Find a Christian store

Interview with Rebecca Hemlock

Rebecca Hemlock started her writing career with children's stories, then transitioned to adventure, and is now thrilled to release her first mystery, The Secret of the 14th Room.

Welcome, Rebecca. What was the inspiration for The Secret of the 14th Room?
I've always been a lover of history and antiques. Each comes with a story all its own. It could be your grandmother's sewing basket or your great grandfather's bible. I considered writing the stories themselves, but lately, I've been digging into my family history and have had so much fun and have been so intrigued by doing so that I decided to write about it. I have been so enchanted by some of the amazing lives lived by our ancestors. I can't stop writing about it. I gave my drive to dig deeper to my main character Levi.

What did God teach you during the writing of The Secret of the 14th Room? What spiritual truth do you hope your readers take away from the book?
God spoke to me about this project for many years before I wrote the first word. I feel like the world we live in does not value family the way it used to. In the book, Levi must learn to let go of his bitterness to have a family again. I felt that God wanted me to write about this. I hope my readers know that bitterness is a heavy burden that we don’t have to bear. We bring it on ourselves by holding on to things that hurt us when it would be best just to let it go. (Sorry, my daughter loves Frozen).

What motivated you to make the switch from writing children’s books to writing mysteries for adults?
It was always my dream to write mysteries ever since I read my first Nancy Drew novel. When I published my first children's book, I was working at a daycare. There were so many kids who really needed to be told how special they were. That was when I knew it was time to publish The Lost Soldier, which I published under the pen name R.C. Burch. After I wrote a few more children's books and felt like I had learned a lot about the writing and publishing world, I worked up the courage to write a novella called Bitter Betrayal. The novella was the first book I published under the name Rebecca Hemlock. I feel like writing mystery for adults is what I was meant to do.

What does your writing routine look like, if you have one? What challenges or obstacles do you face in making time to write?
I do face challenges finding time to write. I have a two-year-old and a six-month-old and they are the center of my world. Since I am a mommy to babies, my writing time comes during naps and after bedtime. While I was pregnant with my son, I had to do a lot of writing on my phone, which I hated. I felt like I was texting, but I was able to finish my next novel. (Which will be coming out in September).

What do you do when you’re not writing?
I love spending time with my family and going on adventures. My husband always feels the need to come up with some crazy idea to inspire me to write the next chapter. That's how I spend most of my days, but now and then, I get some time to settle down with a good book. I love to read.

If you could have coffee/tea/gratuitous amounts of carbs with any author(s), living or dead, who would you choose? What would you talk about?
Definitely Agatha Christie. I would talk about books and writing, of course.

___________________________________

Amanda Wen is an award-winning writer of contemporary inspirational romance. Her contest wins include first place in the 2016 ACFW First Impressions Contest, the 2017 Great Expectations Contest, and the 2017 Phoenix Rattler Contest. Also a professional cellist, Amanda has been spotted onstage with the worship team at the ACFW Conference. A lifelong lover of the flatlands, she lives in Kansas with her husband and their three adorable Wenlets. Amanda is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.




For more great interviews, visit our Author Interview Archives.

ACFW Members, click here to apply for an author interview!


Developed by Camna, LLC

This is a service provided by ACFW, but does not in any way endorse any publisher, author, or work herein.