Romance at Heart Magazine Author Interview: Rochelle Weber

Interview with Rochelle Weber:

Hi Rochelle. 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...

- Please tell us about your latest book.

Rock Bound is my first book. It is the story of Annie Peterson and Jake Johnsrud. When the US is taken over by a dictator, they are among the thousands of protestors who gather on the Mall in Washington, DC, and among the few survivors when the President’s troops fire on the protestors. They are sentenced to 10 years of indentured service on the Moon—Jake as a miner and Annie as a doxy to “service” the men. They meet enroute to the Moon. As Annie fights her feelings of guilt as she falls in love with Jake and fears she is somehow cheating on her husband, who was killed at the protest, Jake fights his feelings of jealousy as she reluctantly performs the duties of her “night job.”

- What can we expect from you in the future?

Since Rock Bound was an Inara Press serial, I am re-working Rock Bound to turn it into a solid single title with the cliff-hanger ending resolved.

- How do we find out about you and your books?

There are several ways to find more information about Rock Bound and me. My webpage address is www.rochelleweber.com. You an also visit my blog at rochelleweber.blogspot.com, or join my Yahoo Group.

- How may readers contact you?

Readers can contact me through my own readers/newsletter distribution group riw_author@yahoogroups.com, or just by clicking the Contact button on my webpage.

- How many readers/fans contact you?

My first book won’t be released for two weeks yet, so I haven’t built up a fan base yet. Anyone and everyone is welcome to contact me.

- Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?

I haven’t had much reader reaction yet, since not many people have read my work. I suppose it would depend on what the comments and letters were about.

- Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?

Not yet.

- Why did you decide to write romance novels?

My reading is quite eclectic, but when you come right down to it the most wonderful fascinating aspect of human nature is our ability to love, and the best books are about that love. Even the so-called “classics” are basically love stories—The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, Pride and Prejudice are all love stories when you come right down to it, as are my favorite sci-fi books—Stranger in a Strange Land, Time Enough for Love.

- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?

I guess I have to say quite a bit. Even though I’ve never been to the Moon, I’m as much or more of a sci-fi fan as I am a romance fan. And the best writing comes from experience. My heroines aren’t who I am, but they are who I would like to be. And my heroes are, I guess, men I would like to be with. However, my hero in Rock Bound is not the usual Adonis of most romance. He’s more accessible; more boy-next-door with slightly overlarge ears and a lantern chin but he has a twinkle in his eyes. There is definitely someone home there.

- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?

Even when I wanted to grow up and be a nurse, I never left home without a book. Even then, I think I had it in the back of my mind that when I retired I would write. I wrote my very first story in 2nd grade when I was recovering from chicken pox. But I submitted my first story after my divorce. To be quite honest, the thing that prompted me to submit my work was money. I doubt that I’ll ever win the lotto, but I think I’m a pretty decent writer and I’d like to think I can eventually make a living this way.

- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?

Goodness. I’m bi-polar and my disease has been known to get in the way. I’ve had bouts of depression and low self-esteem when I couldn’t face a computer and put my work away for LONG periods of time. I’ve been homeless—“sofa surfing”—staying with various friends when I couldn’t afford a place of my own. However now that I’m on meds and have found a publisher and am working on a series, I’ve been keeping track of my time and I find it takes me about 4 hours to write a relatively short chapter and that’s not all in one sitting. With deadlines looming, however, I manage to write faster.

- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?

I try to make myself write every morning when I first get up. If I open my e-mail for the day, I’m lost. I get “sucked into the vortex,” as I’m not only an author at Inara, but also the Managing Editor and I get sidetracked by editorial duties. I write until I either reach a good stopping point or just can’t think of where to go next.

- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?

My kids are grown and I live alone. At least once a day one of my cats walks across the keyboard. My “sweetie” lives upstairs and usually comes down at the start of his day to see how I am and whether I plan to go out. He’s legally blind and we help each other out—I drive, he carries. He’s a musician so he understands the “artistic” temperament.

- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?

Sing karaoke, or visit my grandkids.

- What truly motivates you in general? In your writing?

I’m passionate about my family and various causes. I’m a Navy veteran so I do volunteer work at the VA—singing on the wards and such. I also volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Chicago when I still lived in the city. I am polyamorous and pagan and somewhat political—especially right now as I perceive so many threats to our American way of life, which crops up in my book.

- Where do your ideas come from?

Where do any ideas come from? I simply try to find a variation on “boy meets girl, something comes between them and almost ruins their relationship, somehow they resolve the conflict and live HEA.” In Rock Bound a dictator brings them together, Annie’s past keeps them apart and the Moon, herself… For that you have to read the book.

- Do you feel humour is important in women's fiction and why?

Yes. Humor is very important. Even in my book I manage to eventually inject a bit of humor. After all—if you can’t laugh then why get up in the morning?

- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?

Well—it sort of isn’t a romance novel without at least one love scene, but yes—I do find them difficult to write. I either find myself blushing if I feel it’s getting too hot, or laughing if I feel I’m being too trite. There are only so many ways to describe the “swelling manhood” and “tender kisses deepening with passion.” Maybe it would help if I drank.

- What kind of research do you do?

I’m an avid reader with a sponge for a brain. If I have a question about something, I Google it or go to the encyclopaedia on line. For instance, I went to the NASA webpage to find out how long it takes to get to the Moon in freefall. It takes 3 days each way. Although I remember the Apollo program, I was rather young and more interested in my first love the summer of ’69. I was, of course, glued to the TV when Neil Armstrong took his first step, but I hadn’t paid much attention to the details of how long it took him to get there. That was the weekend I lost my …. Well, anyway…

- Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?

