Interview with Rebeca Seitz + Contest

I had a blast reading Sisters, Ink and was delighted when Rebeca agreed to answer a few questions for me. Hopefully, you'll catch the same sweet spirit from Rebeca that permeates her book and gives it its charm!

First off, let me state that I really enjoyed the book! I love how the sisters are all from different backgrounds but were made into a family. How did you come up with the idea for that?

YAY! You liked it!! Whew – big relief. J When I lived in Florida, I attended Bible study at the home of one of our assistant pastors. They had two birth children and several adopted children, most with disabilities and all with various ethnic heritages. I remember one time stopping in front of a family portrait that hung on the wall and seeing all their smiles – they seemed such a genuine, honest family. I loved being in their home and seeing them interact with each other. I wanted to create something like that in Sisters, Ink. I believe that’s what God meant for the human race to be – a beautiful mixture of colors and backgrounds, all created in His image.

Do you feel that you are like Tandy Sinclair in any way?

Ha ha! I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me…J Seriously, I was a lot like Tandy before marrying Charlie and having Anderson, but forming a family tempered my stubbornness a bit. I'm still headstrong and passionate – just focused on different things than Tandy.

Community around scrapbooking is an important part of the novel. Do you have close scrapbooking communities in your life?

Oh, yeah! Two of my girlfriends and I travel to each other to scrap. We used to all live in the same city and, when we moved apart from each other, we couldn't bear to break up either our friendships or our scrapping time. So, we thank God for airlines and good cars and keep finding ways to see each other! I also scrap locally with my sister. Her studio is even bigger than mine, so I go over to her house with my stuff every now and then and we spend the day scrapping with CMT on the TV in the background (and the sound of her two kiddos playing with mine). We've also started talking about forming a scrapping group at my church within the women's ministry. I can't wait for that to come to fruition!

What is one tip you would give a new scrapbooker?

Don't buy into the idea that you have to be perfect or an artist to do this. Create the scrapbook that represents your story and the stories of your friends and family. If it works for you, it is perfect.
(Amy here: I really love that advice and should take note of it!)

I loved Cooper! Have you ever had a pet like him?

I still do! Charlie and I have three basset hound mixes that are all rescues. Wilson Wellington is half basset, half corgi. I adopted him seven years ago when I lived in Florida. Sophia Loren and Cole Porter are true brother and sister. They're half basset, half chow. We also adopted a cat (because isn't it obvious we didn't have enough animals in the house?!) that was abandoned in the Wal-mart parking lot last year. She's gray, lives in the laundry room, and is named Daphne du Maurier. She spends her days staring out the window – and I just know she's sneering down at the 15 cats freezing their tails off outside.

How many scrapbooks have you made?

Oh, heavens! Here's hoping my hubby doesn't read this interview. Ha ha! I'm guessing 15? I'm not really sure.

What writing projects are you currently working on?

I'm finishing up book three in the series, which is entitled Scrapping Plans. I'm also working on another book idea that might come after the series.

Just out of curiosity, does a company like Sisters Ink really exist?

Yep! You can find it at www.sistersink.net. It's still in the infancy stages, so if you'd like to join, now's the cheapest time to do so!

What book are you currently reading and/or who are some of your own favorite authors?

I'm always reading a bunch of stuff at once. Right now, it's Love in the Time of Cholera by Marquis, The Husband by Dean Koontz (love him!), Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate (the first of hers I've read – good stuff!), and a plethora of magazines such as Real Simple, National Geographic, Memory Makers, and Library Journal. As for my favorite authors, I've already mentioned Koontz, whose mastery of the language is an amazing delight for the reader bored with words. I'm also a big fan of Jennifer Crusie when she isn't co-authoring, though I really wish she'd wait until her characters were married for those hot scenes. [sigh] I loved Patricia Cornwell's early stuff – before Kay Scarpetta (her main character) devolved into an introspective storm cloud. Brandilyn Collins mysteries are always good reads. Austin Boyd is the perfect choice for readers loving edge-of-your-seat stuff. Charles Martin rocks the southern fiction world…I could go on all day!!
(Amy here...Jennifer Crusie has a sense of humor like no other, I agree with you about saving those hot scenes though.)

Any parting words of wisdom you'd like to share with your readers?

Find your fulfillment by becoming God's creation of you.

Thank you so much for this interview Rebeca, I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Coming Unglued, the next Sisters Ink book!

The Contest
Now, if you are a scrapbooker or interested in becoming a scrapbooker have I got a contest/giveaway for you! You saw that Rebeca mentioned the real life Sisters, Ink company above! Well, one lucky winner is going to receive their first year membership to Sisters, Ink paid!

To enter, write a post on your own blog about scrapbooking. You can write about anything related to scrapbooking: your best tips, why you love it, or why you want to start, or whatever creative idea you come up with. The only criteria is that you must somewhere in your post link to either this interview with Rebeca, or this post where you can read the first chapter of her book.

When you've finished, send me an email at mypalamy AT gmail DOT com with a link to your post.
If you don't have a blog of your own, you can write on the topic of scrapbooking and send it to me in an email.

The winner will receive a one year membership to Sisters, Ink and a link to their winning post. If the winner is a non-blogger their post will be featured here.

Posts will be judged on content so be creative and enjoy! Deadline to enter is February 17th.