One of my faaaavoritest things is welcoming debut authors to this blog! When I first started blogging, I was a total newbie and several years away from publication. So many blogging friends walked me through the beginnings of my publishing journey and were there to celebrate when my first novel was contracted and later released.

So it’s super fun to get to play a role, even a small one, in helping celebrate other debut authors—like Rachelle Rea! Rachelle’s first book, The Sound of Diamonds, releases in June and is available for preorder now. It’s the first book in her medieval YA trilogy. We’re chatting about that and life as an author today…enjoy!

Melissa: Since a lot of aspiring writers read this blog, I’m hoping you won’t mind sharing with us a little about your road to publication…?

Rachelle: In 2010, I wrote a book after my first semester of college. It was this awful Tolkein-and-Lewis-inspired fantasy saga that makes me laugh until I cry now at how sappy and dramatic it is. I wrote to a writers’ conference in 2011 not to pitch it, but to learn. While there, the amazing Anne Mateer met with and prayed for me, telling Jesus she thought I was a writer who wouldn’t quit.

I wrote those words down. The next summer I wrote another book, and this one was completely different. Romantic and dramatic, yes. But no fantasy in sight. Just history and a question I wanted answered: what is the sound of diamonds?

I entered the Genesis contest, didn’t even semi-final, considered quitting, remembered Anne’s words, and email-queried my dream publishing house, WhiteFire, the next day. Seventeen months later, I had written two sequels and signed a contract…for all three books. Dream come true! =)

Melissa: I love Anne Mateer so much, and she’s been personally encouraging to me. So I love hearing she encouraged you, too! So tell us about this first book…what sparked the idea?

Rachelle: I was driving down Central Avenue in my pick-up truck listening to the radio. I am no musician so I couldn’t even tell you what sound or instrument made me think, “That’s the Sound of Diamonds.” 

Of course, then my writer brain completely took over (and probably almost got me in a wreck!) because I couldn’t put my finger on why that sound stuck with me. It took me three months to write a book to figure it out. =)

Melissa: I love that the title came to you first…that’s a feat. I’m always stuck scratching my head trying to come up with a title when the book is already written. What character do you most connect with in this story and why?

Rachelle: Great question! May I pick two? Gwyneth, because she’s walking through Hard and trying to cling to what little Light she has left. But Gwyneth is so much stronger than I. The tragedy she’s been through makes her stand taller, and I admire that. I modeled her after my mother actually.

And Dirk, too. I connect with him because he knows the only One who can get him through to the other side of his messed-up heart is the One who holds it, the God who saved him.

Melissa: Has anything surprised you as you get ready to release this first book? What’s been one of the most fun parts of being a debut author? How about the most challenging part?

Rachelle: Surprise: every time someone says they can’t wait to read my book, fireworks go off in my brain. I don’t quite know how to reply. I’ve been known to quip, “Me, too!” and then realize how ridiculous that sounds. =) Still learning how to respond, I guess. =)

Fun: I think the best day ever was the day I saw the cover for the first time. And then the day I ordered business cards with the cover design. I went a little crazy that day and bought a pen and mug to match. I’m not an impulse shopper, but seeing my book cover on Vistaprint paraphernalia flabbergasted me. =) 

Challenge: I thought I was organized. I really, really did. But I’m learning that I can neglect Facebook messages, fail to update Excel spreadsheets with reviewer email addresses, and just generally drop plates I’m trying to keep spinning. God is good and people are gracious, though. The perfectionist in me rails, but the little girl in me laughs and twirls and accepts I’m not perfect at this but I’m making my way and really liking it all. =) 

Melissa: Can you give us a peek as to what’s next for you? I know you’re already at work on the second in the series…

I am! I was editing Book Two today on my lunch break. There are some changes to come in Dirk and Gwyneth’s relationship, that’s for sure. Can I just say I’m really excited Book Two comes out in October? Whereas Diamonds was set in the summer (and releases this summer), Book Two takes place during the autumn. This kind of symmetry pleases the OCD author in me. =)

Rachelle Rea plots her novels while driving around the little town she’s lived in all her life in her dream car, a pick-up truck. An Oreo addict, she is also a homeschool graduate and retired gymnast. She wrote the Sound of Diamonds the summer after her sophomore year of college.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/inspiringdaring
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rachellerea
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rachelledianerea
Website: www.rachellerea.com
Blog: www.rachellerea.com/blog
Amazon Pre-order: http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Diamonds-Rachelle-Rea/dp/1939023599/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430766161&sr=8-1&keywords=rea+diamonds

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