This week I am thrilled to be interviewing author Rebecca L. Marsh. Rebecca will be sharing with us details of her writing life, telling us all about her new book ‘Where Hope is Found‘, which was released on 28th September 2020, and answering a few fun questions too. This post contains affiliate links.

Rebecca L. Marsh is an author of women’s fiction and a member of the Paulding County Writer’s Guild. She grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina and now lives in Dallas, Georgia with her husband and daughter.

When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family (cats and dog included), watching movies, and reading a good book. Rebecca occasionally makes home-made candy and works on her scrapbooks (she is woefully behind).

Her novels, When the Storm Ends, The Rift Between Us, and Where Hope is Found are available on Amazon in paperback and kindle format. Signed paperbacks are also available on her website.

Yes, I started writing when I was twelve and continued to write through middle and high school. In my early adulthood, I stopped writing for several years. I did so for two reasons. First, because I didn’t feel I had enough life experience to write the kind of stories I wanted to write. And second, because my attention was on other life goals.

I can’t say that any particular author had much impact on me as a child. I know this is strange, but I wasn’t that kid with her nose in a book. I did grow to enjoy reading later, but I also enjoy stories in the form of movies and TV shows. When I decided to start writing, it was more of a compulsion than a desire. It’s hard to explain that and I don’t know any better way to put it. I simply felt like I was supposed to write.

My first novel was a story that had been in my head for many years but had always been one that I couldn’t quite straighten out. It was like scattered puzzle pieces in my head. I had all these ideas of what I wanted to do with it, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it all work. Then, just before my daughter started pre-school, the story came back into my mind in a big way and all the pieces started to fall together.

I began to use one morning a week (while my child was at pre-school) to work on it. This means it was slow going and fixing it up after was equally slow.

I’m more of a pantser. I work out a sketchy road map in my head and then figure the rest out as I go.

I don’t know that I have an average day. I do always write at the desk in my living room on a desktop computer (I don’t type well on a laptop). I generally write in the afternoon, but I don’t do it every day. Some days I use the time to focus on marketing or to edit.

The best thing for me is doing what I feel I was meant to do. I also love to hear from readers and get their thoughts and feelings about my books.

For this book, Where Hope is Found, the research was mostly of a medical nature and I’m lucky to have a great friend (who happens to have become a friend the same year I began writing) who is a nurse. I did also get some information from another friend from my local writer’s guild who used to be a police officer.

I’m actually not sure. While this is the third book I finished, it was the second one that I started. I went back and forth a couple times.

I’ve never felt like it was a conscious choice. I write the stories that come to me and they are all emotional stories. Perhaps that’s because those are the stories that affect me the most when I read or watch them.

Again, I don’t really know. Sometimes I do spend time trying to think up names to use or ask other people for ideas, but a lot of the time the names for the main characters just seem to come to me with the story.

Well, Marissa is probably the least self-assured character I’ve written so far. She isn’t naturally strong or bold. That is what makes her journey toward healing a bigger climb than it might be for someone who is more in tune with their own well of strength.

Owen is a big-hearted guy who steps up to help those in need and who chooses, for the most part, to avoid technology. He is viewed as odd by those in his community and mostly embraces that identity.

There is a sense of joy with the completion of each book, but as any writer comes to know, that is really only the beginning.

I honestly can’t say that I do.

Yes, I have a dog and two cats.

I don’t really keep a list, however, I’m currently reading Savage Run by C.J. Box and will soon read I Not Buddy by Kameo Monson, a writer friend of mine.

Hum. I’d be super excited about my book being made into a movie. I’d be worried they’d change things, and it would end up not being the same story I wrote. And I’d be nervous about being seen on film personally.

Interesting question. It would be fascinating to visit the world in the Wingbound series written by Heather Trim (a friend of mine who also designed my book covers). I’m not a big reader of fantasy, but I have read her books and it would be interesting to see what a floating island looks like.

If I were to choose a location in one of my own books, I’d probably choose to visit Princess Island in my most recent book since I love the beach.

“Your desk needs to be cleaned up.”

I would like to say a big thank you to Rebecca L. Marsh for sharing with us details of her writing life and for a wonderful interview.

Share your thoughts on our interview with Rebecca L. Marsh in the comment section below!