Today’s interview is with Rebecca Hefner who’s writing a dystopian time travel romance series.
LQ: Tell me a little bit about yourself.
RH: I grew up in a small town in Western NC and now I live on the Hudson River of NYC. When I was young, I used to sneak into my mother’s bedroom and read her romance novels, cementing my lifelong love of the genre. I also volunteered at my local library throughout middle and high school, and have always adored reading. I’m a voracious reader who reads many genres–non-fiction, sci-fi, fantasy–but my favorite will always be romance.
LQ: What does your writing process look like?
RH: I will usually do an outline for a book, detailing the main characters and a basic plot, but then I just begin writing. The plot usually develops into something much better than I ever could’ve foreseen, which is always so exciting!
LQ: What was your favorite book to write so far?
RH: Oh, man. That’s always such a tough question. Every time I finish a book, I say it was my favorite. I just finished writing Book 5 in my Etherya’s Earth paranormal romance series and I’m in love with the hero, Heden. But I was also in love with each hero I wrote in the previous four books upon completing them, so perhaps I’ll just marry them all. Ha!
LQ: Who is your favorite character to write about?
RH: I love a complex, reformed heroine. Complex male characters are great too, but writing a complex female protagonist is difficult because women are judged so much harsher than men–and the same goes for female characters.
Evie is a character in my Etherya’s Earth series who was an antagonist of sorts in the beginning of the series but eventually grows to become the protagonist. However, her journey isn’t easy and there’s a lot of destruction along the way. She’s definitely my favorite character I’ve written because she doesn’t hold back. She fights her goodness with every fiber of her being and her journey is difficult. To me, she represents the best and worst of humanity, which makes such a compelling character!
LQ: Who are your favorite authors? Have any of them influenced your work?
RH: For romance, I have a few. JR Ward was the first paranormal romance author I ever read and I fell in love with her BDB series over a decade ago. She’s a huge influence in my writing. I also love Nora Roberts and think she’s a master at writing across genres. Lisa Kleypas is probably my favorite true romance author because she really understands how to elicit emotion in her readers. When I read her books, I physically react–my heart beats faster, my breath catches and sometimes I even tear up. Her books give me all the “feels” and my goal is to give my readers the same experience. I also love Carl Sagan. He was a brilliant scientific communicator and I enjoy his fiction and non-fiction books.
LQ: How are you doing during the current pandemic?
RH: It’s been interesting because I’m a happily solo person in her early forties and have always enjoyed being so. My day-to-day life hasn’t changed that much since I’m a full-time author. However, I never realized how much I thrive on the social outings I experience each week. Yesterday, I realized how much I missed a good happy hour in a crowded bar. Something so simple yet something I now crave. I’m also an avid solo traveler and am really missing being on a plane and jaunting to a new destination. As soon as this is over, I’m heading to a beach, any beach, to bask in the sun!
LQ: What are you currently working on?
RH: Books 2 and 3 in my Prevent the Past series. It’s a sci-fi dystopian time travel romance series and I’m actually writing both books concurrently. I’ve never done that before (I usually tackle one work at a time) but the ideas are there, and it’s flowing naturally, so why not? We’ll see how it goes!
LQ: Anything else you would like to share?
RH: Thank you so much for having me! Us indie authors have to stick together and it’s always nice to find another channel for your voice to be heard.
Thanks, Rebecca!
You can find Rebecca Hefner on her website.