Q: Rebecca, where do you get the ideas for all your novels and novellas?
A: That is the number-one question I'm always asked --- and the truth is that my ideas come from everywhere. All writers are simply chock-full of ideas, actually. So their main difficulty really lies in sorting through them all and determining which ones are best suited to becoming full-fledged stories.
Q: What is an average workday like for you?
A: Four to eight hours of sitting all alone at my desk, before my computer, my brain hoping it will send something worthwhile to my keyboard. I begin each day by editing what I wrote the day before, then move on with my story. I tend to write major scenes at random, depending on my mood that day, then to piece them together later on. I can do this because I never outline a book beforehand; I simply don't want to have to follow a fairly rigid structure, which I find creatively stifling. Rather, I use what we call the "film-strip technique," so it's just as though I have a movie running in my head the entire time I'm working. Mentally, I can slow the film down, speed it up, run it forward and backward, and edit it however I wish.
Q: How do you do all the background, factual, and historical research for your books?
A: It depends. Sometimes, I visit the location I'm writing about, and other times, I stay here at home and make use of my own bookstores, library, and the Internet. I usually begin by making a list of what I need to know. Then I start accumulating reference works and visiting websites that will enable me to learn that information. If I require very specific knowledge, I arrange to interview an expert on that subject. For instance, whenever I need details about police procedures, forensics, and criminal activities, I get in touch with my two friends Mauro Corvasce and Joe Paglino, detectives with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey and co-authors of Modus Operandi: A Writer's Guide to How Criminals Work. I think I actually made Mauro a little nervous once when I called him up to find out how to blow up a warehouse for my novel Dust Devil --- and don't even ask him or Joe about the time I wanted to know, for Glory Seekers, all about murdering a victim by drowning her in a swimming pool!
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
A: It may sound silly, but...learn how to write. I see so many aspiring writers who have a genuine talent for storytelling, but who simply haven't learned the actual mechanics of writing. Writers who don't know the rules of grammar and can't spell are like actors who show up on a soundstage without ever having memorized their lines in a script: They might know the story, but they're really not going to get very far trying to tell it --- much less bring it alive for anybody else. Further, in popular fiction, which is what I write, every genre has its own expectations and peculiarities, so you need to become familiar with those, too, if you want to increase the chances of selling your manuscript. And finally, after you're done writing your manuscript, you ought to look for a good agent to represent you.
 
To read more tips for aspiring writers, click on the Treasury button. For links to current agents, bestseller lists, professional writers' organizations, publishers, writers' resources, and other tools of the trade, click on the Passages button.
Q: What led you to develop a website consisting of a tour of a virtual castle?
A: I love castles and the history of the British Isles --- particularly the Dark and Medieval Ages --- and I thought an official virtual home should be just that: a home. I chose a castle not only because I adore them, but also because I wanted to present myself to readers in a way that would seem as though I were actually speaking to them myself, sharing my interests and so forth with them, so they would perhaps get at least a glimpse of the person I really am. So many readers write to tell me they know me through my books --- and in some respects, that's true, in much the same fashion we may come to know certain things about an actor, for example, by the roles he chooses to play. But all too often, audiences confuse actors with their roles; and the same holds true for writers and novels, too. I am not the heroines in my books. Rather, I'm a writer who tries to bring characters to life on pages, the same way an actor does on film.
Q: What are you writing now?
A: Currently, I'm working on a couple of different projects and will let you know more about those as they progress.
Well, I've got to return to work now. However, I've really enjoyed chatting with you. Thanks so very much for dropping by Ravenscroft Castle today! Please come back soon. I always look forward to seeing you here!
If you have a question that wasn't addressed by Rebecca, you can check for an answer to it in Ravenscroft Castle's FAQs Database below:
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