Author Interview: Rebekah Purdy

Today Astraea Press is pleased to announce the release of three new books! Please surf your way over to our website Astraea Press to download one (or all) that catch your eye.

To celebrate our new books, Astraea will be featuring each new author for the next few days with today's honoring Rebekah Purdy. Rebekah is the author of My Dad’s a Paranormal Investigator: Seeking Shapeshifters. Rebekah took the opportunity to share a few aspects of what inspires her and answers a few questions we posted.

From Rebekah:

My first YA book entitled: My Dad’s a Paranormal Investigator: Seeking Shapeshifters and I’m totally geeked about it. So much so, I find myself gazing at the cover far too much (LOL).

It was definitely fun to write, especially the scenes where my character is actually on investigations with her dad/friends. I’ll be the first to admit that it takes a lot of time to put a story together. From the character sketches to the settings/research, to the writing and editing. Then, of course, my favorite—the PLAYLISTS (you wouldn’t believe how long it takes to pick the perfect songs).

I know, I know. You’re asking what do playlists have to do with writing? And my answer is EVERYTHING! When I’m writing I like to create a certain mood, depending on the scene in the story. For example, if I’m writing a romantic first kiss scene, I want music that kind of puts it in that moment. It’s easier to focus and envision the details when I have the “mood” music playing. For instance, I LOVE Ray Lamontagne, Robert Pattinson (seriously, I’ve come across some acoustic music of his that’d melt your heart), and Taylor Swift for these types of songs. They also work well if there’s a break up or something sad happens. You know, the songs that make you want to bawl your head off.

Same for a fight or battle scene. I tend to listen to heavier music for this to help get to the “grit”. One of my favorite bands for this is Skillet (which happens to be a Christian Rock band). I mean, let’s face it, if I’m listening to something like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I’m probably not going to be in the same mind frame to connect with the characters’ emotions for that particular part of the story.

Since I spend a lot of time commuting for work, I have my car radio on a lot. There are times a song comes on and they fit my story perfectly. And I’ve got to pull over and write down the name and artist so I can add it to my playlist. There’s just something about music that helps to connect with my writing/characters/plotlines.

So each story gets a notebook for research/character info, they get a blurb, and they get a playlist! How about you? Do you use playlists for anything?

Make sure to check out my blurb below! And drop by my blog during February for your chance to win a copy of My Dad’s a Paranormal Investigator: Seeking Shapeshifters, as well as a gift card to Barnes & Noble! Blog: http://rebekahlpurdy.wordpress.com/

Be sure to check out my book trailer: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/SistersWhoWrite?feature=mhum

Sixteen year old Ima Berry (pronounced I’m a) leads anything but a normal life. For starters, the ridiculous name her eccentric dad gave her is always the opening for a good joke. Not to mention the fact he makes his living as a supernatural investigator, which has them moving around every few months. It’s hard to hang out with new friends when she spends all her time trying to prove the existence of Bigfoot, ghosts, fairies and any other number of paranormal creatures. Unfortunately, the cases always end in disaster. That is until now.

On a whim, Ima’s father decides to move them to Point Hope, Alaska. Here, he plans to investigate the possibility of shifters amongst the Inuit tribes. Ima isn’t thrilled with the move, until she meets an Inuit guy named Carsen. Not only is he hot, but he’s also a star basketball player, and he’s interested in her. Too bad his best friend, Talon, doesn’t like her and takes every opportunity he can to discourage the relationship. Ima has no idea what she’s done to make him mad, but there’s no denying the strange connection between them.

As things grow more serious with Carsen, Ima uncovers a secret about him and some of the residents of Point Hope. A secret that will force her to choose between her father’s already dwindling career and her new found love. And with the knowledge of this secret comes danger…a danger that could cost them their lives.

Tell us how your book came into existence: Actually my MC’s (main character’s) dad is loosely based on my husband. He used to take our kids and their friends out on Bigfoot hunts, ghost hunts etc. So I thought, hey, what if I had a character whose dad was a paranormal investigator, and what if they were on a reality show. Throw into the mix a little forbidden romance and wah-la! A story was born!

Tell us about your writing routine: Most of my writing time is done during my lunch breaks at work. And since I have a government job, I also use my government holidays to work on stories.

What inspires you? Music, pictures, being out in nature (like lakes/rivers/woods).

How do you get through writer's block? I force myself to write. For me it’s all about getting words down on paper. Even if that means only 50 words. My philosophy, any word count is better than no word count.

Do you have any themes you write around? I write a lot of Fantasy/Paranormal Romance stories, and one reoccurring theme tends to be the good vs evil. I blame it on my Star Wars obsession (LOL).

What are you working on next? It’s TOP SECRET (LOL). All I can tell you is that I’m ½ through writing it. It’s a YA Fantasy/Fairytale type story, with lots of humor. It has to do with happily-ever-afters, wishes, and well my MC inheriting a job that she might not be cut out to do!

Tell us one thing about you that your readers would never suspect: I can’t cook! LOL. My hubby does pretty much all the cooking in our house. Although, I do make a mean grill cheese and tuna casserole. But yeah, I’m so NOT Betty Crocker! You’re talking to the girl who broiled frozen pizza (maybe that’s why it burned). To make matters worse, I only eat white meat, which means we normally have two pans of any dishes made…

What do you love most about Astraea? Okay, it’s a tie between the awesome staff (you ladies are fabulous), and the focal point of Astraea Press filling the market with sweeter stories. Most of the YA books I read have edgier themes, so it’s nice to be able to see a publisher trying to fill in a gap for those teens who want something else.