Featured Interview With Rebecca R. Cohen
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts but grew up and still live in Westchester County, NY. Currently I reside in Pleasantville, New York with my husband and our 19-year-old cat, Buddy.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
It is strange to say but I honestly didn’t become an avid reader until about two-years-ago. Sure, I’ve always read books but I was never as engulfed in them as I have been lately. My book shelf is currently stocked with over 50+ books that I am diving into one-by-one. One of the books I have read and re-read a few times is “The Lovely Bones,” by Alice Seabold. If I could emulate the fantastic way she writes I would be thrilled.
I have been writing since I knew how to. In Elementary school one of my teachers made the class keep a journal and from that point on I wrote. One of my first stories was a very short, 5 sentence story about a snowy shoe foot. To this day I still don’t know what it was I was trying to say with that one. From then on I would write everyday. Most days I would take out my Grandmother’s type writer and write stories about my day, about people I admired and of course fictional tales. These days I focus on writing within the young adult genre.
I am also writing as an entertainment journalist for the online magazine, Dudley Media Group. I have been blessed with the opportunity to interview some of my favorite celebrities and authors including Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) and Lauren Oliver (Before I Fall, Delirium).
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Oh geez, this is a really tough question. I have so many favorites and I feel as though my favorites change as the more I read however, I have found myself migrating to Gayle Forman’s books. I also love Cassandra Clare, Lauren Oliver and Veronica Roth. If I had to pick a favorite author though, as I mentioned before, it would have to be Alice Seabold.
I love reading young adult books, even though I am in my 30s. I find that YA books take me into worlds I never imagined possible. I love how descriptive they are and the way the books pull me in from page one. There are some books, such as “If I Stay,” and “The Fault In Our Stars,” where I have opened the book and read it straight through to the end in one sitting. Those are the ones that stick with me the most.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Into The Light (The Fallen Shadows: I)” is the first book of a three-part fantasy series. It is the kind of book I’ve always wanted to write. For years I’ve been fascinated by the idea of angels and the concept of a fallen angel. I am also an avid fan of fantasy television shows and movies such as “Supernatural,” “The Vampire Diaries,” etc. so one day this idea popped into my head I wrote vigorously for 4 months and the end result was this book. It is the thrilling story about a young girl who had her life planned entirely only to find out that her plans didn’t matter because the universe had something else in mind for her. Here is a little bit more to give you an idea as to what you can expect if you decide to pick up this book:
Katharine Macklemore had her life entirely mapped out. She was going to Harvard Law School and become a world-class lawyer but one frightful night in the town quarry derailed her plans. After being viciously attacked by a grotesque creature, Katharine meets the mysteriously attractive Ash who teaches her about her true destiny. With her best friend Molli at her side, she is thrust into a world she’d only heard about in Sunday school. Now Katharine must join a war she never knew existed, a war that has been going on for centuries between The Guides and The Descended. As Katharine gets used to her new reality she learns devastating news about her best friend and finds out that Ash is far more mysterious than she could have ever imagined.
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