Ask the Author: Rebecca Hunter
Answered Questions (6)
Rebecca Hunter
Ahhh, this is a tough one. I'm always changing my mind! I read a few books a week, so my favorite couple tends to be one from a great book I've read recently, a story with a couple that still feels very "alive" to me.
This last week, I was lucky enough to see Kristan Higgins and Brenda Novak speak. Kristan Higgins said that her favorite couple from her own books is Leo and Jenny from If You Only Knew, so of course I had to read it. I bought the book and started reading at 10 pm, telling myself I'd just read a couple chapters. Famous last words, right? Of course, I didn't go to sleep until I finished. In our early-rising family, staying up into the late hours of the night is a terrible idea, but the book was too good to put down.
Why do I love Leo and Jenny? I'm going to try not to give away the plot too much in my answer! Leo has so much sorrow that he hides behind a lazy, womanizing persona (says he's only "for recreational purposes"), and Jenny's still hurting from her divorce. Their exchanges are hilariously glib, but under the surface of these, they slowly let each other in... or sometimes Jenny finds a way in on her own. This growing closer/pushing apart between Jenny and Leo felt so real and, at times, very raw.
Leo's heart-breaking past easily could have resulted in an overly heavy story. The book does have a couple tear-jerking scenes, but by telling it through Jenny's point of view, Higgins manages to keep the tone hopeful. Her balance of tragedy and hope at the foundation of Leo and Jenny's relationship made me love them as a couple even more.
This last week, I was lucky enough to see Kristan Higgins and Brenda Novak speak. Kristan Higgins said that her favorite couple from her own books is Leo and Jenny from If You Only Knew, so of course I had to read it. I bought the book and started reading at 10 pm, telling myself I'd just read a couple chapters. Famous last words, right? Of course, I didn't go to sleep until I finished. In our early-rising family, staying up into the late hours of the night is a terrible idea, but the book was too good to put down.
Why do I love Leo and Jenny? I'm going to try not to give away the plot too much in my answer! Leo has so much sorrow that he hides behind a lazy, womanizing persona (says he's only "for recreational purposes"), and Jenny's still hurting from her divorce. Their exchanges are hilariously glib, but under the surface of these, they slowly let each other in... or sometimes Jenny finds a way in on her own. This growing closer/pushing apart between Jenny and Leo felt so real and, at times, very raw.
Leo's heart-breaking past easily could have resulted in an overly heavy story. The book does have a couple tear-jerking scenes, but by telling it through Jenny's point of view, Higgins manages to keep the tone hopeful. Her balance of tragedy and hope at the foundation of Leo and Jenny's relationship made me love them as a couple even more.
Rebecca Hunter
Nothing revolutionary, just the old-fashioned "work hard and you'll succeed" kind of thing. I ascribe to Nora Roberts' writing success formula, "Butt in chair."
Rebecca Hunter
I'm usually working on at least two projects in various states. I've been interested in the idea of a serial for a while, but I personally don't like being "pressured" to continue with a cliffhanger at the end. Instead, I came up with the idea of writing a short story series that follows a couple as they enter into a relationship. I'm looking for the appeal of a sitcom, where a reader returns each time to enter the world of familiar characters, and each episode ends with a degree of resolution. I just published "episode" #1 of 4 in the Stockholm Diaries, Alice on Kindle Unlimited. And I've finished a draft of episode #2.
I'm also in the middle of the first draft of a non-fiction book called The Reading Writer: An English Teacher’s Guide to Better Romance Writing Through Reading. And, as if that weren’t enough, I'm in the middle of a short story that will fit between the two Stockholm Diaries, Caroline stories with the working title, “Niklas in Italy.” After that, Caroline #2 is next!
I'm also in the middle of the first draft of a non-fiction book called The Reading Writer: An English Teacher’s Guide to Better Romance Writing Through Reading. And, as if that weren’t enough, I'm in the middle of a short story that will fit between the two Stockholm Diaries, Caroline stories with the working title, “Niklas in Italy.” After that, Caroline #2 is next!
Rebecca Hunter
Both the best and the worst thing about begin a writer is taking a jumble of ideas and turning them into a coherent story! Taking kernels of characters and plots and following them through to a finished product is a long project full of unexpected turns, much like juggling a dozen or so balls at the same time. The moments of realizations, the moments where the process moves along smoothly or the dialogue comes together in one, tight bundle—those are the best moments of being a writer. But for me, the worst part is the flip side of that same process, the unsuccessful struggle to figure out what isn’t working and how to fix it.
Rebecca Hunter
I have a strict daily word count, and I'll sit at my computer until I meet it, but the word count comes much faster some days than others. About a year ago, I read a great book called 2K-10K: Writing Faster, Writing Better, Writing More of What You Love, which was really helpful in this area. One of the author's many points is that when you're stuck in your writing, you probably either 1) don't know enough about that particular part or 2)don't find it interesting... which means your reader won't, either. Now I've wizened up a little, so as soon as I'm stuck, I'll look to see what in the plot is creating the block. But I should add that I'm not anywhere near 10K as a daily word count!
Rebecca Hunter
My husband is Swedish, and we have lived together in Sweden twice. Both times, I met women from around the world with interesting, unique stories about meeting Swedish men and moving to Sweden. These stories involved chance meetings, uncertain risks and sacrifice, all in the name of love. The whole Stockholm Diaries series is a kind of tribute to all these stories.
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