Rachel Rueben Rocks!

Recently, Rachel and I sat down for a chat on our monthly radio show. We never take the time to really talk about ourselves so Monday, May 13 was our day to shine. We had a wonderful time, and we even talked a little bit about our books! We didn't ask all the questions we had prepared, so we decided to share them on our blogs. These are the questions I had for Rachel. Enjoy!

When did you first realize you'd been bitten by the writing bug?

I was about 17 when I decided to take my first adult writing class. I did this because of boredom because I wasn’t learning anything interesting in school and out of sheer curiosity.

What made you decide to publish your own work?

After getting 40 rejections for my children’s book Escape of the Dodos, I got weary and decided I was through with rejections. At the time, I was writing my YA novel, Kindle, had just become wildly popular and Amazon was giving writers who published with them, a 60% royalty rate which is killer compared to the industry standard.

What have you learned from this experience?

I learned how hard it is to create a book from conception to birth LOL! I also learned a lot about the publishing industry and how it really operates. It’s not all queries and editing as some authors foolishly believe.

What prompted you to write Eternal Bond?

I began Eternal Bond in 2007 when Stephenie Myer’s book Twilight was being made into a movie and felt I could do better, to make a long story short, I ended up doing a Mark Twain and walked away for 5 years.

How much research did you have to do for Eternal Bond?

I did a little online research regarding the Middle Ages and the black plague but nothing extreme. I was more focused on delivering the best story I could. I don’t think people really care about whether women wore long open sleeves or kirtles. Research is nice but only if it enhances the story. If you’re stopping a fight scene to describe the red velvety drapes, something is wrong!

How long did it take to write Eternal Bond?

Embarrassingly enough 8 years. 1 year to write it, another 6 to ignore it and one year to pick up the pieces

and completely rewrite it.

Is it more important to write to trends or write what interests you?

As I proved with the whole trying to mock Stephenie Myer thing, I can’t write according to the trends no matter how hard I try. I have to write what’s on my heart.

When you aren't writing, how do you spend your time?

What’s this free time thing you speak of? Just kidding. Currently, if I’m not freelancing, I’m reading about self-publishing or taking a blogging course. Writing and learning to make a living at it has become my life 24/7.

If you had it to do over, would you pursue your career differently?

I probably wouldn’t have given up so soon after high school. I most likely would have hung in there and gotten more aggressive but I didn’t know any better. I figured if I was getting rejections, that it meant I wasn’t any good. I now know that the publishing industry publishes only publishes what the current trends are and rarely ventures out of that.


Rachel Rueben had no intention of becoming a writer, but after numerous attempts at being normal she gave up and became an author. Her first novel Hag made it to #10 on the Amazon’s bestseller’s list in its first month. Her next project includes a series of supernatural books called, The Eternal Bond Series due out in the fall of 2013.

Rachel is a blogger, freelancer, and content contributor to several writing blogs. The first three chapters of Eternal Bond are currently available on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/9639612-eternal-bond-chapter-1