Friday, September 28, 2012

#AuthorInterview Rebekah Lyn #ChristianFiction


Today, we have Rebekah Lyn, author of Christian fiction and romances. Welcome, Rebekah, and tell us a little about yourself and how you started writing
I have always loved books.  Each summer when my family went on vacation I had a bag just for my books and I would devour a dozen or more, depending on how long we were traveling. I learned early on that I enjoyed research and was richly rewarded in sixth grade, when my history report of Saudia Arabia garned me a pen pal in the country who sent me a traditional outfit to wear during my oral presentation.  After that I was hooked, but it wasn’t until three or four years ago that I decided to pursue writing professionally.  I currently have two books available for sale and the third will be out in late October or early November.

What have you done to market your books?
Of course I have done the normal things- Twitter, Facebook, Kindle Select promotions, and video trailers.  I actually just completed a three day free promo with KDP last week for my second novel, Julianne, and it was a wonderful success.  I had some awesome support from the Twitter folks and was included in several of the “Free Kindle” newsletters. Word of warning, the adrenaline from a multi-day promo like this is overwhelming.  The sale ended Friday night and I spent all of Saturday and Sunday practically comotose when the adrenaline ran out. Completely worth it though.    

The things I have enjoyed most though is getting out to meet people.  Last year, around the time I released my first book, Summer Storms, a friend of mine opened a new restaurant and I approached him about doing a book signing there, thinking it would be beneficial for both of us.  This was nerve wracking for an introvert like myself, but it went well and made me realize how much I enjoyed talking to people about my books.  I started brainstorming with my publicist and we came up with the idea to combine the other thing I love in life, tea.  I have now been to three Afternoon Tea with Author parties where a group gets together to enjoy an afternoon tea and I get to talk about my books, the writing process, and my faith.  When I was asked at the last tea if I had any copies of my book with me, I smiled and replied, “What kind of businesswoman would I be if I didn’t have copies with me?”  Every woman there left with copies of either one or both of my books. 

That sounded a like a lot of fun. Since you write Christian fiction, I've a question I'm sure readers would be interested in. Hope you don't mind, but what is your opinion about sex in Christian fiction?
I know sex in Christian fiction can be a difficult topic. I do have a few characters that have pasts with sexual entanglements, but they have now chosen to pursue purity in their future relationships. In my upcoming novel, Winter's End, Lizzie and Ian will experience moments of intense desire, but the heat predominately focuses on the emotions they are experiencing rather than their physical actions.

What words of advice would you give to new authors?
READ!  Read blogs, read new articles, read books on writing, read books to see what works and what doesn’t.  There are at least a dozen blogs I subscribe to, Indies Unlimited, The Passive Guy, and Jade Varden, being my top three favorites right now, and I check them everyday.  Most of the time they have great content and I will tweet the articles I find most helpful.  Get involved in groups on Goodreads or Facebook. I recently joined The Write Stuff group on Facebook and I love it. The people are friendly and helpful, and there is a real sense of comradarie.  Find a group you mesh with and get active, don’t just lurk reading posts, comment on what other people are saying, share  stories you find, ask for help, because the indie author community is very supportive. Rachelle has a wonderful page if you are planning a KDP Promotion as does Ruth Nestvold.

What is something funny you would like to share about yourself?
I know several writers, and we are all terrible at math.  Honestly, numbers scare me and I have numeric dislexia much more than I do with letters and yet, I am the chairperson of my church’s finance committee, and have been for the past three years.  It has been a great experience though and has given me a different greater appreciation for those who are good with numbers.  


Social Media Links


Amazon Author Page

Julianne Available at

Summer Storms Available at
Amazon Paperback
Amazon Kindle
Barnes and Noble

Trailers

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