Darklight On... Rebekah Turner

Today's Darklight On is Rebekah Turner. Welcome, Rebekah!

How did you come to write speculative fiction? What attracted you to the genre?

I started writing when I was in primary school. I loved creating stories and always drew illustrations to accompany my fantastic tales of magical unicorns and bloodthirsty dragons. As I got older, I discovered urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and started writing that. I love the idea that you can style the fantastic within a familiar world.




Please tell us a little about your road to publication.

I attended the 2012 Romance Writers Convention at the Gold Coast. A panel of publishers pitched to attendees on why they should submit their manuscripts to them. After hearing the Escape editor say they had a two week response time, I jumped at the chance to submit. I got a request for a full very quickly, then an offer after three weeks. I was also lucky enough to be one of the launch authors.

The launch itself was great fun. I was flown to Sydney and met the other authors. Everything was exceptionally posh. We had our hair and make-up done, then we were whisked to the launch location by limousine. The venue had a great view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and there were awesome cocktails named after all the launch books. While I did not go back to the hotel with my pants on my head, it was still one of the most amazing nights out I’ve experienced.




Your debut release was Chaos Born. Can you tell us a little about it? 

I wrote Chaos Born in 2008 when I did Year of the Novel. Chaos Born was originally written as straight up fantasy in third person. I let the story rest while I worked on other things, but found myself gravitating back to it, because while I’d had a lot of fun creating the world and the characters, the story wasn’t quite right. In particular, the protagonist, Lora Blackgoat, was flat and uninteresting. I re-wrote the story from her point of view and she emerged as a cranky anti-heroine that I found hilarious to write.




Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in-between?

I'm a little of both. I need a roadmap to steer the story and help develop my characters and provide believable motivation. However, sometimes the best curveballs appear by accident.



Do you have a favourite of your characters?

I would be a bad parent if I chose.




What are you currently working on?

A paranormal novella, and book 3 of The Chronicles of Applecross.




What is your favourite part of the writing process?

I stop shaking my fist at the sky around the third edit, when everything starts to come together.




What can we expect from Rebekah Turner in the future?

More adventures from The Chronicles of Applecross, and some paranormal novellas.




Who are your favourite authors?

JR Ward, Nalini Singh, Patricia Briggs, Kerry Greenwood




What are you currently reading?

Chuck Wendig's Blackbirds




Do you have a favourite spec fiction movie or TV series?

Favourite movie: Aliens, and favourite TV series: Deadwood



Do you have advice for emerging writers?

Join your local writers centre. Get critiques from other writers who understand the craft, as well as from beta readers who know the genre. Write as much as you can, as often as you can.

~~~

Thanks, Rebekah.

You can find out more about Rebekah at:

Website: http://rebekahturner.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebekahturnerauthor

Twitter: @RbkahTurner

And for a sneak preview of Chaos Born, visit http://rebekahturner.net/the-chronicles-of-applecross-series/