What is it that draws you to mystery, horror and paranormal thrillers?
I love the supernatural and you can feel it even in my mysteries and thrillers. I like the creepy and my books are often gritty and scary. That's why they named me the Queen of Scream I guess.
How difficult is it to maintain the suspense and intrigue in your books while still building up to a satisfying ending?That's actually my favorite part. The plot. In my books you'll meet several people whose stories don't seem to have anything to do with each other, but at the end you'll realize it is all connected somehow and I make sure you'll be surprised when you realize how. That is a lot of fun.
You have a knack for creating characters who readers care about. What is your secret for creating compelling characters?
Oh wow. Thank you. I am happy to hear that. I think that I care a lot about them myself. And I try to make them have more than one side to them. Especially the bad guys. There is always a very good reason for them to be the way they are and I take my time to explain what happened to them. Their motives are important. And even my heroes mess up now and then. Just like the rest of us. I am also not afraid to make them be emotional. I spend more time writing about their emotions than describing what they look like or what the place they're at looks like.
Tell us a bit about your writing habits. Do you plan out the plots of your books before you start writing?
It is very different, actually. Sometimes I dream something, other times it's just something that comes to me and I think, Hmm that's interesting or scary, maybe my readers will find it interesting or scary too. I always try to go places where I frighten myself, where there is pain or fear. Like recently I read a post on Facebook about a woman warning other mothers that she and her daughter were being approached by this man in Target and then afterwards in the parking lot outside and she had heard about this trafficking ring that targeted mothers and their children. Reading that post scared me like crazy so I knew I had to write about it. It turned out it was a hoax, but the idea was planted and soon it became a book.
What do you do when you are busy writing a book and the next idea is nagging at the back of your mind? Are you one of those authors who writes multiple books at a time?
I don't write multiple books at a time, but I do get ideas all the time even while writing. I have a document, actually several where I write these things down, so when I get to the time when I need to write it, all the ideas are there. Right now I have the next four books planned out. I used to worry that the ideas would stop coming, but I don't anymore. It's like the more I write, the more ideas I get.
Besides being a best-selling author, what other secret skills do you have?
I surf. That's my biggest passion besides writing and reading. I get the best ideas while being in the ocean.
Better Not CryRebekka Franck Book 8by Willow RoseGenre: Mystery, Supernatural Suspense
He stalks you when you’re sleeping. He kills when you’re awake…
Reporter Rebekka Franck is ready to escape the headlines for a relaxing holiday with her family. Small town Cocoa Beach, Florida seems like the perfect getaway for sunny days and silent nights. At least, until a boy’s dead body is found stuffed in the chimney…Rebekka learns that the boy is the latest in a long line of victims preyed upon by a local legend. But a demon cloaked in red with sharp fingernails who comes down the chimney can’t be real. Can it?With the help of a local teen whose dad fell victim to the creature, Rebekka investigates the growing body count. But as Christmas creeps closer, the reporter must catch the demon before it checks her and her family’s names off the naughty list…Better Not Cry is a spine-tingling Christmastime horror story featuring Willow Rose’s iconic characters Rebekka Franck and Jack Ryder. If you like pulse-pounding scares, imaginative plots, and hellish new takes on Santa, then you’ll love Willow Rose’s holiday horror.**On Sale for .99 cents!**Goodreads * Amazon
She couldn't have been much more than five or six when it happened. It wasn't on Christmas Eve when most people usually saw him. It was in the middle of December when she had heard the rustling from downstairs and hurried down. She had spotted Santa in her living room, sitting in her dad's recliner. As he saw her, he tapped his lap and signaled for her to come and sit on it and so she had. He had laughed his deep laugh while asking her what she wanted for Christmas and Jackie had told him, whispering how she wished for a new bike, a Barbie doll with purple nails and…oh, yes…for her parents to no longer be divorced.Santa had laughed, holding his stomach, then told her he couldn't give her all of that, but he could give her something else."What?" she had asked, looking up into his red glowing eyes that looked like two beautiful Christmas globes.Santa had turned his lips upward in a grin when suddenly the light was turned on in the living room and her mom had spoken with a sleepy voice."What's going on down here?"Jackie looked up at her, then said: "It's Santa, Mommy. He wants to know what I want for Christmas." "What are you talking about, Jackie? It's not even Christmas yet." Jackie had then turned her head back to look at Santa, but he was gone and she was sitting in the recliner all alone."Get back to bed," her mother had said angrily. "I don't like you running around at nighttime." "But…?"
"Go to bed."
The Queen of Scream aka Willow Rose is a #1 Amazon Best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 40 novels. She writes Mystery, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy. She lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Willow's books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners.Several of her books have reached the Kindle top 20 of ALL books in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than two million books.Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
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