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Wednesday Spotlight – Rachel Van Dyken

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Today the spotlight shines brightly on Astraea Press’ best-selling author Rachel Van Dyken. She’s visiting to tell us all about her experience at the recent Romantic Times convention in Chicago. Tell us all about it, Rachel!

RT was an interesting experience to say the least and I’m still recovering! Talk about information overload. It’s hard not to totally geek out when you see your favorite authors at the workshops. I was having heart palpitations when I went to a workshop done by Loretta Chase, and nearly fell out of my chair! I would say that this year was definitely a learning experience for me.

The parties — what made them fun was getting to know Elaina Lee, Stephanie Taylor and Kim Bowman. They are all hilarious! I feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing publishing house. I would have to say my favorite was the flapper party. It was easier to network and talk to people than the other parties.

As far as my first book signing, well…..my palms were sweaty and I felt like I had to have some sort of cool trick up my sleeve to get people to stop by! The ebook extravaganza was awesome, but it was more for writers than readers. The book fair was my favorite. They had Charlaine Harris and J.R. Ward, to name a few. People were literally standing in line for them — it was amazing to see those authors had their own body guards. Crazy!

I met one of the Astraea Press reviewers named Tifferz. It was so cool to actually see a reader/fan — I think we both jumped up and down and just screamed. Ha! Next year, I’m thinking of a sign that glows with “Take home a cover model!” Or “Free Kindles Here!”  I know what to expect now and also know what type of swag to bring. With so many authors out there, you definitely want to set yourself apart.

Awesome, Rachel! You have two releases out — tell us about them. Fabulous covers!

The Redemption of Lord Rawlings is the third and final book in the House of Renwick series. It follows notorious rake Phillip Crawford, the eight Earl of Rawlings, as he seeks redemption. It was by far one of my favorite books to write. I found his character very interesting. I was nervous about writing him, since a lot of readers told me there was NO WAY he could redeem himself. I do like a challenge though!

He’s mainly misunderstood and was dealt some bad cards in life. Granted Philip never made the best of choices, but many were made out of desperation and as readers find out, a huge misunderstanding.

Waltzing with the Wallflower was an impulse write. On a windy afternoon, Leah Sanders and I decided that we should write a Regency together. Two weeks later we finished the novella. I LOVE wallflower stories. We switched up the chapters, so I wrote the male point of view and Leah did the female point of view. We crossed over somewhat, and she always edits what I do.
It follows the story of twin brothers who make a bet that the eldest can’t make the most notorious wallflower the toast of the ton. It’s a fun light read!

It sounds like fun! So what’s next for your career?

Lots and lots of writing, preferably with unlimited amounts of coffee and Swedish fish… but even if I just be writing, I’m happy. Currently I’m working on the Renwick House spinoff series, a Regency retelling of a few of my favorite fairy tales. The first is called “Upon A Midnight Dream” and follows two characters introduced in Redemption, inspired by the story of Sleeping Beauty.

The second story, “Whispered Music,” is inspired by Beauty and the Beast with a very fun Phantom of the Opera twist. After that we have Snow White and several others! Leah Sanders and I are also working on the sequel to Wallflower, Beguiling Bridgette.

Thanks for the scoop, Rachel! She has a special surprise for readers — LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOU’LL BE ENTERED INTO A DRAWING FOR A $10 Amazon OR B&N gift card! The winner gets to choose — thanks again, Rachel, and best wishes for more bestsellers in your future career!