Author Crush Friday with Rebekah Purdy

Glitter girls, you have pressing questions for your favorite authors and we have their answers. Welcome to our  weekly segment, Author Crush Fridays.

We love asking questions and we love the answers from some of our favorite authors. Today we’re talking to Rebekah Purdy, author of The Summer Marked (Entangled Teen; September 22, 2015).  Thank you for talking to us today, Rebekah, and thank you for sharing that breathtaking cover!

GLITTER: Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.

REBEKAH: 1. I’m obsessed with all things Star Wars. 2. I have freckles. 3. I’m horrible with directions and got lost in Edinburgh, Scotland during a rainstorm. 4. I’m an Army Veteran. 5. I don’t eat red meat.

GLITTER: Tell us about your journey to becoming a writer.

REBEKAH: It was definitely looooong. LOL. I’ve written since I was a little. But it wasn’t until my early twenties that I started actually sending my manuscripts/stories out. It took me 7-8 manuscripts until I landed my first book contract. I decided to go small press first. Then right after the book published, probably about 1 year later, I landed my first agent. She went on to sell a book for me. Then we ended up parting ways and I landed my second agent, whom I’ve been with ever since.

But it was a long journey. Like I said, I wrote soooo many books before I sold my first one. I’m actually glad it took me that long as I think I appreciate things so much more having had to work my tail off. And with each manuscript I wrote, my writing got better. Some of those older stories I’d love to go back and rewrite as I feel I’m in a much better place to write them than I was say ten – fifteen years ago.

There were definitely a lot of moments of doubt along the way, wondering if I’d make it or not. But I’m glad I stuck it out.

GLITTER: Where did the idea of Summer Marked come from?

REBEKAH: Actually, this book was one that wasn’t planned in the series. The Winter People was intended to only be 1 book. However, my editor had asked for 3 books when they made the offer for The Winter People. And after The Winter People ended, I knew there was more story to tell. So I began asking myself questions, like, what if Kadie found out Salome’s monsters were real? And what will Salome do now that she’s in Faerie? Will she really get her happily-ever-after? Who is the Winter Queen?

So those questions led to a more elaborate plot and the introduction to new characters. But I’ve loved diving back into the world and exploring the characters more and learning some of the mythos behind Winter gaining so much control and also finding out more about the other kingdoms that were destroyed.

GLITTER: Do you have to read book one, The Winter People, in order to read The Summer Marked, or can it be read as a stand-alone? 

REBEKAH: It would probably be better if you read The Winter People, just so you’d kind of have a feel for the characters and the situations they were in prior to The Summer Marked. However, if someone skipped reading TWP, I think they’d be able to fall right into the world.

GLITTER: How much of your real life experiences went into writing The Summer Marked?

REBEKAH: Hmmm…not many. I think The Winter People probably had a lot more life experiences drawn for it. But we did have a family emergency while I was editing/rewriting The Summer Marked so as the characters were going through emotional things, I think it was easier to connect with them because I was going through my own turmoil during that time. But again, The Winter People probably had more personal experiences throughout as Salome suffered from mental illness, which also runs rather heavily in my own family. So I drew on some experiences when writing those scenes.

GLITTER: In The Summer Marked, what was your favorite chapter/scene to write and why?

REBEKAH: All the Gareth and Salome scenes (LOL). Ah, so hard to choose. But actually, there’s a new character in this book, Lord Darach, who I loved writing. There’s a scene in the book where he helps Salome with a sword battle. I just like it because Salome has been kind of “on her own” in Summer and here we get to see the beginnings of this really awesome friendship developing. But I also love that the reader is getting to learn more about Nevin and Faerie. And of course getting to see the villains of Winter in action is kind of cool.

GLITTER: What was one author you couldn’t put down as a teen?

REBEKAH: Oh crap, can I list three? I really had three go-to authors as a teen. L.J. Smith, Christopher Pike, and R.L. Stine. They cemented in the love for reading and in turn for writing.

GLITTER: What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

REBEKAH: LOL—er…probably that my book sucked and I was told that I didn’t know how teens talked. That was a review I’d gotten and I kind of laughed because I have 6 kids and I definitely know how they talk…but you just let it blow over. Probably the best compliment was an email I received from the parent of a teen thanking me for writing my book, as her teen, who was a reluctant reader and actually hated reading to the point of crying when teachers said she had to do it, loved my book. She said she couldn’t thank me enough for writing a story that caught her daughter’s attention and opened her up to reading. So that was pretty cool.

GLITTER: What are you working on now?

REBEKAH: Right now, I’m working on the third and final book in the Winter People series. I’m also plotting a YA Fantasy w/horror elements with my 15-year-old daughter. We’re hoping to begin writing it once I get TWP 3 finished up.

Heather Riccio

Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio