Friday, August 21, 2009

Rebecca Savage: Can't Quit My Day Job!


Welcome Rebecca Savage.
Rebecca Savage spent her youth in a rural Missouri area living a sheltered life. She joined the US Air Force, traveled overseas to seven different countries for temporary duty assignments, and lived in Italy for five and a half years. She writes contemporary romantic suspense/intrigue because she spent ten years copying Morse Code with a Top Secret Security Clearance. Rebecca writes what she knows, sort of, and she's been to almost all of her settings. If she writes about a place, she's been there, with few exceptions. A member of RWA, MORWA, and CRW, she's very active in her field: reading, writing, critiquing, judging contests, newsletter editor. She teaches history to high school and college students and coached Mock Trial, National History Day, and Model United Nations. Ms Savage lives with her husband, her fifteen year old daughter, and her new foreign exchange student/daughter from Italy, and she has two other grown children, a son who's an army combat medic, and a daughter who's a mommy. She hopes you enjoy her work.
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Most authors can't quit their day jobs, or worse, maybe they work nights, and their sleep schedules are really messed up, and with them, their writing habits. I'm a teacher, and I love my job. I love the kids. I get to talk all day long. It's the best job in the world, as far as I'm concerned, but it's also very time consuming and tiring. You don't have much energy left after a day on you feet with 125 high school students. Ugh!
So, how does that affect my writing? I'm the type who likes to write a chapter at a time. My chapters are about 10 pages in length, which means they encompass a scene or two, usually in one POV, hero or heroine, and that means, I don't want to have to stop when I'm on a roll. So, if I'm tired or get interrupted...well, it's not pretty.
I don't write much during the school year. I do alot of editing for my critique partners, judge contests, edit newsletters, review for an online reviewer, and self edit my own work, as well as submitting and trying to convince someone to buy it, so I do write a few queries and synopses, and I do book signing, promo and speaking engagements... Are you tried yet? I am. I've run out of 'breath'. (Yeah, right.) Most people wouldn't believe I could ever run out of breath or something to say.
Still, back to school always slows me down. I write more in the summer than I do during the school year, but I try to keep abreast of things and do my best to pen new chapters when I can, and I hold out for summer. Don't we all? What about you? How does back to school affect you? If you're a teacher, or mom, or dad, or...whatever?
Comment on this blog, and cut/paste it into the email form on my contact page on my website, and you'll be entered to win the copy in pdf format of a book on mine...your choice:) http://rebeccasavage.com/
Rebecca Savage
Author of Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Bestseller: February 2009: Coincidence: Champagne Books
Thank you for being here today, Rebecca. Don't forgot to leave those comments to be entered into Rebecca's drawing and my monthly drawing.
Happy Reading and Writing!
Linda

19 comments:

  1. Actually, I am a singleton freshly out of college (later in life student) and school Still affects me. Now rather than having to worry about paper deadlines or that professor who simply does not like anyones voice but his own, I'm having to hustle money for student loan payments. Not a pretty time. Still, writing gives me a place to live away from the panic of "how will I come up with that money this month" and I am grateful for that. Hopefully people will buy my novels like crazy and I can hustle less and write more!

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  2. I have all your books so don't enter me in the contest but I had to stop by and say how awesome an author you are! OUTSTANDING WORK, VERY TALENTED! You go girl .....

    Now, teach me morse code!

    Val
    lastnerve2000@gmail.com

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  3. Hi Rebecca! I agree, I love what I do in "real life", so I wouldn't ever want to quit my day job.

    I also am a teacher, so I get most of my writing done in the summer, (I can relate.) but I do manage to squeeze in time during the school year here and there as inspiration strikes.

    School starts next week, and I'm ready to go back!

    Rural Missouri (Ozark) is one of our favorite vacation spots!

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  4. Wow, I love all the comments left by you visitors!
    To Mary R.: Why can't we create more time and land? Hmmm.
    To Mary M. : give it your best shot, and hopefully someone will love you work and sell you like mad!
    To 'LastNerve'...:
    I love that 'name' by the way: I'm glad you enjoy my work, and Morse Code...hmmm...((((.-../.-/.../-)....that's your first name, well, sort of, it's 'Last'...in Morse Code...stay in tune for more lessons:) I teach to my students every year; I'll graduate a bunch of ham operators;)
    To Debra: Missouri is a nice place to visit and live, and I've lived a bunch of different places, and been to even more, so I can say that; But there are many great places to live in the world, and home is where the heart is...right? Great movie, too!

