Ask the Author: Rebecca Heflin
Answered Questions (12)
Rebecca Heflin
Sorry, but since I write happily-ever-after, I'm afraid I don't have any horror stories.
Rebecca Heflin
I would go back in time to Regency England, specifically to the world of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Rebecca Heflin
Nora Robert's lasted book, Come Sundown. Lauren Layne's latest books. Lots and lots of romance.
Rebecca Heflin
Definitely Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. I recognize in Lizzy today's modern heroine -- sassy, bold, and determined. And as for Darcy, I love quiet, brooding men. The saying "still waters run deep" applies to Darcy, and I like to think that after he and Lizzy are married, his deep passion rises to the surface, but only for Lizzy.
Rebecca Heflin
Hi Jeffrey! Thanks for contacting me. I read books on my Kindle, so I don't currently have anything I can send you. Good luck with your English -- it sounds pretty good to me.
Rebecca Heflin
Hi Joyce, the books were mailed media mail to the winners on Tuesday. If you have not received it by the end of the week, please let me know.
Rebecca Heflin
With Dreams of Perfection, I started with a premise: What would happen if a romance writer’s hero actually came to life, a la Pygmalion. This quickly turned into the Dreams Come True Series, when I realized two other characters in the book deserved their own stories. The second book, Ship of Dreams, will be out in February 2015.
Rebecca Heflin
The best thing about being a writer is doing what I love and stretching my imagination on a regular basis. And like any muscle, the more I stretch my imagination, the more flexible it becomes.
Rebecca Heflin
I'm editing and revising Ship of Dreams, the second book in the Dreams Come True Series, followed closely by starting the third book in the series, Dreams of Her Own. I’ve already got a few ideas!
Rebecca Heflin
As my bio says, my sister gave me my first romance novel when I was fifteen (my mother would have been horrified!). That book lit a fire under me. I became an avid reader and dreamed of writing my own book someday.
It took a while before that someday came, because although I'd alwasy dreamed of writing, but never had the courage to do it. It took a mid-life crisis of sorts to make me realize it was now or never. When I started my first manuscript, which became The Promise of Change, I had a goal: publish a book by the time I’m fifty. I published two books by the age of forty-nine, and at fifty-one I haven’t looked back.
It took a while before that someday came, because although I'd alwasy dreamed of writing, but never had the courage to do it. It took a mid-life crisis of sorts to make me realize it was now or never. When I started my first manuscript, which became The Promise of Change, I had a goal: publish a book by the time I’m fifty. I published two books by the age of forty-nine, and at fifty-one I haven’t looked back.
Rebecca Heflin
I know there are writers out there who say there is no such thing as writer’s block. Nora Roberts is one of them. But I believe there is, or at least ‘sticky points’. Most of the time, it originates in the author’s head. My second book, Rescuing Lacey, won several awards, and when I was writing Dreams of Perfection, I let self-doubt get to me. What if Rescuing Lacey was my best book? What if nothing I wrote could ever live up to it, much less surpass it? I was afraid to write a single word unless it was absolutely perfect. It terrified me.
Other times, the block can come from external stresses, like a day job, family issues, etc. Things like that can suck the creative energy right out of you.
When I’m stuck, there are several methods I use to get ‘unstuck.’ Sometimes I walk away from the writing. Take a walk or tackle a mundane household task, and the next thing I know, an idea has popped into my head and I’m ready to go. Another method I’ve used is to stretch out on the couch, the bed, a hammock, even the floor, and close my eyes, letting my mind wander. What am I having for dinner tonight? What was the name of that shop in Santa Fe? The one with the fabulous spices? What was the name of our guide in Costa Rica? Ooh! Guide. Monteverde Cloud Forest. Night hike. That’s it! The hero and heroine go on a night hike in the cloud forest. Voila. Problem solved.
Other times, the block can come from external stresses, like a day job, family issues, etc. Things like that can suck the creative energy right out of you.
When I’m stuck, there are several methods I use to get ‘unstuck.’ Sometimes I walk away from the writing. Take a walk or tackle a mundane household task, and the next thing I know, an idea has popped into my head and I’m ready to go. Another method I’ve used is to stretch out on the couch, the bed, a hammock, even the floor, and close my eyes, letting my mind wander. What am I having for dinner tonight? What was the name of that shop in Santa Fe? The one with the fabulous spices? What was the name of our guide in Costa Rica? Ooh! Guide. Monteverde Cloud Forest. Night hike. That’s it! The hero and heroine go on a night hike in the cloud forest. Voila. Problem solved.
Rebecca Heflin
Write. Read. Learn. When I started my first book, I had no idea what I was doing. I just wrote. A lot of what I wrote went to the great digital trash can in the sky, but I couldn’t have learned the craft without writing those words. Read the genres you think you would like to write. I learn so much by reading my favorite authors. I also learn by reading books I didn’t really enjoy. I ask why I didn’t enjoy them, and then strive not to do those same things.
Read craft books. I have a shelf of dog-eared, marked up craft books. Finally, learn. Attend workshops, join critique groups, take online courses. Oh, one more thing. Don’t give up. If you really want to write, push through the doubts, the rejection letters, the bad reviews. Use them to hone your craft.
Read craft books. I have a shelf of dog-eared, marked up craft books. Finally, learn. Attend workshops, join critique groups, take online courses. Oh, one more thing. Don’t give up. If you really want to write, push through the doubts, the rejection letters, the bad reviews. Use them to hone your craft.
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