My fabulous friend, fellow author, and former TV news co-worker, Rebecca, Reginer, has a fun new book out called Resting Witch Face. She took a few minutes out of her busy book launch schedule to answer some questions.
Me: We’re turning the tables a bit here, because you’ve interviewed me a time or two, but I’ve never interviewed you. I’m going to start off by asking you about your new book Resting Witch Face. I’m going to make you play a marketing game with me. Tell me what it’s about in three words and why I should read it with three more.
Rebecca: Strong. Magic. Women. Read it because You. Are. One.
Me: Where’d you get the idea for the book. Stuff tends to just come to me all at once while I’m at the circus or chatting about comic books. Did it just come to you all at once? Had you been thinking about it for some time?
Rebecca: I’d thought about it for some time. Several incarnations of the idea fomented in my mind but at the core, the question for me, was why is it only magical children get to have all the fun? If there is magic it comes from life experience, and growing into your true self! So I thought what if, instead of Hagrid scooping you up when your 11, there was a group of magical women that only come to their full power when they have empty nests? Further, it always seemed insane that a vampire, at 100 plus, would spend ANY TIME in a high school cafeteria. So while this is a murder mystery, there’s an element of romance. My main character is looking mighty fine to the local supernaturals because of her strength and maturity, not because she needs a prom date. The other element was the Upper Peninsula. If supernaturals are hidden in the U.S. they are FOR SURE over that bridge and in a place that is vast, epic, and unknown to most Americans, heck even most Midwesterners.
Me: You recently left a very successful TV news career to write full-time. What’s the scariest part about the transition and what’s most fun?
Rebecca: The scariest part is there is no safety net. I have to do it all to make this work. That’s also the fun part. I’m loving using all my skills from creativity to social media to web design to managing a team. I get to do it all to make this work.
Me: What’s the craziest true story that happened while you were in news that you’re at liberty to disclose?
Rebecca: Hmm. A lot of crazy things happened. Jack Kemp got on one knee and begged me to be nice after he’d snapped at me, I’d asked a valid question and he was tired. But it was weird to have the VP candidate get down on a knee. Jerry Springer flirted with me during a taping of a community affairs program. I actually could go on and on. Twenty plus years in news has provided me with a lot of material for my main character, a former news anchor!
Me: And most importantly, tell me about your puppy! He’s so darn cute. I want pictures!
Rebecca: Chili is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. He’s full of energy and is accident prone. I exploit his good looks in my Instagram stories on the regular.
Me: I call you my fairy-god-author because you’re the person who gave me a kick in the butt to get out there and get published. Give me some more good advice.
Rebecca: Treat your career as an author like a business. Invest in all aspects of it. I envision a series, not a single title because businesses that aren’t growing die. The universe I’m writing about is open-ended so I can create more. When I decided to do this I decided I was playing a long game and put the resources and team in place to give it the best chance to thrive. One book is a great thing, but I am under no illusion that I’m going to have some runaway best seller, what I am doing is creating a career over time.
Click here to check out Rebecca’s fun new book, Resting Witch Face on Amazon.
Rebecca is just about everywhere on social media. Check out her website and follow her at the links below.