I would like to be a real hard-core sci-fi writer, but the ones I admire most (Heinlein, Asimov) had solid backgrounds in math and science. I was so bad at geometry, my teacher suggested I take sewing. It took me four semesters to manage to get passing grades in two semesters worth of math in college. I’ve read that Heinlein and his wife, Ginny, used to plot the orbits for starships to various destinations on butcher paper on their dining room table with pencils and sliderules. I couldn’t do that with a computer.

- What does your husband/wife think of your writing?

My sweetie is very supportive and likes what he’s read so far. I have a degree in writing from Columbia College in Chicago and when I start to freak out he points to it and reminds me I’m a “professional.”

- Do you ever ask him/her for advice?

Not really. His interests are more academic. Although I have learned a lot about Wiccan tradition from him. Although even there we differ in that he is very traditional and secretive and I’m rather open and much more eclectic.

- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)

As I said above, my degree is in writing. I have two grown daughters and five grandkids who are the center of my world. My hobbies are spoiling my grandkids, reading, spoiling my grandkids, writing, spoiling my grandkids, music – especially singing at the VA or karaoke, spoiling my cats (betcha thought I was gonna say grandkids!), watching TV and spoiling my grandkids.

- Fill in the blank favorites -

Dessert: Never Fail Devil’s Food Cake with White Sauce Frosting – my mother’s recipe.
Cities: Chicago, San Francisco, and Portland. Chicago is home. But if I couldn’t live there, I love the Bay area having been stationed there in the Navy and I love Portland having lived there briefly during my marriage.
Season: Summer – I love the light and it’s better for my arthritis.
Hero: Hmmmm. I guess the best way to describe them is to name them. I love Jack Ryan. He puts his family first but he can protect them when he needs to and he isn’t conceited. He’s good looking but not so drop-dead handsome you can’t believe he’s real.
Heroine: A woman who is loving and kind and a good wife and mother. She’s able to overcome adversity and survive.

- What are some of your favorite things to do?

Read, sing, relax in a hot tub, go to movies or plays, carriage rides, eat out.

- Do you have a favorite author? Favorite book?

Robert Heinlein – To Sail Beyond the Sunset

- Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?

J.K. Rowling, both Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, Tom Clancy, and all of our Inara authors.

- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?

Heinlein.

- Are you a member of any author groups - RWA, critique groups, etc.?

I’ve just discovered the RWA and plan to join.

- What do you think of critique groups in general?

I’m not currently a member of one, but that’s basically what my classes were in college and it helped immensely to bounce ideas off of other people and see what worked best.

- Where do you see yourself in five years?

Outselling Danielle Steel with much better books than hers!

- How many books have you written, how many have been published?

I wrote most of a book in college, but then looked at it and realized it went in about 10 different directions and junked most of it. I also have one other work-in-progress which I thought was a romance, but was told by people at our local RWA that it is “chick lit.” The term hadn’t been coined when I started the book. Rock Bound is my first published fiction.

- After you've written your book and it's been published, do you ever buy it and/or read it?

Don’t know. I am working frantically on other projects. I probably won’t have time.

- Among your own books, have you a favorite book? Favorite hero or heroine?

I think Annie is my favorite heroine. Sean Wesley in my other book, Crystal Lady is more of a fantasy so he’d be my favorite hero.

- What book for you has been the easiest to write? The hardest? The most fun?

Ask me when I’ve written a few more.

- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting?

For me, I think it’s the characters, then the setting and then the story.

- What are the elements of a great romance for you?

A hero who falls in love with you at first sight, then sweeps you off your feet—despite your best protests.

- What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you?

The middle of the story. I’m really good at starting stories and I usually know where I want the characters to end up but I have a doozy of a time getting them there.

- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?

Before Rock Bound I would have said I controlled the characters, but Annie Peterson was a minor character in a book that started out as Rock Crazy and when I started writing her backstory, she turned out to be much more interesting and she took over the book.

- Have you experienced writer's block? If so, how did you work through it?

I’ve spent the better part of the last two decades blocked. I’m not sure I got through it. I found Inara before I finished Rock Bound. I think I had written about 1/3 of it. As usual, I had a good beginning and I pretty much knew where it was going but when I signed the contract I still had no idea how it was going to get there. I finished it because I HAD to. I guess I work best with a deadline.

- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

Wow! Being able to work at home in my pjs, see what I’ve written in print and I just recently signed my first autograph. That was so cool!

- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?

Most of my life I’ve been an admin and much of that time I was a temporary admin. I’ve been disabled for a few years now, so I guess I’d be sitting around in my pj’s reading and watching TV. Oh, wait—that’s what I do now when I’m not writing.

- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Hang in there, and put yourself out there. Getting published is the hardest part of writing. It does help to know people, but there are ways to meet the people you need to know. Go to conventions, join writers groups like the RWA and start your second book as soon as you finish the first one. If you’re sending stuff “over the transom” and an editor sees your name on a second manuscript, they’ll know you’ve got more than one book in you and be more likely to give you a chance. And don’t turn your nose up at e-publishing. It kills fewer trees and you have more time to develop a following on the internet than in a bookstore where shelf space is at a premium and anything that doesn’t sell enough in the first 30 days is thrown out.

- What question would you love to answer that I didn't ask?

I could talk all night about my grandkids.

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!

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