C. Becker Writes Romantic Suspense
Please welcome romantic suspense author C. Becker. She is here today to share her writing life.
Thank you for having me on your blog today, Zara. I’m super excited to be here!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in West Virginia, and I’m a mother of four children who are all in their twenties. My youngest daughter is still in college. My husband and I are looking forward to retirement in a few years to travel around the U.S. I like to keep busy and relish learning new things. I love eating chocolate and relaxing at night with a romantic TV show or playing word games like Wordle on the computer.
I’m one of nine children, and I grew up on a small farm in western Pennsylvania. Although my six brothers did the barn work, there was always plenty of work that needed to be done around the house. There was lots of bed sheets to change and laundry to do. My parents had a wringer washer, and we hung clothes outside on a line. I helped garden and can the vegetables. I loved picking every berry around our property, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and huckleberries. I ran around outside barefoot, dodging the clover and bees, playing shadow tag, TV tag, and other silly games with my siblings. Sigh. Such simpler times back then.
What do you do when you are not writing?
When I’m not writing, I focus on my music. I’m a music director at a church with a wonderful choir and I’m an accompanist at another church with talented singers, too. I teach piano, I love to sing, and I’ve composed some songs. Gardening is an enjoyable hobby, although it wasn’t as enjoyable when I was a kid and had to weed rows and rows of a huge garden. When I’m not walking my Jack Russell, I love to curl up with him and read.
Do you have an unusual hobby?
I don’t know if you’d consider it a hobby, but I enjoy home improvements. I learned how to use a miter saw when I wanted to hang crown molding and chair rail in my home. My first attempt was pitiful, but my brothers showed me what to do, and I got good at it. I learned how to lay ceramic tile and install ceramic tile backsplashes. Trust me, purchase a wet saw instead of the cheap tile cutters you can buy. I don’t like plumbing because I’m afraid of causing a flood, but simple plumbing I will tackle. After finishing three basements, I’ve gotten skilled at hanging drywall and even better at spackling. You learn the importance of square walls, very quickly. A good spackle job can hide the worst drywall, but not correct unsquared walls. Lol!
How much research do you do for each book you write?
I spend days—weeks, on my research. I never realize how much research I need to do until I start writing, then a whole bunch of questions surface. For Saving Euphoria, I researched a lot about burn injuries, wounds, the healing process, and special garments and devices patients wear. I also studied the complications of burns like different scarring and contractures. That study led me into looking at current research about burns and skin regeneration. I researched rehab that patients need, and I delved into the psychological trauma burns cause victims and PTSD.
In Saving Euphoria, I also researched a lot about Colombia, cocaine, and the FARC revolution, which I hadn’t known about. Though FARC signed a peace agreement in 2016, there are insurgents that formed afterwards due to unrest with the Colombian government’s treatment of the people. This new revolution played right into the plot for Saving Euphoria.
Do you ever experience writer’s block?
I’m on the floor laughing! No writer’s block yet. I always have a few stories constantly running through my head. Having so many stories at one time becomes very distracting, so writing down the stories quickly keeps my sanity. Currently I have four children’s stories to complete, a novel after the third story in the Euphoria trilogy, and a movie script. Maybe when I get everything on paper I’ll run out of ideas and hit writer’s block.
Saving Euphoria
by C. Becker
Hailey Langley and her children struggle to cope with the shocking and mysterious death of her husband Mark. Her teenaged son is rebelling, and Hailey is dealing with physical and mental challenges as well.
Tom Parker, Hailey’s former partner from the Special Crimes Agency, comes back into her life. He warns her to trust no one even as he tries to rekindle the flame that connects them.
Everyone has secrets, even Parker, and some of those from the past threaten to destroy the present. Hailey fights to move forward after losing Mark, but she needs to figure out if she can trust Parker and risk taking another chance on love.
Available from
Amazon | B&N | iTunes | The Wild Rose Press
Learn more about Author C. Becker
C. Becker is the author of Finding Euphoria and Saving Euphoria. She is currently working on the third book to the Euphoria trilogy. As a medical technologist in a former career, Becker has never outgrown the attraction of using science in everyday life.
Becker enjoys hanging out with her family and Jack Russell, playing the piano, reading, and gardening.
Website: http://cbeckerauthor.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/cbeckerauthor
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CBeckerauthor/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/beckercee/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19026691.C_Becker
I also grew up helping with my family’s big garden and now I only plant maybe a tomato plant or two. No more picking for me! Fortunately we live where there are lots of farmer’s markets. Best of luck with your book!
Thank you, Lucy.
Thank goodness for farmers markets. I like gardening to show my kids how to identify what vegetables are growing based on the plant’s leaves. Little tidbits we take for granted.
Great interview…although after reading about working on the farm, working on the house, and working on writing, I need a nap! Like the author’s life, Like the author’s life, Saving Euphoria contains many intriguing facets.
In a strange way, I guess I did have a busy life. Thanks for stopping by, Zanna Archer!
Great interview! I was so enthralled reading about a childhood on a farm that I automatically assumed the story would be set on the frontier. And then I found the blurb wonderfully suspenseful.
All the best to you both, ladies!
Anastasia, I plan to write a middle grade book about farm life. Although maybe the setting would work in a historical novel, too!
Thank you for hosting me today, Zara!