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  5. Exactly! I'm stressing over 35 in seventh period right now and it sure makes it hard to concentrate on writing. I'm trying desperately to use my last weekend wisely and write as much as possible.

    Of course, on top of teaching and writing, I also work for a local magazine so yep, very hard to find the time to get that next book done. But - I'm never bored!

    Great post and hope you have a great school year!

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  6. How wonderful that you are a teacher too! Of course, knowing as many teachers as I seem to, I'm becoming convinced they must be destined to be authors. *grin*

    Great interview, Rebecca! Thanks Linda for this wonderful showcase.

    --Chiron O'Keefe
    The Write Soul: www.chironokeefe.blogspot.com

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  7. Thank, Ciara and Chiron!
    Ciara, 35 in one class...proably illegal...:( I hope they fix it and lower those numbers before school starts; We had a lady with 40 and she got some of them rearranged to other classes; Legal limit here is 33...sounds like hunting for rascally rabbits...only catch your limit!
    Chiron: Wow, so many teachers as writers! You're right, I've noticed that, too. I didn't know you wereone. I see your posts all the time. Love them!

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  8. Oh, Rebecca, you flatter me by thinking I'm a teacher! What I meant is it seems so many of the wonderful writers I meet (whose stories I adore) turn out to be, or have been, teachers.

    To me, Teachers are heroes!!

    Thanks so much for the kind words about my posts. *blush*

    --Chiron

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  9. Hi, Rebecca. Your bio always makes me laugh. I write what I sort of know too! :) And don't feel bad for talking and talking. That's why you're a writer. :)

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  10. Rebecca, You're so rigth: working up the energy is tougher than making time to write. It seems weird to say I don't have enough energy to sit and type, but when the brain goes dormant or the body aches from a long day at the "paycheck job," there's not much juice left for creativity. Good luck in the school year.

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  11. R:you're also so RIGHT. lol I've been to State Fair today and am too tired to type correctly. :)

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  12. Unfortunately, I had to give up my job due to health reasons. I have always had a love for writing and wrote a lot of stories- for myself- and have now decided I want to become a published writer. Finding time to write without interuptions has been difficult because I have had a couple of surguries and will have to have another so I have been staying at my Mom's and her house is worse than Union Station. No peace. So that is my challenge right now.

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  13. This has definitely been my most responsive day of blogging; thanks to all f you for commentng and to Linda for having me;
    Chiron: I love your inspirational letters you send out; I try to read them, when I have time...You know how much of that I have, right? LOL
    Skyhe: Humor is my number one goal; I'm into 'edutainment'..in the educational/entertainment world of my classroom; I try not to make the students fall asleep with my lectures and constant magfly questionging; No, I'm not as smart as Socrates, but I do try:)
    Megan Kelly: wow, so glad you stopped by! Fabulous to have you; I know you're a teacher, and geez, the state fair had to be a killer; I've talked to a bunch of people about it; right at the start of school; yikes;
    Dani: it's cool to have a new fan...I hope! LOL and sorry to hear about your health issues; I hope writng can take the places of the 9 to 5 J.O.B.!

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  14. Thank you for being my guest, Rebecca. I hope you'll come back soon.

    To all of those who left comments, thanks for stopping by. I'll be putting your name in my monthly drawing for winner's choice of one of my ebooks.

    Happy Reading and Writing Folks!

    Linda

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  15. Hi there,
    I'm late to the party but wanted to say hello. Rebecca, love the name, of course. :)

    Wow, you're a busy woman. Don't know how you find the time, let alone the energy, to write anything. I, too, love my job--but I only work 20 hours a week.

    Thanks for the interesting post.

    :)Becky

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  16. To Becky C.: Yeah, I'd have to get such a major contract for writing that I'd have enough money and no time to teach...in order for me to quit teaching; I like it, mostly, although there are those parents...notice I didn't say kids, you can deal with the kids; but...:)
    So best wishes, happy reading, and writing, and ciao for now!

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  17. Sounds like you've led an exciting life, Rebecca, with no end in sight! LOL

    Deidre
    deidre_durance at hotmail dot com

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  18. It was fun getting to know you a little better, and you do appear to be chasing the tick-tock of life and the endless obstacles that life can provide, yet getting to the other side of it, all with a grin. Kudos!

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