Continuation of Interview with Rebecca Graf

What is the next book in the Redemption series going to be about? When do you plan on releasing it?
I mentioned earlier that it will be on the Garden of Gethsemane. A nightingale sees Jesus come into the garden along with the eleven disciples. He describes the intensity of Jesus’ prayers, the blood that came from His skin, the angel administering to Him, and the betrayal. I really loved telling this one and I saw it myself through different eyes.

Reiny is working on the pictures now. After that it is a matter of editing and formatting. I’m hoping to have it out by spring.


How do you choose a good editor?
Sometimes it is by trial and error. There are a lot of editors out there that do nothing more than proofread which is not at all like editing. I think you choose a good editor by reading what others say about them and how good their work is. I chose mine by getting to know her and the work that she edits. Seeing firsthand is one of the best ways. If you have doubts about an editor, give them something small at first such as an article or a short story. See how you like their work then.


As a writer, how did it feel to place the book you had written in someone else's hands to edit?
Nervous. Mostly because I was afraid of what someone else would think of my work. That always terrifies me. Worried about someone messing with my words or butchering them? Not too much because I still had my original work. What was the worse that could happen? They didn’t like or they butchered it. I would just go back to my original words and start with someone else. I just hoped they liked it.


When did you realize that you were meant to write?
I’m confessing something that I have never told another living soul. Only God knows. For most of my life, I wanted to do what Margaret Mitchell did. I wanted to just sit down and let words flow. There was this urge inside of me to just write, but I was scared. I firmly believed that I had not one ounce of talent there. Why? Because my teachers gave me good grades and at the same time singled others out to promote and praise their writing ability. I felt that it was not in me. But it was. I remember one year when my best friend, Jennifer Cross, and I had to work on a project together in high school. We ‘played’ the stock market and had to write a report on our findings. We waited until the night before and had so much fun using puns and creative phrases. We made a 100 and our teacher praised us for our work. It was fun. It was creative. Later in college I wrote a great paper, which I wish I could find again, on Lysistrata. I was so embarrassed when I first read the story and used puns and creative phrases to write my paper so I wouldn’t have to be blunt about what was happening in the play. My teacher loved it. But in business (I majored in accounting) creativity is frowned upon or you end up on the news and going to jail. But I found myself forcing creativity in even daily sales reports. Most people liked it. When I began working for a friend, she assigned me to get familiar with HubPages.com for her business. Thus began my writing. Thank you, Marie Rippel.


Do you plan out the entire book before you begin writing? Or do you just sit down and write?
The concept is set up in my mind first. Then I begin to just write. Now, I’m learning to plan out certain areas such as where I see the book going and who the major characters are. Everything else just kind of falls into place. I do a lot of daydreaming, so that helps, too.


Do you have a set time that you write each day? Or do you wait to be inspired?
I try to have a set time. But it never works that way. The world is against me, I swear. In fact, last night I was drifting off to sleep when something slipped in and woke me up. I couldn’t get it out of my head. So, I got up and began writing. I had to in order to get it out of my mind and find some sleep.


How long did it take you to complete this book?
Honestly? About an hour. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. Now, the second book took much more. In fact, it took me two days for the first draft. But these are small books.

Since I am the one who edited this story, I received a free copy of the book from the author. If you would like your own copy of A Gift for a Mouse, it is available on Amazon through the link I have provided a link below.