An Alternative Author Interview:

TCL’s Countdown Questions.

This week I’m featuring author Rebecca Rosenberg!

Rebecca is a new find for me. This past year, I read two of her novels: “The Secret Life of Mrs. London,” which was her debut novel, and “Gold Digger: The Remarkable Baby Doe Tabor.” Both of these books are biographical, historical fiction novels about women I knew absolutely nothing about, which my readers know is fast becoming one of my favorite things! While she’s already got a sequel to the latter novel in the pipeline, I hear she’s in the middle of writing another book, which sounds like a bubbly read indeed. I’m glad I found her, but let’s find out a little bit more about her through my questions.

• If you could visit five (5) places you’ve never been, where would you go and why?

In the next few years, we have trips planned to places I’ve never been and always wanted to go: First: Australia and New Zealand. Yes, I want to get up close and friendly with kangaroos and koalas! And see the Barrier Reef and experience the down under! Next, we plan to go to Iceland to see the Northern Lights dance in the sky. I hope we see it! Lastly, we’ll go to Egypt and see the mysterious ancient civilizations that came before us. Before all this travel, I want to finish my current novel, Champagne Widows!

• Name four (4) foods or dishes that you enjoy so much that they’ve practically become part of your personality.

I think champagne is a food, isn’t it? (TCL: Sure it is!) That is definitely part of my personality! A little sparkle to the end of a week! Besides champagne, I like salmon, avocados and Greek yogurt for the health benefits.

 

• There is the past, the present, and the future – if you could choose, which of these three (3) would you prefer to live in, and why?

I like to live in the present, because it is always happening now and in the now, I can choose to make it great.

• Best and/or worst – you choose which – name two (2) of either your best moments of your life, worst moments of your life, or one of each.

I’m going to choose something other than the obvious: getting married under the Golden Gate bridge, having my daughter and son, and even having my novels published! My best moments are playing mahjong with my girlfriends on Friday afternoons. My worst moments are when I cannot help a depressed friend get out of their funk.

• Name one (1) book you’ve read in the past year (or so) that you wish you had written, and why.

The book I wish I’d written is the book I’m writing now! Champagne Widows is complicated with the true story of a young widow battling Napoleon to sell her French Champagne to Russia, while Napoleon wages war with Europe and kills five million French in the process! When writing an epic of this nature, my reading is mostly research about the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars, and Barbe-Nicole Clicquot’s wine making in the 1800’s.

In the past year, I’ve read many current novels and the ones I enjoy most explore an aspect of life unfamiliar to me. I did enjoy Where the Crawdads Sing, in that regard. The “swamp girl” in that book is very different than anything I have experienced. I hope to build that world with Champagne Widows: a world where women have no rights and must outsmart the government to accomplish what they want…with shocking results.

 

 

Thanks Rebecca! (Remember: if you visit Egypt, I’m right around the corner – well, near enough, right?)

California native Rebecca Rosenberg lives on a lavender farm with her family in Sonoma, the Valley of the Moon, where Jack London wrote from his Beauty Ranch. Rebecca is a long-time student of Jack London’s works and an avid fan of his daring wife, Charmian London. “The Secret Life of Mrs. London” is her debut novel, following her non-fiction, “Lavender Fields of America.”

Rebecca and her husband, Gary, founded the largest lavender product company in America, selling to 4000 resorts, spas and gift stores. The Rosenbergs believe in giving back to the Sonoma Community, supporting many causes through financial donations and board positions. These include Worth Our Weight, an educational culinary program for at-risk children, YWCA shelter for abused women, Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center to provide performances for children, Sonoma Food Bank, Sonoma Boys and Girls Club, and the Valley of the Moon Children’s Home.