AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Rebecca Blevins

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

Well, I've loved to read ever since I was a little girl. Stories took me out of everyday life and let me travel and learn about all sorts of people.

When I was a girl, I used to write in a journal. When I was a teen, I sometimes wrote in my journal and occasionally wrote poetry, but never did much actual writing. It wasn't until I began telling my children made-up bedtime stories that I began writing them down, and that started me on my writing journey.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or do you prefer writing freehand?

I mostly write on my living room sofa with my laptop on a footstool thing. (That’s very descriptive, isn't it?) Eventually I want to have a desk in the office I’m supposed to share with my husband. That’ll happen eventually in our new house here in Utah.

Writing freehand feels like it should be more romantic, but honestly? I hate it. I love being able to move parts of paragraphs around in nearly an instant, copy/paste, and delete with abandon. My personality and mental organization works so much better with typing. Not to mention that I’m extremely good at losing paper and notebooks.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

My favorite part about writing is twofold. The first part is where something I write just feels good. Like it fits, and all the words hit the exact spot. It feels good, like a snuggly blanket when it’s cold in the wintertime. And the second part of my favorite thing about writing is when a reader brings my story to life in their own head, and we make a connection through words. I think it was Stephen King who talked about how it takes a writer and a reader to make one whole story together. (Don’t quote me on that—my memory is terrible!) But I love communicating with people through stories.

How do you come up with your characters? Why would readers want to get to know them?

I could make something really cool up, but really, they just sort of come in different ways. Sometimes a “what if” way, but with Captain Schnozzlebeard, well, I was in the shower, making up a song about pirates after reading a children’s pirate picture book. All of a sudden, Captain Gus Schnozzlebeard popped into my head, blustery and big-nosed, and all fancy-like. It was kind of a neat experience.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I belong to a few writing communities, so I keep my eyes open for events and review opportunities. I have several signing events coming up as well as a couple of presentations, which I’m excited to do. Basically, I just try to be myself and make friends.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

Mostly in the afternoon when I can find some quiet time, or at night after my children go to bed. We’re changing our family’s whole routine after this summer, so I’ll probably write more in the early afternoons.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I do have a new book out. Captain Schnozzlebeard and the Singing Clam of Minnie Skewel Island is my first traditionally published book, through Trifecta Books. The second in the series is in the works and deals with purple were chickens who give people the rooster pox. (Middle grade books, if you couldn't tell.J ) I also have another project for adults that there will be news about in the next few months.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

I have a young adult novel that is very involved and is quite different from my middle grade books. It’s very loosely based on The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The themes are quite different than in the traditional tale, and have to do with a young mermaid learning that she is valuable just by being herself—even if she has no idea who she is. The first chapter of this book placed second in its category in the 2014 LDStorymakers First Chapter Contest, so I’d really like to get it finished.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

You might never believe you have enough talent. And you know what? I've talked to people who've “made it,” and the common thread among all of them is that writing and publishing takes work. Hard, hard work. No matter what path you take to publishing, you need to work at it. Even if you have scads of talent. So read writing books, get critique partners, attend any conferences you can. You will always have room to grow and learn, even if you end up being a massive self-publishing hit or get your dream agent and score a huge contract with a major publisher.

Also, remember that no matter where you are in your publishing journey, there will always be people who you feel are ahead of you or coming up behind you. That doesn’t matter. You are where you’re supposed to be on your own path, because no one else can travel your path for you. But here’s the thing—you can’t sit still.  You have to actually move your feet and head down that road.

***

Thank you, Rebecca!

Learn more about Rebecca at the following links:

My website is www.rebeccablevins.net. 

Here's the Amazon link to my book

 Read the character interview here

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Gus Schnozzlebeard from Captain Schnozzlebeard

Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.)

Well, ma’am, my name is Gus Schnozzlebeard, pirate captain of the Scallywag III.  I live there most of the time. Ya want ta know what I look like? Well, my mama says I’m a handsome feller. Bushy black hair and beard, and I usually wear my blue velvet coat, but it’s indisposed at the moment. And since I lost my hand some years ago, I wear this brass cup hand instead. See how it gleams? It’s great for eatin’ soup and clonkin’ folks on the head who needs a good clonkin’.

Get the book here

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like fancy things. Eatin’, singin’, stuff like that. And piratin’, of course. Just watch out for any good singin’ ya hear, as it might be one of them Singin’ Clams. I never woulda thought a shellfish could cause so much trouble.

What is your favorite color and why?

I like blue. Reminds me of my favorite thing, and that’s the sea. I already told ya how my favorite velvet coat is blue, but my parrot, Sprinkles—uh, let’s just say he sprinkled all over it, so that’s why it’s at the laundry place.

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

My favorite food is anythin’ but gobbledygook stew. Actually, anythin’ other than what Squeak cooks. Ya reminded me that I need to go huntin’ for a new cook before we set sail again. I hear German food is real good. I’m thinkin’ I need ta find one of them fellers.

What would you say is your biggest quirk?

Quirk? Is that one of them there newfangled weapons? I’ll stick to my brass cup hand and cutlass, thank ya very much.

What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? Share a line in the book where this irk is manifested.

I don’t know that I can say Ramón Ratbeard himself irks me. It’s more that his rats send creepy crawlin’shivers up and down my back.  And it’s a miracle that he can keep his beard so clean. Ya’d think with rats playin’ in yer beard that it would get dirty right quick.

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

My mama means the most to me.  She also scares me just a little, but don’t go tellin’ that to anyone. Not that they’d blame me. She was one of the most fearsome pirates in her day.  I might introduce ya to her sometime.  See this big nose here? *taps nose* I got it from her. She could smell a fight an ocean away, get there, then cannonball the other ships to smithereens before they could say “look at that speck on the horizon.”

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

As much as I threaten Knot (and he deserves what he gets), I trust ‘im more than anyone on board. He’s a pain in the bottom, but remind me sometime ta tell ya how I ended up hirin’ ‘im on.  For all his annoyin’ ways, he’s a right good first mate. Don’t tell ‘im I said that, or his head’ll get so full of air he’ll float away.

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

See here, she knows I’m kinda hard headed. So I probably wouldn't listen to anythin’ she said. Unless she told me of a fancy banquet at some king’s court somewhere and they made me guest of honor. Still, I’d wonder if it was somethin’ old Admiral Bennett cooked up ta try ta catch me.

Ask me any question. I've always wanted to know what a character thinks about writers like myself. I'll answer the question at the end of this interview.

So yer a writer too? Well, I have wondered why writers  love makin’ bad things happen ta innocent pirates like myself. I mean, things woulda been so much easier and less painful if my writer had told me what Clammy was really like in the beginnin’. But if I only get one question, I wanna know what yer favorite fancy food is. And where it comes from. I've  been gettin’ bored lately, so maybe a fancy food commandeerin’ tour is just what I need.

Let's see, my favorite food? I have many favorites, but I'd say my all-time favorite is shrimp. Not just any shrimp, but coconut shrimp. Now, the shrimp part you've probably got - you travel enough around the word to see and catch these, but the coconut part, you'll have to travel to Hawaii or one of the islands for that, and the hunting of it can be pretty extreme, especially if you don't like climbing trees. Thanks for asking!

***

Thank you Gus!

Learn more about Gus and his creator, Rebecca Blevins at the following site:

Her website is www.rebeccablevins.net. 

Rebecca's books will be available at the Women's Expo in Spanish Fork on May 8-9, at the LDStorymakers Conference on May 15-16, and at the Spring Into Books Author Signing event on May 23rd where she will be presenting on developing characters for children's books. If you live in Utah, these are fun events to attend!