Back Porch Book Chat with Becky Dean (YA author)

Back Porch Book Chat: a casual conversation about books and writing. Today we’re visiting with Becky Dean, author of four YA romances including Love and Other Great Expectations, and most recently Love Unmasked. Per her author bio: Becky “is a fan of adventures both real and fictional. When she’s not writing or traveling, she can be found drinking tea, watching science fiction shows or Jane Austen adaptations, or quoting The Lord of the Rings.” (Becky Dean Writes) Hayley had fun “sitting down” with Becky and chatting about her books and writing!

Before we begin, tell us what beverage you’d like as we sit in our (virtual) rocking chairs: What’s your summer beverage of choice? (I just tried blending lemonade with sparkling lime water and have been loving the results!)

I love iced tea of all sorts. My favorites are iced chai lattes or a good iced black tea, especially if it’s flavored with something like mango or peach.

Ohh yes. I love a good iced mango black tea though I’ll usually add lemonade, too!

Love Unmasked is your 4th YA romance. I have to ask, what inspired the Elven Realms?

The overarching concept of the Elven Realms comes from my first novel, Love & Other Great Expectations. When I came up with the idea of a fan club devoted to fantasy novels for Love Unmasked, I thought it would be a fun tie-in to my first book to make it Elven Realms related. Since I had established that the series spans multiple subseries, that meant I could do whatever I wanted for Love Unmasked! I decided to use fantasy novels that I plotted several years ago but never wrote, set in a fictional version of Venice with magical masks. The inspiration for those came from the city itself, which feels magical, and from a mask I bought the first time I visited Venice that was sitting on my shelf!

I’m curious, having read 2 of your 4 books, each of your heroines is unique; how do you as an author relate to them? (Did you ever want to be a nature photographer, or do you enjoy creating fan art?)

I always put a little of myself into all my characters in some way. I’m not necessarily like them in terms of personality, but I try to give them interests or opinions that I have to make them relatable to me. In my first book, the heroine is a soccer player, and I played throughout my childhood (even though I was nowhere as good as Britt!). The hero in that book loves British literature, which I also enjoy. In my second book, the main character is into nature photography, and I used my husband’s love for photography combined with my love for the outdoors. My third heroine loves science fiction shows, and that’s my favorite thing to watch. I don’t do fan art, but I do love cons and cosplay and would definitely visit a secret fan club for books I love!

That’s a perfect segue to my next question. What kind of a teen were you? Did you like to read?

I definitely loved to read as a teen. Young adult books weren’t as big of a thing when I was a teenager, so I read lots of classic science fiction, Shakespeare and Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, and Christian romance novels. Even though I did play sports, I was also a straight-A student and a big nerd who liked science fiction but didn’t really talk about it because it wasn’t as cool to like that sort of thing back then. I wasn’t overly popular, but I did have a great group of friends I was very thankful for.

I feel like we had similar reading habits as teens -though I didn’t get into Christie till I was in my 20s. Now that YA books are a thing, what are some you have enjoyed recently?

I got to read an advanced copy of Augmented, the final book in Candace Kade’s The Hybrid series, which releases soon. It was a great ending to a series full of cool technology, action, and deeper themes. I also enjoyed The Unraveling of Emlyn
DuLaine by Lindsay Franklin.

Ooh, I’m not familiar with The Hybrid series, but I also just read and enjoyed The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine! (Readers, you can read our review here.)

I’ve noticed you mention faith, thanking Jesus in your afterword. How does faith influence your writing?

I hope that my faith influences all I do! My books are meant for a broader audience, readers of any faith and background. So faith and religion don’t feature overtly in my books, but I believe my worldview shows in everything I write. I feature uplifting themes like embracing the person you were created to be, having hope for the future, living a full life and pursuing what you love, and surrounding yourself with people who support you. I also keep my books free of swearing or any romance beyond mild kissing
because I want to provide options for readers who are looking for that kind of story.

As a reviewer, I really appreciate that choice. I know it’s something a lot of our readers are looking for and appreciate in YA, particularly when it comes to romance!

Now, a writing question: Did you always want to be an author?

I did always want to be an author! When they ask you as a kid what you want to be when you grow up, in second grade I started saying author. I wrote lots of stories as a child but took a break from it in my teen years and in college. I’m impressed by teenagers who write books despite all the other demands on their time! A few years after college, I remembered that dream and decided I wanted to try writing a novel. After many years and lots of rejections, I’m finally getting to live that dream!

Hooray! Reading your books, I’ve noticed that you seem to enjoy travelling: any for future travel plans?

I do love to travel. However, my husband and I have discovered that we’re decidedly less adventurous with a one-year-old than we were before having a kid! We’ll go to California to visit family and probably to the Texas Gulf Coast, but we don’t have anything else planned yet. These days, an exciting outing means the library, the playground, or Target! But we’re starting to discuss what our first big travel adventure will be as a family of three.

That’s a conversation my husband and I are having, too, as we look forward to our first kiddo’s arrival!

Back to writing, what’s your advice for aspiring teen writers?

My best advice is to write a lot, read a lot, and never give up. Writing is like any other
skill—it takes practice, and the more you do it, the better you get. It took me several
books to feel like I found the voice that was authentically me. And I learn new things
with each book that I can apply to the next, so each book is better than the last (I
hope!). Reading a lot in multiple genres helps a lot: classics and new things, popular
books, or niche stories that you love.

Then not giving up is the big thing. The writing industry comes with many forms of discouragement and rejection in all stages, so you have to decide you’re not going to quit and keep going even when things get hard. Surround yourself with a community of people to encourage and support you on the way.

Oh, that is great advice, and I love your point about community.

Becky, it’s been a pleasure “chatting” with you. Thank you!

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader

• Don’t miss our reviews of three of Becky’s novels: Love Unmasked, Picture-Perfect Boyfriend, and *Love and Other Great Expectations.
• The Unraveling of Emlyn DuLaine by Lindsay A. Franklin (we review a book mentioned in this chat)
• If you enjoyed this book chat, here’s another one with Tasha Kazanjian (YA author)