Guest Blogger Rebecca York/aka Ruth Glick

I've been reading books by Rebecca York for ages, so I couldn't believe she agreed to let me interview her. I am so glad I did.

Please help me welcome her and please ask her tons of questions.

Rebecca, what was your first published book and to whom did you sell it?

Would you believe, my first published book was DOLLHOUSE FURNITURE YOU CAN MAKE, for A. S. Barnes. I started off writing non-fiction and gradually switched to fiction. And I've kept up my non-fiction career with a number of cookbooks, including THE DIABETES SNACK MUNCH NIBBLE NOSH BOOK, which was a bestseller for the American Diabetes Association.

How many books did you write before selling one?

I had a ton of determination to sell. The dollhouse furniture book was the first book I wrote. I also sold my first novel, which was THE INVASION OF THE BLUE LIGHTS, a children's science fiction book. I wrote it in a class I took at my local community college, edited it mercilessly, and sent it out on my own. After holding it for nine months, an editor at Scholastic wrote me a two-page rejection letter. I knew that was a lot better than getting, "this doesn't meet our needs." So I did what the editor suggested and sold the book to her.

How many books have you published?

Well, I mostly sit in my sunroom and write, except when I'm traveling. So I've published 122 books.

What themes go through your books?

You want me to reveal my deepest secrets? Okay, I usually write about guys with deep emotional scars who can only be saved by the love of a good woman.

How would you best describe your books?

Don't ask me to write comedy. That's not me. My work leans toward the dark and dangerous. And I'm always shocked and happy when I can think of some humor to include.

How did you write with kids and deadlines?

When my kids were little, I wrote while they were at school. And when they were home, I made sure everyone knew that Mom had a job-writing. And she needed her work time.

Which other jobs have you had?

When I was in college, I worked in the admissions office. In graduate school, I was a teaching assistant, teaching freshman English and then world literature. Then when I had my kids, I wanted a job where I could work from home, I started writing for my local newspaper, then writing publicity for the library system.

What do you love most about writing and do you not like?

I love coming up with an idea and plotting it out. I don't love the first draft, because I hate facing a blank page. When I have my draft, I edit and edit and edit. Every book gets edited first on the screen. Then I print it out two or three times and edit on paper. Each time I do, I see things I missed. The cleaner it is, the better I see what's missing or what needs to be cut. I love the editing part because I love making each scene and each chapter better.

What are you writing now?

I'm plotting a book about a dragon shifter. Probably before I write it, I will write another Harlequin Intrigue about people caught in an assassination plot. It looks like the heroine's an innocent bystander. Then the hero finds out that she's up to her ears in the plot. But she has good reasons for joining a conspiracy of murderers.

What would you write if you could write anything you wanted to write?

Lucky for me, I'm doing what I love-writing romantic suspense, usually with paranormal elements. I love writing about people falling in love and working out a relationship against a background of suspense and danger.

Why do you write?

Writing is part of who I am. I can't imagine not doing it.

How do you write?

Well, on a laptop. I'd hate siting at a desk. I can take my laptop anywhere in the house. Mostly the sunroom or the living room. But if I want to be warm and cozy, I write in bed. I'm a plotter. I don't want to go ahead with a story, especially a suspense novel, until I know a lot about the plot. Plotting is a combination of hard work and fun. I love coming up with the twists that will make the book exciting. I always pick characters who will work well in my plot, but I don't know them really well until I start writing the first chapters of the book.

Do you write what you know?

Sometimes I wrote what I know. I set a lot of books near my home in Howard County, Maryland. But my imagination plays a big role in what I write. I mean, I don't know any werewolves or dragon shifters personally. But I love making them up and spending hours with them while I write their stories.

What's next for you?

More of the same, I hope. I love getting to write shorter books for Harlequin Intrigue and longer ones for Berkley. In August, MORE THAN A MAN will be out. It's one of the Harlequin Intrigue 60th Anniversary books. The hero has lived for more than 500 years, and once again he's met a woman he could love. But can he open himself to the pain of loss? At the same time, a ruthless millionaire with a fatal disease wants to find out the hero's secret of longevity. And he will use any means to force him to cooperate.


Rebecca York (aka Ruth Glick) ** http://www.rebeccayork.com/

ETERNAL MOON, Berkley, 4/09
MORE THAN A MAN, Hqn Intrigue, 8/09
MAMMOTH BOOK OF VAMPIRE ROMANCE, Running Press, 8/08