Book Goodies

Find great books, bargains and freebies!

  • Home
  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Advertising
    • Buy Home Page Features
    • Advertise Your Bargain Book
    • List Your Free eBook
    • Feature Your PermaFree Book
    • BookGoodies Multi-site Landing Pages And Book Buyer’s Guides
    • Author Advertising PrePay and Save!
  • Deals Newsletter
  • Featured Books
    • Buyer’s Guides
  • Book and Kindle Sleeves
  • Free Printable Bookmarks
  • Sites in the BookGoodies Network
  • Inspirational Thoughts and Affirmations
  • Free Books
  • PermaFree Books
  • Featured Free and Bargain Books
  • Bargain Books Under $3
  • Buyer’s Guides
  • Interviews With Authors
    • Podcasts with Authors
  • Authors Start Here
    • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
    • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
    • Submit Your Interview
    • Feature Your Free Books
    • Feature Your Bargain Books
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
You are here: Home / Interviews With Authors / Interview with Author – Becky Doughty

Interview with Author – Becky Doughty

By Book Goodies Leave a Comment

becky-doughty-author1
About Becky Doughty:
Becky Doughty is the author of the award-winning Elderberry Croft series and the voice behind BraveHeart Audiobooks. “I write fiction, mainly because nonfiction is hard! Yes, I’ve tried. Let’s just say I like to color outside the lines when it comes to sticking to facts…or anything else, for that matter. I write Women’s Fiction with strong elements of romance and Young Adult/New Adult Fiction. Some of my fiction is written from a Christian worldview (and labeled as such), and some of it is not. My stories, however, are all categorically “clean” or “sweet” (light on language, violence, and sex), so if you’re looking for a book you don’t have to shove under the couch cushion when visitors stop by, you’ve come to the right place!”

Becky is married to her champion of more than 25 years. They have three children, two of whom are grown and starting families of their own, and they all live within a few miles of each other in Southern California. They share their lives with too many animals, a large vegetable garden, and a strange underground concrete room they’re certain was built for dark and sinister purposes…

What inspires you to write?
As far as inspiration goes, I tend to find it in life around me. Most of my fiction is contemporary, so all it takes is for me to catch sight of an unusual scene, a newspaper article, an exchange between me and someone else or one I witness between strangers, etc., and my mind spins off into a story. It could be because I’m adopted. Let me explain. I have a fantastic relationship with my adopted parents, and it was really only during my teenage rebellion years that I wanted to find my birth parents, mainly because I thought he and/or she would be soooooo much coooooler… But I’ve always played this game about my adoption. Any time I’m at a public place, I find someone who might possibly be my mother, father, sister, or brother and I create reunion scenes about them. I give them a back story, give them a reason to be wherever we are at the time – at the airport, at the mall, at the restaurant, at the dentist, etc. – and then come up with some poignant moment when our eyes meet and we KNOW, we just KNOW that we’re connected. Silly, I know. But basically, I’ve spent my whole life giving complete strangers made up backstories, to the point where I feel like I know them. The downside? If I do happen to get to know them and learn they’re not an deep sea treasure hunter but a data entry clerk at Xerox, I tend to be a little disappointed in them…. So you see, LIFE is the inspiration for my stories!

Tell us about your writing process.
I typically write a full-length novel in about 6-8 weeks, the first week is focused on conjuring up the whole story arc out of the spark of inspiration, usually just on a scattered scrap page or a word doc or even 3×5 cards – whatever is available and easiest to use. Then the second and/or third week are the “getting started” writing – I used Scrivener, which is absolutely fantastic for this part of my process – where I tend to do a lot of self-editing until I get the FEEL of the story and the characters and the direction the way I really want it. Then once I’m over that hump, I sink into the story and just let it rip. It’s not really by the seat of my pants because I know what needs to happen, what direction I’m moving in, and where I need to end up, but I pretty much give my characters their heads…and they do surprise me! But I prefer to “stay in the story” from start to finish, because if I take longer than that, I tend to get distracted by life or even another book idea, and then it’s extremely difficult for me to go back and finish it.

