Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Talley.
Hi Rebecca, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I always wanted to write stories. As a little girl, I made a “Velt Book.” In elementary school, I created my own mystery book based on the Encyclopedia Brown series. In high school, I took a creative writing class and wrote a short story titled “Heaven Scent.
I graduated from college in Communications, with an emphasis on sales and advertising. By the time I graduated I was married and expecting my first child.
For the next decade or so, I had babies and did all the mom things. I didn’t do much writing, but I did take a few correspondence courses (because the internet had not been invented yet) on writing for children and writing a novel. I planned to wait until I was done having kids before I tried writing a novel, but the babies kept coming, ten in total, and I decided if I wanted to write books, I’d have to figure out how to do that amidst diapers, breastfeeding, pregnancy, toddlers, kids in school, and taking care of my aging grandparents.
I spent years writing my first novel, Heaven Scent (based on the short story I wrote in high school), and finally submitted it to a publisher. I received an invitation to rewrite it and resubmit, but ultimately, it was rejected. I found another publisher and subsequently published another two novels. I also published a children’s picture book, Grasshopper Pie, which was based on an experience when two of my children tried to feed me a live grasshopper. (Thankfully, I didn’t eat it like the mom in my story :)).
I have published numerous articles and stories for both print and online magazines for children. I’ve taught at writing conferences and served in various capacities for writing guilds.
I made the jump over to indie publishing in 2014 and have since published ten novels/novellas.
I write clean and wholesome romance, which means no open or closed-door sex scenes and no vulgar language. I write fiction that warms your heart with plenty of heart flutters and not-so-simple happily-ever-afters.
I’m a wife to one, mom to ten, and nana to twelve. I grew up on the beach in Santa Barbara, California, and spent many years living on a ranch at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado with a menagerie of animals including horses, cows, rabbits, goats, sheep, cats, dogs, miniature donkeys, and a llama named Tina.
You can visit my website at www.rebeccatalley.com and receive a free novella if you join my Reader News.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
For me, it’s always a struggle to find time to write, so I have to make time. But I also have to make time to do the “other” author things, like networking, marketing, maintaining my website, being active on social media (and learning new platforms like TikTok), and taking classes to improve my craft.
I used to think that writes sat next to an open window overlooking the ocean with a soft ocean breeze filtering through the room while word flowed through their fingertips. My reality is writing between laundry load, grocery shopping, kids’ activities, babysitting, serving in my community, and tryin to clean my house–luckily, I dance to disco music while I do that.
Writing is hard, and I have to be in the right headspace to do it. I have to be able to keep so many details in my head while I create stories as well as feel the creativity within me to bring to life characters that feel realistic in stories that are intriguing and entertaining.
Most of my struggle to write is about time.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I try to write clean and wholesome romances based on real-life experiences. For example, my youngest son has Down syndrome, so I’ve included that in some of my books.
I’m currently trying to find an agent to represent a middle-grade novel about a girl who befriends a boy with Down syndrome and becomes a social outcast. She’s driven to create a club to include kids with special needs. The book is titled Sunshine Club, and I hope to springboard that into a platform to help kids in middle school create their own Sunshine Clubs and learn how awesome it is to hang out with a kid with special needs. I am really proud of this book and hope to see it published in the next few years.
What were you like growing up?
I loved to dance. I was a flamenco dancer and ballerina. I also loved to swim in the ocean and build sandcastles.
I lost my father when I was four years old and then lost my mother a few years later. My younger sister and I were raised by our maternal grandparents. I was always interested in time travel so I could go back in time and prevent my parents from dying. Since I lived with my grandparents, I was exposed to big band music and old Hollywood,
I played basketball in high school, mostly because I’m tall, not because I was particularly good at playing the game.
I think I was, and still am, fun. I’m a party, haha.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rebeccatalley.com
- Instagram: rebeccatalleyauthor
- Facebook: rebeccatalleyauthor
- Other: TikTok: rebeccatalleyauthor
Image Credits
Malae Talley Photo
