Rebecca
Winters, an American writer and mother of four, lives in Salt Lake
City, Utah. When she was 17, she went to boarding school in Lausanne,
Switzerland, where she learned to speak French and met girls from all
over the world. Upon returning to the U.S., Rebecca developed her
love of languages when she earned her B.A. in secondary education,
history, French, and Spanish from the University of Utah and did
postgraduate work in Arabic.
Because
of her studies overseas, Rebecca decided to become a teacher and
studied French and history at her alma mater in Utah. For the past 15
years, she's taught junior-high and high-school French and history,
and says she got into serious writing almost by accident.
Rebecca
recalls her mothers giving back Rebecca the letters she wrote to her
mother while in boarding school in.. and told her she wanted Rebecca
to turn them into a memories for posterity and from there the seeds
were sown, and turning her teenage thoughts and opinions the seeds
began to form and the story begin to bud. And those seeds turned into
her first published book in 1979. It was called The Loving Season,
published under the name Rebecca Burton and naturally takes place in
Switzerland & France, two places that have fond memories for
Rebecca. No sooner as she had finished that novel, she found herself
starting another novel, in-titled By Love Divided, a World War II
romance and a few years later Harlequin Books bought her novel Blind
to love..and lets say the rest is history or more like HER-story:)
Rebecca
continues to write today and her talents have not gone unrecognized.
She has won the National Readers' Choice Award, The Romantic
Times Reviewers’
Choice Award, and has been named Utah Writer of the Year. Right now,
Rebecca is working her way toward her 50th
novel
for Harlequin. She welcomes visitors to her web site.
While
I lived in Utah, I had the wonderful pleasure to know and become a
friend of Rebecca Winters. When I first came to know Rebecca is a
published Author, I knew straight away she would be a perfect
resource for me, to pick her brains about writing, she was and still
is. Rebecca listened to me spout off my jumbled thoughts and ideas
for my book, albeit, I still had huge way to go, she gave me some
great advice, she patiently answered my many questions about editors
and publishing, etc and gave me her own personal agent contact
number! I know, I hear you, I'm a lucky pup right, but I have to get
my book finished and edited, then try to get the agent to accept my
work LOL. But what Rebecca did for me, was to give me encouragement
and she graciously agreed to read my first, three chapters that I had
not long written.
I
waited with baited breath to hear back from Rebecca, knowing she was
a very busy lady herself. For me, time seemed to as slow, just like a
slug trying to conquer a mound of dirt. I didn't expect Rebecca to
like it, but guess what, she did!! Can you believe my joy! This was
my first attempt to write. Rebecca loved the whole premise of my
writing and loved the characters I created, just as I do.
That
was last year, fast forward to today and I am still working on it as
well as two other budding ideas for books, and trying to juggle being
a full time mother to two little girls and five grown up children,
plus being a grandma! Also being a wife to a full time Master's
Student, who also works part time too. I
know, I have my hands full, but what has stayed with me, is what
Rebecca asked me, “Do you love writing, Helen?”
Of
course my answer was, “YES.” Rebecca then told me, If you love to
write, then write. To let the ideas that float in my head to appear
in words and sentences, and watch your characters and story come to
life. And that she, Rebecca, can't wait to read my final draft of my
book, and even give me a wonderful recommendation! How cool is that!
So I know I have a lot to learn, a long road to tread and learn how
to deal with rejections and bad reviews, hopefully squeal in delight
at the good reviews.
Rebecca
has kindly agreed to do a Q & A for me, and I had fun coming up
with the question for her to answer. I hope that her words will help
not only me, but you as my readers to follow your dream of writing,
or if it's not as of yet, may have planted that tiny seed that will
one day grow into an idea, then into a book.
To end I just would like to give a HUGE THANK YOU to REBECCA BURTON/WINTERS. You are a fabulous Lady and I am honored to have you as a friend.
How
do you come up with your characters names? And do their names play
an
important
part to their characters’ personalities? -
Perhaps
to the reader, the name of a character doesn’t really matter, but
to the author it means everything! Not only from the standpoint of
personal preference, but a sense of rightness depending on the period
of time since the history of the world and locality on the earth.