If I’m independently publishing a book, it takes me about another six weeks to go through the editing/formatting/cover creation process to publish the book; the same process takes my publisher about six months or more. Which is why I ended up with two books releasing around the same date!I also narrate and produce audiobooks under my audiobook production label, BraveHeart Audiobooks, almost all of which are available on Amazon, iTunes, and Audible. I’m a “clean reads” narrator, so with a few rare exceptions, most of my audiobooks are maximum PG-13. I narrate and produce 1-2 audiobooks a month so those take a huge chunk of my time – a full length novel typically takes about 60 hours to narrate, edit, master, produce, and publish start to finish.

I write around audiobook gigs, so I’d like to think that if I didn’t produce them, I’d be able to write more books more often…who knows?

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Actually, not that I’m aware of. I talk out loud ABOUT them, but not to them. I think because I’m IN their stories, it helps me to keep that hair’s length of a distance between me and them so I can stay in the mind of the reader, too.

What advice would you give other writers?
You’ve heard it a thousand times, I know. Read. And read some more. Or if you like audiobooks, listen. And listen some more. Who says you can’t have your books read TO you? Read and listen to what’s being published now, what’s popular now, what’s on the top of the lists now, find books you like and books you write like and study them. Learn why they’re popular and emulate that!
If you want to be successful as a writer, this is one time when it’s actually GOOD to be like everyone else…with the caveat of using your own distinct voice. It’s your VOICE that will stand out in the crowd, not your book.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
I’m a hybrid author – I indie publish and traditionally publish. I started out trying to get a traditional publishing contract via my agent and although I got lots of interest, it never panned out. I opted to indie publish, and once I had a decent platform and readership, my submissions carried a little more oompf, and now I do both. I actually find pros and cons of both, so to me, being hybrid is the best way to go.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I strongly believe there will be more and more hybrid authors in our mid-list to ranks. I have a feeling independent publishing will become the new gate-keepers, and that agents and/or editors will actually start leaning toward indie authors who have a platform because they’re a more “sure investment.” Ultimately, this is a business, and we all have to make money. Indie publishing is a fantastic way to build a readership, so whether you want to stay indie or go hybrid or full-on traditional, I think every writer should at least consider it.

What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer

What genres do you write?: Primarily Commercial Fiction: Women’s Fiction with strong elements of Romance, Contemporary Romance, Christian Romance, Young Adult/Coming of Age

What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print, Audiobook

Website(s)
Becky Doughty Home Page Link
Link To Becky Doughty Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site

Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.

Filed Under: Interviews With Authors Tagged With: Becky Doughty, Clean Reads Author, Family Relations Fiction, Inspirational Romance, magical realism, Second Chance Fiction, sisters


Free and Bargain Books delivered to your email daily, subscribe now to find great new books every day.

Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for our Featured and Bargain Books Newsletter

Fiction

  • Fiction
  • Action & Adventure
  • Drama
  • Fantasy
  • Historical
  • Horror
  • Mystery/Suspense
  • Paranormal
  • Romance
  • Romance – Erotica
  • Science Fiction
  • Women’s Fiction
  • Fiction Audio Books

Nonfiction

  • Art/Photography/Coffee Table
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Body/Mind/Spirit
  • Business Books
  • Cooking and Food Books
  • Crafts and Hobbies
  • Educational/How-to
  • Essays
  • Faith and Religion
  • Gardening Books
  • Health & Fitness
  • Humor
  • Inspiration and Photography Books
  • Pet and Animal Books
  • Science and Math
  • Travel
  • Nonfiction Audio Books

More Good Stuff

  • Featured Books
  • Children and Young Adult Books
  • *Reading Room
    • Interviews With Authors
    • Audio Books
      • Nonfiction Audio Books
      • Fiction Audio Books
  • Spanish
  • Giveaways from BookGoodies
  • Readers: What Podcasts Do You Listen To?
  • Readers: What Devices do You Use to Read eBooks?
  • Readers: What Do You Like on an Author’s Website?

For Authors

  • Authors: Tell Readers About Your Book
  • Author Interview – Tell Us About Yourself
  • BookGoodies MEGA Submit Book Buyers Guide
  • Advertise Your Bargain Books
  • Advertise Your Free eBook
  • Advertise Your PermaFree Book
  • Universal Link Tool for Amazon Books
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletter
  • BookGoodies News

 

Click here to have your book featured

 



Are you looking for ebook deals? We have them! We also have free ebooks - check them out!

Copyright © 2023 BookGoodies Network