Q: Tell us a little about your experience with PublishAmerica.
A: So many people say negative things about PublishAmerica. I have had a few run-ins; however, they have done most of what they promised to do. They printed the books, made them available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and through Ingram, Baker & Taylor. They created pretty good cover art for each book. They have provided some review copies, though not as many as I would have liked. They didn’t ask me for any money and they usually answer my questions. Although I have been unhappy with a couple of things, it’s not anything that would have deterred me from going with PA for my first couple of books.
Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I try everything. I spend hours online each night looking for different ways to promote. If I see something on another website that catches my eye, I think about how I could adapt it for use with my books. Some things work, some things don’t. It doesn’t hurt to try them on for size.
Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Don’t get discouraged by other people’s negativity. You have your own to contend with. There will always be people out there who make it their mission in life to keep you from following your dream. We’ll never know why, but we should keep in mind that those people simply don’t matter. Let them have their own misery and don’t get tangled up in their attitudes.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: My latest book, Under Lock and Key: The Rona Shively Stories is the second book in the Rona Shively series. In this book, Rona tries to maintain her sanity while facing some serious conflicts. Her new boyfriend is acting squirrelly, her old boyfriend is out of jail and has his sights set on her, her sister and nieces are visiting from out of town and as usual, her client is a little on the strange side. Between the old memories and old flames, Rona is just plain frazzled. By the time this one is over, she’s got some big decisions to make.
Q: What’s your favorite genre to write in and why?
A: I really enjoy writing in the mystery genre. I am an avid mystery reader, so this is a place where I feel comfortable on either side of the book. Mystery allows you to do wonderful things with your character. She can fall in and out of love, she can kill people, she can do nice things (heaven forbid), she can find the bad guys or she can just pick up and leave. There’s always something screwy going on somewhere and you can embellish on real-life cases or make up your own craziness. I have a lot of fun with my characters and I like seeing just how far I can go with something. I was always a fan of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, writing a mystery is ten thousand times better.
Q: What types of research do you do for your books?
A: I do a lot of internet research, library research, etc. As I said earlier, I read a lot so between my own experiences and the books I’ve read over the years I can put some interesting things together. If there’s something I don’t know a lot about, for instance, I’m not extremely well-versed in firearms, I can ask my husband. He’s very knowledgeable about guns. He tells me when my character should have released a safety or some little thing that I wouldn’t have known. I’m not afraid to call people and ask questions about things I don’t fully understand. The fact that I do a lot of investigating is kind of funny since I write about a sarcastic, little woman who investigates for a living. Vicarious living at its finest.
Q: What authors inspired you growing up?
A: Growing up, I read Laura Ingalls Wilder and VC Andrews. I loved reading their stories over and over. If I can get lost in a story and visualize the characters as I read, then I know I’m reading an author who truly cares about their writing. I have the same respect and admiration for Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, and James Patterson. These writers pour themselves into their stories and you can really get into their books. They continue to inspire me to make my characters and storylines as believable and true-to-life as possible.
LINKS:
http://www.rebeccabenstonwrites.com
http://www.theronashivelystories.com
http://www.wordsiview.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/rebeccabenston
