Rebecca Espinoza is a hot new indie author. In 2013, she broke onto the urban fantasy scene with her Binds series. Let's learn more about Rebecca and her writing...
Angie: How long have you been writing and when did you decide to
indie publish? What was the biggest hurdle in going it alone?
Rebecca: I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Little stories have always popped into my mind, but I never thought about being published, never even pursued it. I read a lot and I’ve never thought that my writing was good enough in comparison to what I was reading. I guess that’s the biggest hurdle, self-doubt.
Another indie writer, Willow Aster asked me to beta read her book and I told her that I’d been writing too. She took a look at two of my stories and told me to keep going with Binds, so I did. I never would have had the guts to indie publish otherwise, so I pretty much owe it all to her.
Angie: This year, you published Binds and the novella Jinxed. Can you explain the idea behind the Binds series? Where did the inspiration come from?
Rebecca: I got the idea for Binds while I was blow drying my hair. It seems like most good ideas come to me when I’m doing mindless tasks like that. I just kept picturing Reece and Ophelia in the beginning scene where he kidnaps her from the hotel and I wanted to know why, so I started writing it. I never would have guessed what it’d evolve into, but I’m so happy that I put the blow dryer down and started writing right on the spot. I always forget stuff if I don’t write it down immediately.
Angie: Do you plan to write more in the series? If so, how many books do you envision in the series?
Rebecca: I’m writing the second book of the series right now, but it’s been slow going. I tend to second guess everything, so it takes me a while to be happy with any of it. There will be three full length books in the series by the end.
Angie: What drew you to paranormal fiction as a genre? Do you plan to branch out to other genres as your career progresses?
Rebecca: Paranormal has always been my favorite genre to read. I read Interview with a Vampire when I was in fifth grade and fell in love with it so it just seemed natural for me to write it, but I’d be open to other genres.
Angie: Ophelia Brand is the heroine in the Binds series. Can you tell us about her character?
Rebecca: Ophelia is kind of a weak character at the beginning. She tries to be strong, but she’s been caged in by her circumstances and unable to break free. I didn’t want to write one of those kick ass heroines that are so common in Urban Fantasy because I wanted to watch my character transform into one of them. I figured that not everyone can kick ass and take names right from the get-go, sometimes you need to work your way up to it. Ophelia is definitely one of those characters that will be evolving, she knows her weaknesses but doesn’t want to be weak forever.
Angie: The male character (aka the hotties) are Reese and Spencer. Will
you share with us their back stories?
Angie: How do you come up with the names for your characters?
Rebecca: I get them from different things, people I have known or books I’ve read. Morgan Fay is a play on Morgan Le Fay Ophelia is from Hamlet (I’ve always wished Hamlet’s Ophelia would have had a different ending), Spencer is someone I went to school with and so on.
Angie: Chicken or the egg question. Do you create a character and build around him/her? Or do you imagine a concept and create characters which fit the idea?
Rebecca: With Binds, the characters came first and the entire story was shaped by them. It was hard, I had other ideas about what I wanted to happen, but a couple of times, the characters didn’t want to do what I wanted them to. Spencer is probably the toughest when it comes to this, he won’t do anything he doesn’t want to. He can be a pain in the ass sometimes.
Angie: How do you avoid writing a Mary Sue or Marty Stu when most writers can’t help falling desperately in love with their creations?
Rebecca: I don’t really think about it. I just try to write the characters as honestly as I can and put them in situations where they’ll be tested.
Angie: Do you use anything to inspire you while you’re writing? Music, visual aids, etc? Also have you found ideas come to you more freely in particular places or at certain times of the day?
Rebecca: I can’t write to music. I find myself paying too much attention to the lyrics and I can’t concentrate. I listen to it in between writing and I’ve made playlists for everything I write. I listen to them when I’m having writers block or in between writing.
Most of my inspiration comes when I’m in the shower, for some strange reason. I try to leave a pad of paper in my room so I can get out of the shower and rush over to write stuff down so I don’t lose it. The only problem is that I’ll be so absorbed in my thoughts that I won’t remember if I washed my hair or not.
Angie: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or plot it out first?
