Romance With Twist and Rebecca J. Vickery

One of the great things about the genre of romance is the way no two stories are alike. There isn't a formula for writing romance. The only basis we have to set our stories by is the concept of Happily Ever After.

Sure there were some who ventured outside the box. Juliet didn't her Romeo. And Frankly, My Dear, it was awhile before Scarlet landed Rhett. But, it's always the hope of that "Awww" moment that keeps a reader hooked into our little worlds until the very end.

Last week, we met an author who likes the sizzlin' side of romance. Today, we're getting the chance to take a glimpse into the mind of Rebecca J. Vickery. Her stories are no less steamy, they just require the reader's imagination to fill in what happens behind the perverbial closed door.

SURVIVING WITH LOVE is Rebecca J. Vickery's newest release and is scheduled to hit next month. Here is an excerpt from what is sure to be a thrilling page-turner.

Sparks start flying when Stacey Parker meets ex-military hostage rescuer, Cord McConnell,and she begins to wonder if they will survive this assignment in the wilderness without killing each other.

Cord McConnell felt someone step from the woods. He wasn’t prepared for the sight of a young girl with a wild mane of strawberry blond curls who claimed to be his tracker. “I won’t wait on you if you fall behind and I don’t like whiners. I’m in charge and you do exactly as I say, regardless. Understand?”

"I won’t wait on you if you fall behind either, and whining is for dogs. You’re welcome to be in charge and I’ll follow orders when I agree with them,” She walked from the clearing without waiting to see if the man who sent her senses spinning would follow.

Amazingly enough, Rebecca agreed to answer a few questions for me. So, let's get to it!

1) If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

Meet a Christian wife, mother, and grandmother who loves to write happy ever after romances with a twist; enjoys reading, RVing, and fishing; loves to meet everyone who reads my work; and believes in the Pass It Forward code.

2)Romance today is very diversified-there is something for everyone- What would you say separates your books from other romance novels?

My books always have a happy ending, though not always the one you expect, and I include a twist of adventure, mystery, suspense, or a paranormal gift to keep things interesting along the way. And though sensual at times, my work never contains crude language or sexually explicit scenes.

3)Best advice for new writers?

Be true to yourself, write what you enjoy, and what you know. Your enthusiasm for what you like will shine through in your work and above all don’t give up.

4)Do the ideas for your books come to you as individual scenes or in segments of words?

My book ideas usually come to me as concepts or themes at first. Almost like a “what if.” What if a tracker had to help find some criminals? What if this tracker were an attractive girl? A tough guy would have to be the hero to keep up with her. Where would you need a tracker and how does the tough guy get involved? These are the sort of questions I work out in my mind before I ever start putting words down on paper (or into the computer). And I have on occasion dreamed the idea for a book. That happened with another coming release, Looking Through The Mist. The idea for a book I’m currently writing was sparked by a 30 second clip on TV that mentioned underground Seattle.

5)For your new release Surviving With Love- How did you do the research? Firsthand knowledge? How in depth do you get with research?

I do the majority of my research online if the setting is out of my general area. Once I select an area, like the Bitterroot Wilderness Area of Idaho, I copy a very good map that shows geographical features as well as towns and rivers. Then I had to read everything I could find about trackers and wilderness guides. Plus I had to study hostage rescue preparations. Law enforcement contacts helped me there. The depth of the research depends on the story itself. I have a lot of firsthand knowledge about camping, but not the weather in the Idaho mountains. So I researched the weather there more than I researched camping procedures. And I try to never include so much research that the reader feels they are back in school.

6)Your heroines- Are they pieces of you or people you know?

I think all writers tend to include snippets of people they know or have met in their characters at times. Stacey loves coffee and chocolate and has a smart mouth. That was me at twenty-one. Some of my other heroines contain characteristics I wish I had or wish I could get rid of. I try to make my heroines a lot like you or me and put them in an unusual setting or circumstance. It goes back to writing what you know.

7)What is a guilty reading pleasure?

Promise not to laugh, but I love to read limericks and I can’t resist the joke pages in the Reader’s Digest.

8)Now, the part everyone secretly looks for! Do you have an Oopsie Moment from when you were a new writer?

Until I have a bestseller, I still consider myself to be a new writer. My oopsie moments are many and include being unable to post a copy of my book cover during my first ever online chat. It was so embarrassing when a fellow writer finally took pity and posted it for me without a bit of trouble. I also sent in a great query letter for a submission once and forgot to attach the manuscript to it. (Anyone else ever done that?) Needless to say I got no response. LOL And I once posted a copy of my contract on a group site instead of sending it to the publisher. There are more but I think I’ve embarrassed myself enough.

Thanks so much Rebecca for being such a good sport! I appreciate you taking time away from your work to be here with us today. And once again THANK YOU to all the vistors. We're in this together!

Amazingly enough, Rebecca has another book due out in July AND another in October. Now, there is inspiration in it's purest form!

Surviving With Love in May 09
Looking Through The Mist in July 09,
Following Destiny in Oct 09

For more information on Rebecca J. Vickery go to:
Publisher links http://www.classactbooks.com/comingsoon.html
http://www.romancewithatwist.com