I’m
a romance writer, so I’ll be referring to the hero and heroine
throughout this blog.
As
you choose your time and location, you zero in to pick the perfect
names. Since I write many contemporary stories taking place in
Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean area, I want the names to
reflect a certain country and if possible, a name that is a place
name or an ancient name from that country.
Since
I write for Harlequin American, my characters and story take place in
the West. I also
write
for Harlequin Romance and those mostly take place in Europe.
Let’s
start with the heroine first. When I choose a European setting, I
would say that 90 percent of my heroines are American who happen to
go to Europe for a reason and meet the hero. Because I’m from the
West, I tend to use names that are familiar to me (whether in a
western or in Europe). Some I’ve used are Kellie, Stefanie, Kit,
Olivia, Catherine, Laura, Lindsey. Usually my heroines come from
California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, or they’re from the
East Coast like New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania.
My
heroes for Harlequin American usually have western names like Jake,
Ross, Buck, Flynn.
My
heroes for Harlequin Romance tend to live in France, Italy, Spain,
Greece. At the moment I’m finishing up a two book royalty series,
one taking place in a fictitious country on the Riviera between Italy
and France, and the other on a fictitious island off the coast of
Catania, Sicily. In the latter book, this crown prince has been
named for an actual Sicilian warrior from history named Valentino.
His language is Italian. He asks the heroine to call him Val. His
whole name is Valentino Agostino Cellini. All three names have
historical significance in that culture. By using those names, this
hero comes to life for me and fits him in a way that the author can
bead in information about his family tree that provides richness and
new information for the reader.
Do
you have a book coming out anytime soon? If you do, can you give us a
taste of what it's about? -
The
book I was referring to taking place off the coast of Sicily will be
out next year. So far the working title is ON FIRE FOR THE PRINCE.
You already know he’s a prince. One aspect you might find
interesting is that he’s a volcanologist. Mount Etna, a smoking
volcano, rises ten thousand feet above the city of Catania. In the
1600’s it erupted and killed 29,000 people. Prince Valentino wants
to protect the people of his country in case an emergency arises
again, and prepares the island against such a disaster by having mock
drills for evacuation with gas masks, ect. In this book the heroine
happens to be from the other fictional country, but she also speaks
Italian. Her name is Carolena. When the prince takes her in the
Institute’s helicopter to view Etna from the air, they not only see
the activity below, but seismic activity of a different kind erupts
between them and the sparks fly. This is an earthshaking moment for
Valentino who is engaged to be married to a princess in eight weeks
at which time he’ll become king.
Of
all the books you have written, which of your characters is your
favorite and why? -
They’re
all my favorites, but I know what you’re asking. Probably because
it was my first novel and closest to my heart after having lived in
France and Switzerand, I have to say THE LOVING SEASON. Since that
time it has come out on Amazon as SCENT OF BETRAYAL. (Both titles are
available there) I fell in love with Maxim Tricornot Ferrier, the
legendary French perfumer from Grasse in the South of France. I
traveled there, smelled the heavenly jasmine in the air there and
drew his character from the people living there with their gorgeous
black hair, black eyes and olive skin. The woman I lived with in
Paris told me stories about WWII when the Nazis took over her
father’s chateau near Grasse. Those stories took root inside me
and I knew I had to write a novel about this fabulous man, this
genius widower worth millions, who falls madly in love with an
American student from Idaho. My neighbor across the street in Salt
Lake had a daughter named Megan. I loved her name and gave the
heroine that name.
Where
and when do you like to write? -
I’ve
always written at home in either the dining room or my bedroom. I
start early in the morning, my creative time. By late afternoon the
juices don’t flow.
How
have your personal experiences affected your writing? -
Being
alive means having personal experiences every day and somehow those
things creep into a novel whether you’re aware of it or not. For
me it isn’t something I consciously do, but when I’ve finished a
novel and read it, I often can see where an idea for a scene came
from. It just naturally happens.
