Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Meet Becca Dale
I met Becca on Facebook ~ a friend suggestion by Valerie Mann. Here is the interview I did with her. Be sure to check out her works!Where are you from? I am from the lovely but quiet state of South Dakota, and I cannot imagine living anywhere else. When and why did you begin writing? I started writing in elementary school when I would make up stories for my friends. My mother still has copies of my middle school poetry too in which I often lament unrequited love. So I guess I was focused on romance almost from the beginning. How many stories have you written? More than I can count. Unfortunately, most of them exist only in my head, but if you could read them, I’m sure you’d love them. LOL Have any of them been published? I have three ebooks available – four if you count the freebie from Phaze called “Woodland Wonder.” I also have several in the works which I hope to have published in hardcopy. Are the characters in your stories based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Quite often my characters start out based on people I know or things that have happened to me, but usually they take on a life of their own. It doesn’t matter what I intended in the beginning. They all become their own people and often do things I don’t expect. My heroes have a little of my hubby in their personality as I think he’s about perfect, but none of them are much like him otherwise. What/who inspires you to write? That’s a tough one to answer. I guess I do. Originally, my teachers wanted me to express myself in writing, and my mother encouraged me to read and write all the time. Mostly though it’s the voices in my head screaming to get out that make me sit down at the computer. Before I had a PC (yes, I’m really that old), I used to keep a notebook by my bed so I could write down what the voices told me in the night. I know it sounds completely crazy but I cannot remember a time when ideas for novels weren’t bouncing around in my skull. I do try to control them when I’m in public though. ;-D What books have most influenced your life? I should say Shakespeare’s plays or some novel of “literary” merit, but honestly, I used to read Barbara Cartland all the time in middle school. She wrote cheesy, sweet and innocent romance novels that were calm enough so Mom didn’t freak out. I later moved up to Janet Daily in high school and Jude Deveraux in the early years of my marriage. Jude’s work is certainly more realistic, explicit and sensual than Barbara’s, but they still had that battle of the sexes thing going on. I guess those and gritty, realistic works like Their Eyes Were Watching God have impacted me more than the traditional works from the cannon. As an English major, I’m not sure I am allowed to say that, but it’s true. I emulate those books because I love a good escape that allows the reader to experience love and if it ends happily then what could be better?Who is your favorite author? Jude Deveraux and Zora Neale Hurston traditionally, but recently I found Lora Leigh and the Breed Series. If you’re into a little cross species fantasy, her work is hot. What book are you reading now? A world Geography textbook – weird I know. My understanding of geography stinks so I’m trying to expand my grasp of the world and its governments. I think Political Science will be next. What are your current projects? Mostly, I am busy playing mom even though my kids have both moved out. I’m helping my son remodel his home into a duplex so he can afford the payments and helping my youngest make curtains for her dorm room so my personal projects tend to get put on hold. I am really excited about a first person novel that I’m working on though. I don’t usually like first person point of view, but here would be an example of a character taking over. It started out as an experiment to see if I could write in that format but then Teri (the heroine) took over and demanded I finish her story. I love her and the hero so I have no choice but to complete it. I think readers will like it as well. A few people have taken a look at the beginning and told me to run with it. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest story? No. I love both Trea and Jason from Tied Up with Green. It was a challenge for me to write as it has a little bondage in it and the heroine is much more confident than I am, but it was fun to write and the bondage wound up to be a freeing element for characters and me. Can you share a little of your current work with us? Sure. Here is a self-introduction by the main character from Promises-Promises cleaned up a bit for the casual reader.Let me start this story by saying I’m not a dog. I am perfectly capable of getting a date when I need one. Mostly, I’m a little above average looking, but not beautiful with small boobs and a big mouth. I’m a definite extrovert who loves kids and hates cats. Summation, I don’t want to wind up old and alone with no kids and a house full of felines trained to crap in the toilet so I don’t have to deal with a litter box. As you can tell, I’ve thought about this a bit. In fact, I contemplated putting the above description on a dating webpage, but my best friend Cass laughed her ass off when I showed it to her. Like many American women pushing forty, I long ago tired of playing the boyfriend game. I decided to avoid the whole messy middle step of marriage and have a child on my own. I thought about a sperm bank but I couldn’t afford it. That’s why I chose to have a kid the old fashioned way—find a guy I could tolerate sleeping with and get pregnant. The only catch was I needed to know his medical history so I could handle the no condom thing, but I didn’t want to get too friendly with him because then he might want to have a say in my son or daughter’s life. I actually wanted the guy to be disposable but I couldn’t find a dildo to do the job. I needed a man from out of town, somebody I could use and forget. I’m an HR consultant and travel a lot for my job, so I figured I’d wait until I had to speak at an out of town convention and find my mark. Anyway, that’s why I walked into the bar that Thursday night determined to get laid; well, not just laid, pregnant. It wouldn’t be easy. Nothing in the world ever is, but I was stubborn enough to give it an honest try. The crowded bar swarmed with men and women on the market for relationships or sex. I fell somewhere in between. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? I can’t write bad guys. I work with kids who have often been labeled as bad kids or trouble makers and I love them. As a result I have a hard time believing that anyone is all bad. My bad guys often come out stiff because I feel like I leave out part of their character. As soon as I figure out how to write a sweet and charming bad guy who still qualifies as a villain, you’ll see a lot more of them in my books.What was the hardest part of writing your book? I hate editing. I suppose most writers say the same thing. I want to tell the story and make people laugh or cry or something, but I don’t want to go back and look for the little details like missing commas or wrong words even though it has to be done.Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? I learned that I could do it. It is scary to put myself out there, but my first positive review was a real confidence builder. Now I’m a junkie for the rush of a novel release. Do you have any advice for other writers? Make yourself do the stuff you hate so you can celebrate the fun parts. I can’t write the end of a story before it’s flushed out, or I will not go back and finish it. For me the joy of writing comes in finding out what happens just like with reading. Some authors have outlines and everything all laid out before they start. That’s great if it motivates you, but don’t let people tell you your method is wrong. Plow through the tough stuff and dance naked with the rest.Is there anything you want to say to your readers? Thank you. I feel so blessed to have readers. I don’t make much money from my work, but I gain a great deal from sending my stories into the world and hearing that they made someone smile. Even as a kid, I appreciated nothing more than feedback from my friends when I got a story right. Where can we find your books?Phaze Publishing ~ http://www.phaze.com is the main site and where you can find my free story. Or this will take you directly to the page that lists my titles http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Becca+Dale/exact_match=exact My releases are also available through Amazon and FictionwiseWhere can we find you on the web? Visit me on Facebook, myspace, and blogger.com http://beccadale.blogspot.com/What do you like to do when you're not writing? I do everything and nothing at all. I hang with family, watch shows like NCIS, Bones and Drop Dead Diva, sew, read, ride motorcycle with my hubby, and garden. I do not clean. Well I do, but not by choice. I wish I knew a couple of little housework elves who would come in and do the laundry and cleaning while I slept. That’s not asking too much is it? A girl’s gotta have a dream. Thanks for having me visit, Cara.
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