Rachel was a delight. She gave a fun presentation on her Morganville Vampire series, answered lots of questions, graciously signed books and posed for photos. (And wore killer shoes.)

Some things from her talk:

Fun Facts

In her presentation, she included Fun Facts about her characters and the settings, like why she named this character a particular name, why she gave one character a particular job, why she chose a certain town as the setting for the series. Even what perfume a certain character wore and why she wore that kind. (It was a blend from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, by the way.) She also included her inspiration pictures of what the characters looked like. It was interesting to learn some of the behind-the-scenes details of her novels. (This is a good idea for other authors to steal.)

Cardinal Rule in Publishing

“Never Say No” to your agent’s/editor’s book idea suggestion. In Rachel’s case, her agent suggested Rachel do a Young Adult vampire series. Rachel said no, young adult wasn’t her thing and she had no ideas for a vampire series. She reconsidered after a phone call with a friend who assured Rachel that she could come up with an idea which she did before the end of the call. The result became the successful Morganville Vampire series.

British Edition Books

The British versions of her books now include a special short story written just for that edition that won’t be published anywhere else. Seem odd? It turns out that the British edition usually lags behind the American version by two months or more and many British readers were buying the American version so they didn’t have to wait. That decreased sales of the British version, so Rachel worked with the publisher to provide incentive for readers to buy the British versions.

Hardcover Editions

One of the fans asked if her books would come out in hardcover. (Currently they are all paperback.) She said no, because of the economy. Fewer readers are buying hardcovers due to the price and some author that are in hardcover are suffering. A paperback is cheaper to buy, so she’s happy to stay in paperback if that means more sales.

Her Writing Habits

She gets up at 4:30 a.m. and writes at a coffee shop from 5:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. She then goes to work at her day job. (Yes, even with as many books as she has out, she still has a full-time job.) After work she answers emails from readers. On the weekends, she still gets up early and writes from 5:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

I had a great time meeting Rachel and encourage all writers to attend author talks and book signings to show support, even if you aren’t a fan. The opportunity to ask another writer about their writing and publishing experiences is invaluable.

And these are the shoes!

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