What
advice do you have for someone just starting out? -
It’s
the same advice I was given when I asked an editor years ago before I
ever had anything published. He said, READ READ READ. READ WHAT YOU
LOVE, READ WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE AND WHEN YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF
READING, START TO WRITE. It’s the best advice there is. I’ll
add a few more things. KNOW THE AUDIENCE YOU ARE WRITING FOR, go to
the bookstore and see what is being written in the genre you want to
write for. Do your homework.
What
was the hardest part of writing for you & which book was the
hardest (or easiest) for you to write? -
Those
are interesting questions, but to be honest, the only part that’s
really hard for me is to receive a revision letter from an editor
after the book is finished and wants me to dig deeper into my
characters’ emotions. I’ve already written the book, so I have
to get back into the mode again and try to feel what I was feeling.
That’s hard.
Were
you always good at writing? -
If
you mean, could I always write a decent sentence, then yes, that came
easily. But to create a world and people it is another challenge
altogether. If more of my books are sold over the years, it might
tell me I’m not failing in that area.
What
question would you most like to have someone ask you? -
Interesting.
How about, has it been worth it? The answer to that would be an
emphatic yes! The fun of getting into someone else’s head, of
building a life for them that is uniquely theirs is a challenge I
love to do over and over again.
What
genre of books do you like to read? -
I
love historicals, mysteries, the classics like LES MISERABLES, THE
COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, but I always love a great romance!
Do you limit yourself to only the genre that you write yourself?-
I
have to limit myself to that because I make my living writing women’s
romantic fiction. I have other stories in mind that aren’t
romances, but I need the time and luxury to write those when I’m
not worrying about income.
How
do you get started with writing a story (as in, how do you start
developing the story, how do you get inspired for it) -
Research
is everything! I generally look at a map first. Where do I want my
story to take place? When I’ve decided which country, I read about
the different provinces, their history, their economy. Something
always leaps out at me. Suddenly I can see a hero living there. From
that point on I start to build his life. Then I think of the
heroine. Where and how would she fit into this scenario? How would
they meet? Why? As I ask those questions, the answers come and
before long, I’m plotting their emotional journey, their triumphs
and failures, their needs, their problems. I like the two to meet at
a crossroads in both their lives that throws them for a loop. With
the right chemistry a love story emerges.
What
advice would you give to people who "run out of creativity"
when writing? -
We
all have emotional drains on us, sometimes very heavy ones. But in
normal circumstances, I would advise writers to discover when they
get their best ideas? When are they freshest? Morning, night,
middle of the night? Give the writing a rest for a few days, then
come back to it. It always comes back, but forcing it doesn’t
help. I’ve discovered it’s a business. I get up at the same
time every day and start in writing. Habit plays a great part in my
ability to get words down on a consistent basis. Sometimes the muse
seems to be lacking, but it’s not permanent.
How
do you conceive your plot ideas? -
From
life. The news. Family events. I wrote an amnesia story because of
a family that lived across the street. The man’s wife was a nurse
at the hospital. She fell on the steps one day and hit her head.
Until she died, she never remembered her former life. It gave me
some ideas and became the novel UNDERCOVER BABY.
How
long did it take you to publish your first book, after you started
trying? -
Six
months.
How
did you go about getting an agent and publisher? -
I
found an agent from the New York City telephone directory. They put
my book out and found me my first publishing house, Leisure Books.
Do
you use real-life facts based on true stories? -
Yes,
at times.
Did
you ever think you'd ever become an author? -
Never.
Who
is your target reader? -
A
male or female, young or old, who wants to read a contemporary, clean
romance.
What
are the major themes of your work? -
Love,
honor, integrity, commitment to marriage, love of children.
Are
there any recent works that you admire? -
I
loved the novel, THE HELP
Who
is your favorite Author? -
That’s
a toss up between Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas.
What
do you think people search for in a book? -
Once again HUGE, THANK YOU to REBECCA
BURTON/WINTERS.
You are a fabulous Lady and I am honored to have you
as a friend.
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