Rebecca: I try to write it immediately. The plot comes to me as I write, not before and I can’t outline stories. I’ve tried and ended up completely deviating from the outline anyway.
Angie: When you read less than fawning reviews, how do you know when to use the critique to improve your future writing and when do you chalk up the criticism as different strokes for different folks?
Rebecca: I’m of the mind that reviews are not there for me to learn anything from them. They’re there for other consumers to decide whether or not to read the book. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t read them at all, it’s human nature to wonder what others think about our work, but I get most of my main critique help from my beta readers. I have about five people who I know are tough critics that tell me honestly what they think and I trust them explicitly. It’s hard to know what’s going to work or not amongst readers, but I know that my betas tastes align more with my own and I’m my own worst critic. If I can win the betas over, I don’t worry too much.
Angie: I’ve read criticism from particular bloggers (Fangs for the Fantasy being one) about the lack of people of color and different sexual orientations in fiction. Do you take this lack of diversity into consideration when creating plots and characters?
Rebecca: Maybe I should, but I really don’t. I grew up in a tiny military town. Because of the diversity of the military stationed there, there was a great mix of different cultures and backgrounds of the kids in my schools, so that kind of thing was never something on the forefront of my mind. That being said, I have a hard time identifying with any one group. I think writers tend to write what they know, for example, I’m half Puerto Rican and so it was only natural for me to write a character (Jinx) that I identified with in that way. It wasn’t even a conscious thought to add in his ethnicity when I imagined him, he just leaped into my mind, almost fully formed, as I wrote and it stuck.
Maybe I should be more conscious of this. As a reader, I’d like to read about more diverse characters, so why not?
Angie: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books top out at around the same lengths?
Rebecca: No, I try not to add in a ton of filler in the story just to get to a certain word count. I let the plot dictate the length. Binds is relatively short, I think it has about 70k words, but I just felt that the story was told and so I ended it there.
Angie: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do to shake it off?
Rebecca: It’s something that I struggle with constantly. I am a voracious reader and I can’t help comparing my own writing to the works that I read, and it can make me not want to write anything. I’ve gotten some really great messages from readers who’ve enjoyed Binds and when I’m feeling like nothing is good enough, I’ll sometimes read them again and remind myself that, even though I’m not the best writer out there, there are still people who want to hear my story. If I write for just those handful of people and make them happy, that’s all that matters.
Angie: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?
Rebecca: I just finished Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas and thought it was excellent. Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson was another that I really enjoyed.
Angie: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope take off?
Rebecca: This is probably not a very popular opinion, but I hope that the NA trend slows some. I don’t think it will, but one can hope. I’m first and foremost a reader and it seems like most of these books have become more and more focused on sex instead of story. There have been a couple of really good ones, Unteachable by Leah Raeder comes to mind, but it’s becoming the exception, not the rule. I’m not opposed to sex, I’m a fan of the erotica genre, but when I pick up a contemporary NA romance, I’d like there to be more than mindless sex. Also, many of these books feel like the same story recycled again and again. Yeah, maybe I am a bit of a hater.
For obvious reasons, I’m hoping that there’ll be a resurgence of interest in indie paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy. It might just be the circle of writers and bloggers I follow, but it seems like readership has drifted away from our genre in the last couple of years in favor of the contemporary romance and erotica genres. There are some really great indie paranormal romances and fantasy works out there that aren’t being discovered. Makes me kind of sad. It seems like most readers of science fiction/ fantasy and paranormal tend to trust the traditional publishers more for their reads. I’d really like to see a huge breakout indie hit make it to a best seller list for the genre. I think it’ll happen.
Angie: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?
Rebecca: I’ll be attending my first signing as an author in New Orleans at the beginning of February, really looking forward to that. Other than that, I’m going to try and read as much as I can, write quality books in between my reads, and hope that people will like what I create.
Find Rebecca's books at Amazon.
Follow Rebecca at Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Be sure to check out Candy Girl's review of Binds at my sister blog, Just That Good.
Rebecca: I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Little stories have always popped into my mind, but I never thought about being published, never even pursued it. I read a lot and I’ve never thought that my writing was good enough in comparison to what I was reading. I guess that’s the biggest hurdle, self-doubt.
