Interview with M.R. Becker, Contemporary Romance Author
What’s your name? Tell us a bit about yourself.
My pen name is M.R. Becker or Mabel-Rose Becker. I'm a mom of three kids. My family and I live in the country. I love to quilt and play with fabric when I'm not babysitting kids, running mine around to activities, or writing. My husband and I have been married for almost seventeen years. We've been together for twenty-one. When it comes to food, I love almost anything lemon or apple cinnamon, be it pie, tarts, bread, or whatever.
What genre(s) do you write?
In 2018, the writing bug hit me, and I decided to start looking at how to publish a book. I write primarily contemporary romantic suspense. I have two books out now. My debut, Finding Willow, and another, Shy Santa, which is part of a multi-author series. I also have two Kindle Vellas. One is contemporary and the start of a series called Songs of the Heart. The other is a paranormal romance/shifter story. These two are going to be steamier, and one is a why choose/mfm story.
Why did you start writing?
As a teen, I started writing. Not sure how it happened, actually. I just remember that in seventh grade I was always writing, and a couple of my friends stole my notebook and started reading. They loved the story, and that spurred me on. Which is very surprising, because when it came to English class, my teachers hated me. Most didn't know I wrote. They all thought I was kind of stupid. The papers I turned in looked like they went through a slasher movie; they were just coated in red ink. It took me a good twenty years before I'd ever show anyone else my writing. Even in college, I refused to show my professors what I wrote after one disaster of a creative writing class, where the teacher said I shouldn't be a writer or even attempt it.
But back in 2018, I'd been in a book slump. I know it's probably bad and stuff to say this, but I'd had a long string of ebooks that were so poorly written with inconsistencies, riddled with plot holes and grammar mistakes that I thought to myself that if more than one person could put out books like this and still have five-star reviews, then maybe I should give it a try. I knew going in I'd have a lot to learn and work on. So, I started writing. After hours of watching YouTube videos explaining how to structure sentences and word choices, I started to get better. But there were a couple of the things I found that helped me most. First, was working with other writers who knew more about grammar and how to show and not just tell. Or as one said, describe a scene, don't explain it. Swapping chapters and whole manuscripts helped me pinpoint weaknesses in my own writing that I could fix and improve. While I could "tell" a good story, finding people to help with my grammar issues has been a blessing. I stumbled on a writing class that Brandon Sanderson records and posts to YouTube. While I write romance, and he writes fantasy, there were a lot of things I learned about setting a scene. My favorite lesson of his actually came from Mary Robinette Kowal. She writes short stories and novellas. Her explanations on word choice and how to build a sentence to pack a punch really resonated with me. And the biggest thing I learned is an editor is your best friend. They might make you cry, telling you what to cut out and change, or if there is a need for more description, or even, god forbid, added chapters. They are usually right, and we should listen to them.
Tell us about your books. How did you come up with the idea for them?
My first story was actually my paranormal romance that's on Kindle Vella now. I found a couple writer friends, and we swapped chapters. After a hard look. I set the PNR to the side and started fresh on a new story, that being Finding Willow. In the summer of 2021, I wrote the first half and then used Nanowrimo that year to finish the story. During Nano I met a lovely woman. She talked me into joining the multi-author project and Shy Santa was born from that.
Finding Willow is my debut. It's part of the Lamb Security series. So far, I have three more books in the series playing around in my mind. Book two, Protecting Alaina, will be out sometime this year.
This series started as a random question that popped into my head. My son has a stuffed dog named Auggie Doggie, and his little sister stole him one day, and a big fight ensued. But that got me thinking about what would happen if a little kid lost one of their most prized possessions. Lottie, the little girl in the story, was then born. Auggie and his coworkers are on a forced vacation and stumble upon Lottie, who latches onto Auggie because she thinks he's her stuffed dog come to life. I got the name of the security agency from the owner, Marco Shepard. Because what do sheperds protect but sheep and lambs? He will eventually get his own book, maybe. He has only whispered a little to me about his life and who he is.
The multi-author series I'm involved with will have three books written by me and will revolve around the shared world of Kissing Springs, Kentucky. Book two will be published on July 11th and book three on October 3rd. I am hoping to have Protecting Alaina out before book two of the Kissing Springs series comes out.
Where do you draw inspiration for your characters and setting?
I get my inspiration from everywhere. The barista at the local coffeehouse. People I have known in the past. But mostly the characters are fully formed beings who natter in my head to me. I know it sounds weird, but for me, writing is more about sharing stories that are told to me by the characters. I have no idea what will happen other than the happily-ever-after in the end. Protecting Alaina is a big example of this. I thought it was going to be a mostly happy story about a woman finding love after an abusive relationship. The more I work with the characters and they open up to me, the more I learn about them. A couple days ago, I sat down to write, and as the words poured out of me, I had to stop and have a WTH moment. Literally did not see the twist coming and these characters live in my head.
How many books have you published?
So far, I have published two books, and I have two ongoing serials on Kindle Vella.
What’s next for you?
More writing. Lots more writing. Be on the lookout for three novels out this year. Maybe a couple of novellas or short stories as well. Who knows? But at the moment, book two, Protecting Alaina, from Lamb Security, and books two and three of the Kissing Springs series are my only projects slated for this year. But we will see how crazy I decide to be and might add one more novel to the list. Well, that's if I can find the time.
Where can readers find you and your books?
You can find all my books on my linktree.
I’m also on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mabelrosebecker
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/854362522238471
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m.r.becker/
