13 Questions with...Rebecca Carter

1. You’re hosting a dinner party. What is the menu, and do you cook it yourself, or do you call a caterer? 
Pasta and french bread pizzas. I'm a horrible cook but, if I do say so myself, I can make some awesome pasta dishes. I wouldn't hire a caterer, that's just not the kind of person I am. We even had Chick-Fil-A trays at my wedding instead of hiring someone to cater it.

2. What is your beverage of choice?
Mountain Dew. I'm addicted. 

3. Physical book Vs an E-Reader. Your preference and why?
Nothing can beat the way that a physical book feels and smells and flipping pages is satisfying in a way that scrolling on a screen can't be. I appreciate eBooks but there are things they can't replace. 

4. What kinds of books make up your personal library?
Unfortunately my library is understocked at the moment, but we were very tight on space until recently. If you looked at my bookshelf you would see lots of Accounting and Networking textbooks alternating between non fiction books on religion, mythology, history and art/film history. I love non fiction. Most of the fiction I read are shorts downloaded online, even though I prefer a physical book sometimes it isn't practical. 

5. How and when did you catch the writing bug?
I have been writing since I could remember but I only decided to continue to pursue writing in 2010. I was really disappointed in the horror genre and knew I had better stories to tell than what was coming out so I self published as a (successful) exercise. Now thousands of people own something that I wrote and that is very, very addictive. I couldn't stop now.

6. What is your writing routine? 
I don't have one. When I get an idea or the urge to write I just do it. My brain works at a thousand miles a minute so I have to let it go where it wants or I will lose the thought. 

7. If you ever encounter writer’s block, what steps do you take to get past it?
I just walk away for as long as it takes for me to want to finish a story. That probably doesn't work for someone on a deadline, but that's what it takes for me.

8. Do you have a hidden talent?
Is balancing ledgers a hidden talent? No? I guess probably not. Writing really is my "hidden talent". Sales Manager by day, horror author by every other waking minute.

9. What was your best subject in school?
Accounting. I was getting a business degree and in my first accounting class I realized that I liked it-and everyone else hated it. I switched to Accounting and got my degree in it.

10. As in any entertainment, there are current trends. How much do these “current trends” influence what you write?
I try not to let them influence me greatly but I have to admit that the reason I wrote "Hunger" for Moonlit Daydreams is I knew that there were people really into vampires and that if I left out a vampire story I would be isolating a big customer base. In the end I think I made sure it wasn't a paranormal vampire romance and I made the story mine.

11. Mac or PC?
PC! Mac's were great back in the day when you couldn't do what you needed on a PC. Now a Mac is just three times the cost with none of the customization. Then again I used to work in networking technical support, so my needs may be different than some other peoples.

12. Where do your ideas come from?
My brain. All kidding aside, I really don't know how to answer this one. I try and make my stories female centric because no one else does. Women are really overlooked as the "bad guy" or "the monster" unless there is a man romantically involved; we really deserve an equal run as the antagonist. 

13 What advice would you pass on to an aspiring author? 
Write for you first, your genre second, your fans third and the publishers last. If you can't get your work out with a publisher you can do it yourself. I didn't even try with a traditional publisher because that wasn't the vision I had. Don't compromise your art but don't forget the genre you are writing for. If you want genre fans to accept your work you have to respect their lines (or blow them out of the water if you're writing horror).