*shrieks* It's release day for
The Princess and I! In honor of this occasion, I am hosting an interview with author Rebekah Eddy.
Megan is content with her life, despite her parents' death and her brother Malcolm's job that keeps him busy at the King's castle. But when she is offered the position as Princess Christine's lady-in-waiting, Megan is glad of the change in scenery and accepts it with the hope that she can spend more time with her brother. The promise from Malcolm of lessons in swordsmanship only adds to her enthusiasm.
However, helping keep an eye on the emotional and excitable young lady proves to be much harder than becoming her friend. As rumors of war circulate the castle, Megan strives to encourage her new friend even as she tries to settle the doubts and fears in her own heart when her responsibility in protecting the Princess is put to the test. Follow the unwanted adventure which serves to teach her that loyal friendship, true love, and God's amazing grace will always triumph over revenge, greed, and hate.
Alea: Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be an author.
Rebekah: I wasn't serious about writing when I first started. I think at the beginning it was more like "writing books is cool" then "I want to be an author". It wasn't until I was twelve or thirteen when I thought that my love of writing might actually turn into something. When I self published the first edition of "The Silver Flower" and it came in the mail, I was able to hold it my hands and say "This is my book!" I think THAT was the moment I decided to really get serious about writing and become a true author. I started ordering books from the library on writing and editing, paying more attention to other writer's blogs, and joined the awesome community on here where I could connect with other Christian teens who had the same goal as me: to use our gift of writing to encourage and bless others while bringing glory to God.
Alea: What an awesome story! Why did you choose to be an independently published author?
Rebekah: Well, it's a WHOLE lot less expensive and less time consuming then finding a publisher. :) Also, it's a bit more relaxing when you're the one deciding when you want to publish your book and then publishing it. And, as I mentioned before, I first self-published when I was twelve...so I wasn't ready to bring my story to a serious publisher yet. Maybe someday I will...but for now, I'm happy with this system. Lulu has been amazing, and I highly recommend their website if you are a writer looking for an easy (and fairly cheap) way to get your story looking professional. ;)
Alea: I've used Lulu to print my book, but never to publish. Thanks for sharing! Favorite writing snack?
Rebekah: I...don't usually eat while writing. Sometimes, I bring a snack over to where I'm writing and think I'm going to eat it. But then I always forget it's there. XD If I do feel peckish during a writing splurge I might try to convince a sibling to bring me something like apple slices or crackers and cheese.
I do drink a variety of hot beverages while writing though. Tea, coffee, apple cider, and hot chocolate to name a few. Do those count as a snack?
Alea: Those absolutely count. Coffee and tea are my writing fuel. Now I have a very evil question for you. Who are your top 3 favorite authors?
Rebekah: Ooooohhh, you're treading dangerous ground here, Alea...but since you were kind enough to create such a fabulous cover for me...I'll let you get away with it this once. ;)
Out of ALL my favorite authors out there, it was hard to bring it down to three. I narrowed down the list to the authors that were most influential to my own writing and finally down to three ABSOLUTE favorites from them. Here they are in no particular order:
C. S. Lewis
J. R. R. Tolkien
Jane Austen
There you are. The secret is out.
Alea: Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Rebekah! I am stoked that your book is now released to the world! To all of you readers out there, I encourage you to pick up your copy of The Princess and I and check out the other blog tour stops.
Rebekah grew up surrounded by family members who appreciated and read good literature. First, she fell in love with the stories her parents read aloud to her from the Bible and books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Great Expectations, The Hobbit, and Anne of Green Gables. After learning to read on her own, she discovered other fantastic books which helped to build her ever-growing imagination.
She completed her first written work at the tender age of eight and now uses it to humble herself whenever the need arises. The story did serve to show her that God had given her a desire to write, however, and from that moment on Rebekah has never looked back or regretted picking up her pencil and becoming an author.
This eighteen-year-old homeschool graduate lives in rainy Western Washington and is currently working on receiving her BA in English in order to further her passion for creating worlds on paper.
My dad, sister, and I stayed a couple of days at Disney. We just got back home today, which is why I didn't post until later. This morning, at Animal Kingdom, I wore my writer shirt again (mostly because the Disney trip was spontaneous and I didn't plan ahead). Savannah and I were in line for Dinosaur. A cast member asked me how many were in my party and I said two. Then she stopped and looked at my shirt. Her face suddenly lit up and I thought she was going to hug me. Then she said, "I need to frame that shirt in my room to explain to my mom why I have papers all over my room." I kept grinning as I got on the ride. So my tip of the day is to always wear some sort of writing/fandom shirt when you go to a theme park because you might meet someone like you!
