Buy Beyond the Eyes
Hi
Rebekkah! Thanks for being my guest at
New Adult Addiction. I just finished your new book,
Beyond the Eyes, and loved your protagonist, Paige. It seems to me that Paige is somewhat fragile and emotional, yet also strong and
determined. How did you come up with the
idea for Paige’s character?
Thanks for
having me. The idea for Paige just came to me. However, I have to admit her
feelings of abandonment regarding her father stems from my own personal
experience. So some of the aches she had in her heart were mine as well.
I have a pet
peeve on my blog about the “V” word (virgins) but that’s mostly because I deal
in New Adult books. In your young adult
book, Paige starts off “innocent” but gains some experience as the story
progresses. Have you gotten any
blow-back about the steamy scenes from readers?
No. Not yet, but
I'm bracing myself for it. But seriously, I thought about the possibility of
some people slinging mud at me for writing those scenes, but they're tastefully
done and honestly teenagers are not stupid. People don't give them enough
credit. What I wrote is nothing compared to what's on TV or the internet.
Spill some
secrets about Nathan. Since this is a
first person novel (a gripping one at that) we don’t get to know Nathan as well
as well as Paige. What more can you tell
us about Nathan that might not be clear in the book?
First off, I
want everybody to know in my next two books in this series, there will be
chapters in Nathan's POV. So the reader will get to know him personally, which
I'm excited about. He's a great character and is fun to write.
Hmmm. Secrets
about Nathan. If I tell you what the secrets are it'll spoil it for the
readers. I'll give a little teaser, though. He's not a witch, but he knows
about the craft and is hiding something from Paige that in his eyes is the
right thing to do.
What is your
favorite scene from Beyond the Eyes?
I have lots of
favorite scenes. One of them is when Paige, Nathan, Carrie and Matt are at
Cafe' Nation listening to the hippy chick recite a poem. That scene was
borrowed from a real life experince I had and it still cracks me up every time I
read it.
OK, now for some
easy ones – what was the first story you ever wrote?
I can't
remember. The one that stands out in my mind, though, was one I wrote in
seventh grade. It was a horror story. I stood up in front of the class and read
it. As I was reading the story, I noticed I had their full attention and when I
got to the scary parts, the whole class did a collective gasp. I was hooked
from there. It was a defining moment for me and still makes me smile when I
think about it.
What author had
the most impact on your writing style?
I grew up
reading Anne Rice and wish I could write like her. My writing style is nothing
like hers. It's just . . . Me.
If you could
claim authorship of one book, which one would it be?
Interview With
The Vampire by Anne Rice.
What advice
would you give to young writers who feel discouraged as they try to write their
first novel?
Don't write
what's popular. Write what you're passionate about. Otherwise, it'll show in
your writing and readers will be able to tell. You have to have that fire in
your heart. That passion. And the more you write, the better you become. Also,
read, read, read. Reading other books helps you become a better writer as well.
What’s up next
for you and Paige?
There are two
more books in this series--Dark Spirits and The Devil's Third.
Paige is a much stronger person, emotionally and physically. She starts having
visions in the next book and discovers she has extraordinary powers she never
knew she had. Since she found out what resides inside her, it had awaken those
gifts. And in book three, she finally finds out what she really is. She comes
from an ancient line of witches, but is she really a witch? And will she find
the incantations and destroy them or use them against the dark spirits?
Can you give us
a taste of your work in progress? A
favorite scene or teaser for the next book?
Sure. But
forewarning: it might be a spoiler alert . . . In this scene Nathan and Paige
are at the Sunday Market. They just finished shopping and eating their
corndogs.
I rose, and stuck my hand out for him to give me his corndog
stick. He handed it to me, and I went to the overflowing trash can a couple
yards away. Then my ears began to ring. I looked at Nathan, and he hurried to
me at a painfully human pace. We looked around, but the few people strolling by
were immersed in conversation and paid no attention to us.
Nathan took my hand and steered me in the other direction.
“C’mon, let’s get back to the truck.” As we rushed off, Nathan kept glancing
over his shoulder, his posture stiff and alert.
Our ears continued to ring, but still nothing out of the
ordinary caught my eyes. When we reached the parking lot, there were people
filing into their vehicles and exiting the premises. I wondered if one of them
could be a dark spirit. I was just about to get inside the truck when a soft
crying noise tore at my heart. It sounded heartbroken and lost. I followed the
sound while Nathan stuck our bags in the backseat. I moved to the front of the
truck and there sitting on the curb was the most angelic-looking little girl
I’d ever seen. She had to be about five years old, and I wondered where her
mommy was. My heart immediately went out to her. She was crying in her tiny
hands, leaning forward on her knees, her blonde curls tumbling over her face.
She scooted her elbows above her knees while she continued to cry, pushing her
blue dress up, revealing black patent leather shoes and white laced socks.
“What’s wrong, sweetie? Did you lose your mommy?” I asked,
kneeling in front of her.
“Paige, no!” Nathan hollered at the same time she dropped
her hands and grabbed my wrist, yanking me toward her. She was amazingly
strong, completely throwing me off guard.
She slowly rolled her head around her neck, her baby face
contorting into a ghastly mask, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then
her dark glowing eyes poured into mine. I was too stunned to do anything but
stare, even though her grip was like a tourniquet around my wrist.
“Let. Her. Go,” Nathan demanded, now by my side.
The girl jerked her head up, her glowing orbs on Nathan now.
“You have no power over me,” a man’s
deep voice spewed forth from her pink, pouty lips, chilling me to the bone.
“No?” Nathan said, bending so his eyes were leveled with
hers. “But I can break her neck, which will take you out of the equation.”
“You can’t do that, Nathan,” I gasped. “She’s a child!”
“She’s soulless, Paige,” he said, keeping his eyes trained
on her. “I’m going to tell you one more time . . . Let. Her. Go.”
Nathan wasn’t playing around. He was serious, and his ears
were red, signaling the rage boiling inside him. The dark spirit must have
realized it because he released me. I stumbled sideways, falling into Nathan’s
quick arms. The sheer force of it knocked us to a sitting position on the
asphalt.
The little girl hopped to her feet and moved her head
clockwise in little jerks, her mouth opened in a silent scream. She stepped
forward and stopped in front of us. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head,
then focused on me, dark and glowing.
She grimaced, then blinked, and her eyes turned blue. “Help
me,” she said in a sweet toddler voice.
I reached for her, but Nathan snatched my wrist, locking his
arms around mine. The girl scowled, then blinked, and her eyes were dark and
glowing again. I sucked in a sharp breath, and her mouth formed a circle. Her
head fell back in deep laughter. It was dark, sinister, and male.
She stopped, looked at me, and pointed. “Vos ero pessum
ire,” she said in the same deep man’s voice as before. Then she turned and ran
away.
Oh, I love it! I can't wait for the second book, make sure
you keep me updated on the release day so we can do this again! :)
Buy Beyond the Eyes
Rebekkah's Bio
Rebekkah Ford grew up in a
family that dealt with the paranormal. Her parents’ Charles and Geri
Wilhelm were the Directors of the UFO Investigators League in Fairfield,
Ohio, back in the 1970s. They also investigated ghost hauntings and
Bigfoot sightings in addition to UFO’s. Growing up in this type of
environment and having the passion for writing is what drove Rebekkah at
an early age to write stories dealing with the paranormal. At one point
in her life, she thought she wanted to be a journalist, and although
she enjoyed writing articles, she quickly discovered her real passion
was writing fiction. Her fascination with the paranormal is what led her
to write the ‘Beyond the Eyes’ series. Visit her online and read her
blog at http://themusingwriter.blogspot.com
