1: Why did you join the social networks, such as Twitter and Facebook?

Rebecca: I obtained my very first computer two and a half years ago because I had handwritten a novel. I knew I needed help with it, but didn’t know where to turn. I knew how to work a computer a little bit at the time, but it’s been a struggle. I pestered many authors on Twitter and Facebook for help. I feel bad about this, but I love to read and figured if I read enough of their books, wrote reviews, and tweeted about those reviews; they’d help me. I was right. By all of this reading, my writing improved. I am still reading other Indie authors’ books, writing reviews and tweeting about them with pleasure. I then obtained a wonderful writing coach, author, Des Birch. My next writing coach was author, Scott Bury. I don’t know what I would have done without them.

2: Was it frightening for you to publish your first book?

Rebecca: I was terrified. I started out only posting my works on my blog. I started getting positive feedback. This is when I decided it was time to improve my stories and self-publish them.

3: What are you writing now?

Rebecca: The first thing I self-published was a novella called Messages from Henry. I then published a short story called Rag Doll. So many reviewers said they wanted to read more about Henry, the pigeon hero, I have now sent Henry to England. I have never been to England. Therefore, I had to choose an author from England to help me write it. I chose Francis Potts (@FPotts on Twitter). It’s working well. I’m laughing to myself because Francis is doing most of the writing. I add segments, and correct the American slang.

4: While writing, do you disconnect from the internet?

Rebecca: Yes, I have to. I often leave my house, walk to my waterfall with a pad and pencil, and sit and write. Of course, I usually have at least three cats by my side, while I write. As I write, I speak aloud. They like this.

5: With the number of hours spent writing, do family members support you or complain about the time spent away from them?

Rebecca: This has been a huge problem for me. I have spoken to many authors about this. The advice I got the most was to include my husband in the writing process. I’ve done so and it’s worked well. I give my husband a lot of credit for the success of my novella and the twist he came up with for Rag Doll. Now that I’m writing my third book, I’ve had to set-up a date night with him. Well, that’s become two date nights per week, but I’m not complaining.

6: I know you like tweeting and reading. Would you say you tweet more, read more or spend more time writing?

Rebecca: I now spend most of my time writing. I used to read a minimum of three hours per day. Now, I’m so exhausted from the research, tweeting, and writing; I fall asleep after one hour of reading per night.

7: Have you ever used any family members as Beta readers?

Rebecca: I started out using many Beta readers in the beginning of my writing career, but now I only use my husband and my sister. You know all about my experiences with Beta readers, for I wrote a guest blog about it here on your blog. (Rebecca’s post can be read here: goo.gl/9fz8d)

8: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Rebecca: My advice would be to do things just as I’ve done. Use Beta readers, listen to them, ask other published authors for help, and keep reading books. The more one reads, the more they learn about writing styles, punctuation, and many other things. They should also read the reviews written for the books they loved. Reviewers divulge a lot of information. Pay close attention to what they found the most interesting parts of a book.

9: Where can readers go to find your books? 

Rebecca: Messages from Henry: http://t.co/pbW31dL UK: http://t.co/srMAL7 US: http://t.co/6ncPTIZ  RAG DOLL US: http://t.co/U2Rst6Z UK: http://t.co/pbW31dL

My blog: http://scarberryfieldsforever.blogspot.com and I am on Twitter as @Scarberryfields here: http://twitter.com/Scarberryfields