Turning the Camera Around

Over the years, every week in my blog I have profiled a different writer and given them an opportunity to discuss their latest books. Recently it occurred to me that while I have interviewed so many other writers over the past few years, I have never done the same for myself. Yes, my short biography is on my blog and website: 

Rebecca Grace is an  Emmy award-winning former  broadcast journalist who currently writes fiction. She has focused on the writing process nearly every day of her adult life. During the week she worked in the news department of television stations from Denver to San Diego to Seattle, though she spent most of her working career at network affiliates in Los Angeles--KABC, KCBS, and KNBC. On weekends, she devoted her time to writing novels as well as books on writing. She has presented writing workshops at national conventions and  taught a wide variety of online writing classes with her frequent co-author, Sue Viders. In recent years she has focused on writing fiction full time.  

Most of the time, I like to ask authors questions about their writing careers and how they got started. For me the answer is simple. I simply loved to write from the time I got into high school. Even before that, the idea of being a newspaper reporter was in my head (thanks to comic strip icons Lois Lane and Brenda Starr). Eventually, when I went to college, I decided to major in journalism, working on the school newspaper which put out an edition every day of the week. That meant I was having to conduct interviews around my daily class work, but somehow it got done. I made a couple of valuable discoveries through that experience. First of all, I made two friends who remain my good friends to this day. Secondly, I learned to appreciate a deadline, which still helps me with my writing. Many writers have days when they simply don’t feel like writing. Having a daily deadline means having to write—no matter what. Giving myself daily goals keeps me going on a project even when I don’t feel like sitting down at the computer. 

Often I also ask about advice for beginning authors. I’ve always felt it was important to help other beginning writers, which was why I got into teaching classes for many years. While everyone has their own way of writing their stories, I’ve also discovered that hearing other authors talk about their road to publication and how they succeeded can be valuable to writers starting out. Even writers who have a few books already finished like to hear the stories of other writers. Other writers have told me--and I agree--learning about the writing process never ends. Every book can teach a writer something new and changes in the world of book publishing are always happening. Just as no two books are the same, the reading tastes of the public continuously change and it is important to keep in touch with what is happening in the publishing world.   

Another question I often ask guest authors on my blog is about their latest projects. That helps to keep up with what people are writing and what readers are buying. It’s important to keep in touch on current trends in publishing, just as it is important to keep writing those stories. 

My current book that I am writing is part three of what I call my Dead Man series, Dead Man’s Secrets. It will be the final installment of a series I started several years ago. Both Dead Man’s Rules and Dead Man’s Treasure are currently available. 

The idea for the series about a fading bloody handprint on the wall came from an old story I heard in college about an old company store (as opposed to the dance hall I invented for the book) which actually did have such a print on the wall. I heard the story in college, and of course, my friends and I had to go see it. None of us knew how it was made. We had to climb inside via a broken window and then up a set of rickety stairs, but we got into the room and saw the hand print. That faded image stayed with me, and years later I decided I wanted to write about it. Once I had finished the first book in the series, Dead Man’s Rules, I knew I wanted to write another, which is why I developed and wrote Dead Man’s Treasure. Legends of hidden treasure in the southwest have long been such popular topics, there are even guidebooks on hunting for various lost mines or buried caches of old Spanish gold. 

The third part of the trilogy, which I am currently writing, focuses on one of my old favorite character from the previous books, Diego Diaz, but it also introduces new characters as well—a best-selling author, who is the hero and a determined journalist, who is the heroine. Writing the final installment of the trilogy has been a joy, but it is also sad because the characters I’ve developed over the years have been so fun to know. However, new characters and new situations are clamoring for attention in my mind, and it’s time to move on to newer locations and make new character friends. But for now, I hope you enjoy Dead Man's Rules and Dead Man's Treasure. Be sure to watch for Dead Man’s Secrets when it becomes available. It solves forever the secret of the bloody handprint on the wall.  

Here is the blurb for Dead Man’s Treasure:

When free spirit Freeda Ferguson goes in search of her father, she finds intrigue instead. Attorney Patrick Sanchez wants only to close a door in his family's past and has no time for Freeda or adventure. But then a dead man's shadow and secrets from the past bring death to their present. Now Patrick and Freeda find themselves drawn into a dangerous search for truth even as they discover their own growing attraction. As a small town seeks treasure, they seek answers.

Here are the buy links for my second book in the series as well as for the first book:

Book Two - Amazon: Dead Man's Treasure - Kindle edition by Grace, Rebecca. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Book One - Amazon: Dead Man's Rules - Kindle edition by Grace, Rebecca. Romance Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

If you would like to know more about me or my books, here is the information for my websites.

Fiction website:

RebeccaGraceBooks

Non-fiction websites:

Writethatnovel.com

Writethatnovel.net

Any questions or comments?