Interview with Rebecca Jepson

About the Author

Rebecca Jepson is a homebody who loves a good book, a cup of freshly ground coffee, and all things autumn. In addition to her debut novella, she has been published in Clubhouse Magazine and currently writes sports articles for The Dalles Chronicle. She has traveled extensively, to places that inspire her stories. Her favorite destinations included Russia, New England, and the Alaskan wilderness. She lives in sunny Reno, Nevada with her software engineer husband, Mike. ​

GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | AMAZON | WEBSITE

The Interview

1. How did you get started as an author?  What or whom inspired you?I had a big imagination when I was a kid, and always made up stories to act out with my siblings and friends. People started saying they thought I would be a good writer. A school librarian from our church must have thought so too, because she gave me a brochure about a writing contest for students. I took that brochure home and looked at it over and over, thrilling every time I opened the cover. I wrote my first book and sent it to the contest. My book didn’t win, but my dream continued to grow. When I was a teenager, I poured over the works of Christian fiction pioneers such as Janette Oke, Gilbert Morris, Michael Phillips and Judith Pella. They created characters that were real people to me, and stories that transported me to another time and place. I wanted to write like that.

2. How many books have you written and in what genres?In addition to my novella, I’ve written two books, one of them contemporary romance and the other historical.  

3. What writing projects are you currently working on?  What can you tell us about these projects?I’m working on a historical romance novel set in the 1880s about a fisherman’s-daughter-turned-nurse. She flees a painful entanglement with the wealthy family who summered near her childhood home, only to encounter them again six years later. The tagline is: She faces caring for the expectant wife of the man she never stopped loving—at the request of the man who’d kept them apart.
 
4. What does your writing process look like?I often look through books of paintings, especially paintings of landscapes or cityscapes, to get ideas. Once a story has formed in my mind, I do just enough research to find the right historical setting for it, then write a detailed chapter outline. Next I do more research, and finally write the draft.
 
​5. Where is your favorite place to write? (Can I get a picture of this?)I think it would be cool to be able to say I write under my favorite tree in the city park, or take my laptop to the cutest little coffee shop downtown. But my concentration would go out the window if I tried either of those! I write in my office at home, and I think it’s pretty nice, even if it’s not the most artsy venue. 

---

6. How important are the names in your novels? How do you choose names for your characters?  Do you have any name resources you would suggest?I don’t agonize over names, but I do like to find a name that suits the personality of my character and fits the setting of my story. I often choose names by looking through popular baby names of whatever era I’m writing about. The following website has been helpful: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/decades/. 
7. What authors/novels that you enjoy would you recommend?I’ve read and reread Stealing Home by Allison Pittman, Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen, and all of Liz Curtis Higgs’s books set in Scotland. My favorite author is L.M. Montgomery—I literally laugh and cry when I read the Anne of Green Gables series.
 
8. Where is your favorite place to read and why? (Can I get a picture of this?)I’m a winter-by-the-fireplace girl. I love to flip on the gas fireplace in our living room, curl up in my trusty rocking chair, and immerse myself in a good book. Recently I had the cozy experience of watching it snow outside while I sat inside reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder. 

---

9. What period of history interests you the most?That’s a tough one! I like most any era in the 19th century.
 
10. What other hobbies do you enjoy when you are not writing?I enjoy reading, watching old movies—or newer TV series that have notes of the old-fashioned in them—and playing board games with my family and friends. I also enjoy traveling, especially to places rich in history. My favorite activity is taking walks with my husband, a steaming cup of coffee in my hand. We walk and talk downtown along the river, or on pathways through the park. When we return home, I feel refreshed for another day of writing. :)

Check out my review for
HIGHBROW HOODWINK