Another indie writer, Willow Aster asked me to beta read her book and I told her that I’d been writing too. She took a look at two of my stories and told me to keep going with Binds, so I did. I never would have had the guts to indie publish otherwise, so I pretty much owe it all to her.
Angie: This year, you published Binds and the novella Jinxed. Can you explain the idea behind the Binds series? Where did the inspiration come from?
Rebecca: I got the idea for Binds while I was blow drying my hair. It seems like most good ideas come to me when I’m doing mindless tasks like that. I just kept picturing Reece and Ophelia in the beginning scene where he kidnaps her from the hotel and I wanted to know why, so I started writing it. I never would have guessed what it’d evolve into, but I’m so happy that I put the blow dryer down and started writing right on the spot. I always forget stuff if I don’t write it down immediately.
Angie: Do you plan to write more in the series? If so, how many books do you envision in the series?
Rebecca: I’m writing the second book of the series right now, but it’s been slow going. I tend to second guess everything, so it takes me a while to be happy with any of it. There will be three full length books in the series by the end.
Angie: What drew you to paranormal fiction as a genre? Do you plan to branch out to other genres as your career progresses?
Rebecca: Paranormal has always been my favorite genre to read. I read Interview with a Vampire when I was in fifth grade and fell in love with it so it just seemed natural for me to write it, but I’d be open to other genres.
Angie: Ophelia Brand is the heroine in the Binds series. Can you tell us about her character?
Rebecca: Ophelia is kind of a weak character at the beginning. She tries to be strong, but she’s been caged in by her circumstances and unable to break free. I didn’t want to write one of those kick ass heroines that are so common in Urban Fantasy because I wanted to watch my character transform into one of them. I figured that not everyone can kick ass and take names right from the get-go, sometimes you need to work your way up to it. Ophelia is definitely one of those characters that will be evolving, she knows her weaknesses but doesn’t want to be weak forever.
Angie: The male character (aka the hotties) are Reese and Spencer. Will
you share with us their back stories?
Rebecca: It’s hard to get into back stories for these guys without
heading into spoiler territory, but they are both good guys. Reece is more of
the kind that wants to protect and shield Ophelia from harm whereas Spencer has
had events happen in his past that have made him realize the value of giving
people he cares about their own strength. They both have secrets in their pasts
that have shaped them to behave this way, some of them will come out in Binds
and some are still waiting to come to light in the following books.
Angie: How do you come up with the names for your characters?
Rebecca: I get them from different things, people I have known or books I’ve read. Morgan Fay is a play on Morgan Le Fay Ophelia is from Hamlet (I’ve always wished Hamlet’s Ophelia would have had a different ending), Spencer is someone I went to school with and so on.
Angie: Chicken or the egg question. Do you create a character and build around him/her? Or do you imagine a concept and create characters which fit the idea?
Rebecca: With Binds, the characters came first and the entire story was shaped by them. It was hard, I had other ideas about what I wanted to happen, but a couple of times, the characters didn’t want to do what I wanted them to. Spencer is probably the toughest when it comes to this, he won’t do anything he doesn’t want to. He can be a pain in the ass sometimes.
Angie: How do you avoid writing a Mary Sue or Marty Stu when most writers can’t help falling desperately in love with their creations?
Rebecca: I don’t really think about it. I just try to write the characters as honestly as I can and put them in situations where they’ll be tested.
Angie: Do you use anything to inspire you while you’re writing? Music, visual aids, etc? Also have you found ideas come to you more freely in particular places or at certain times of the day?
Rebecca: I can’t write to music. I find myself paying too much attention to the lyrics and I can’t concentrate. I listen to it in between writing and I’ve made playlists for everything I write. I listen to them when I’m having writers block or in between writing.
Most of my inspiration comes when I’m in the shower, for some strange reason. I try to leave a pad of paper in my room so I can get out of the shower and rush over to write stuff down so I don’t lose it. The only problem is that I’ll be so absorbed in my thoughts that I won’t remember if I washed my hair or not.
Angie: When an idea hits you, do you start writing immediately or plot it out first?
