished THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE, I had fantasy blinders on. I guess I thought I was forever stuck writing fantasy. But a friend of mine told me to break out of the mold and try something different. I’d never written an historical or an Inspirational, so I decided to give it a shot. And I did it! After that, I wanted to write in every genre of romance imaginable.
- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
A lot of authors might say the royalties, the paperbacks, getting into a bookstore, or becoming the next Nora, Johanna, Jude, or Kathleen. But for me, the most rewarding thing is to be able to share my stories with others. To see someone’s face or to hear them talking about my book and how it’s touched them is the ultimate reward for me. I don’t care about becoming famous, although it would be nice. What I care about is writing those “memorable” books that people will think about for years to come.
Thank you very much for taking the time with us and answering our questions. I really appreciate this interruption to your busy schedule. Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creation from your talented imagination!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
Author Links:
Rebecca's Website Rebecca's Group
RaH Links:
Interview
Purchase Links:
Buy Author's Books at Champagne Books
Buy Author's Inspirational Books at By Grace Publishing