Rebecca: I try to write it immediately. The plot comes to me as I write, not before and I can’t outline stories. I’ve tried and ended up completely deviating from the outline anyway.
Angie: When you read less than fawning reviews, how do you know when to use the critique to improve your future writing and when do you chalk up the criticism as different strokes for different folks?
Rebecca: I’m of the mind that reviews are not there for me to learn anything from them. They’re there for other consumers to decide whether or not to read the book. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t read them at all, it’s human nature to wonder what others think about our work, but I get most of my main critique help from my beta readers. I have about five people who I know are tough critics that tell me honestly what they think and I trust them explicitly. It’s hard to know what’s going to work or not amongst readers, but I know that my betas tastes align more with my own and I’m my own worst critic. If I can win the betas over, I don’t worry too much.
Angie: I’ve read criticism from particular bloggers (Fangs for the Fantasy being one) about the lack of people of color and different sexual orientations in fiction. Do you take this lack of diversity into consideration when creating plots and characters?
Rebecca: Maybe I should, but I really don’t. I grew up in a tiny military town. Because of the diversity of the military stationed there, there was a great mix of different cultures and backgrounds of the kids in my schools, so that kind of thing was never something on the forefront of my mind. That being said, I have a hard time identifying with any one group. I think writers tend to write what they know, for example, I’m half Puerto Rican and so it was only natural for me to write a character (Jinx) that I identified with in that way. It wasn’t even a conscious thought to add in his ethnicity when I imagined him, he just leaped into my mind, almost fully formed, as I wrote and it stuck.
Maybe I should be more conscious of this. As a reader, I’d like to read about more diverse characters, so why not?
Angie: Do word counts mean anything to you? Do you find your books top out at around the same lengths?
Rebecca: No, I try not to add in a ton of filler in the story just to get to a certain word count. I let the plot dictate the length. Binds is relatively short, I think it has about 70k words, but I just felt that the story was told and so I ended it there.
Angie: How big a deal is writer’s block for you and what do you do to shake it off?
Rebecca: It’s something that I struggle with constantly. I am a voracious reader and I can’t help comparing my own writing to the works that I read, and it can make me not want to write anything. I’ve gotten some really great messages from readers who’ve enjoyed Binds and when I’m feeling like nothing is good enough, I’ll sometimes read them again and remind myself that, even though I’m not the best writer out there, there are still people who want to hear my story. If I write for just those handful of people and make them happy, that’s all that matters.
Angie: What books did you enjoy most in 2013?
Rebecca: I just finished Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas and thought it was excellent. Wicked as They Come by Delilah S. Dawson was another that I really enjoyed.
Angie: What trends do you hope die in 2014? Are there any you hope take off?
Rebecca: This is probably not a very popular opinion, but I hope that the NA trend slows some. I don’t think it will, but one can hope. I’m first and foremost a reader and it seems like most of these books have become more and more focused on sex instead of story. There have been a couple of really good ones, Unteachable by Leah Raeder comes to mind, but it’s becoming the exception, not the rule. I’m not opposed to sex, I’m a fan of the erotica genre, but when I pick up a contemporary NA romance, I’d like there to be more than mindless sex. Also, many of these books feel like the same story recycled again and again. Yeah, maybe I am a bit of a hater.
For obvious reasons, I’m hoping that there’ll be a resurgence of interest in indie paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy. It might just be the circle of writers and bloggers I follow, but it seems like readership has drifted away from our genre in the last couple of years in favor of the contemporary romance and erotica genres. There are some really great indie paranormal romances and fantasy works out there that aren’t being discovered. Makes me kind of sad. It seems like most readers of science fiction/ fantasy and paranormal tend to trust the traditional publishers more for their reads. I’d really like to see a huge breakout indie hit make it to a best seller list for the genre. I think it’ll happen.
Angie: What are you plans for 2014 as an indie writer?
Rebecca: I’ll be attending my first signing as an author in New Orleans at the beginning of February, really looking forward to that. Other than that, I’m going to try and read as much as I can, write quality books in between my reads, and hope that people will like what I create.
Find Rebecca's books at Amazon.
Follow Rebecca at Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Be sure to check out Candy Girl's review of Binds at my sister blog, Just That Good.
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