Interview with Author Rebecca Talley

Rebecca was raised by her grandparents in Santa Barbara, California. As a teenager, she played basketball and performed as a flamenco dancer in parades and on stage for the Old Spanish Days Fiesta. She spent most of her time playing at the beach, collecting shells, and digging in the sand. She said, “One of my favorite memories is riding my pony along the shore with the surf spraying my feet. I still love the moist sea air.” She now lives in rural Colorado and is raising cows, horses, rabbits, goats, sheep, a llama named Tina, and ten children. Now that’s quite a list! She is the author of two novels and a children’s picture book.

“Grasshopper Pie is a humorous picture book about imagination and the dangers of taking ideas too literally. A mother dreams up and talks about unique dishes such as grasshopper pie to her children, yet her young boy and girl decide to surprise her with a pie that has not-so-imaginary ingredients! A funny story, nicely illustrated with simple yet charming color drawings, Grasshopper Pie is a welcome addition to school and community library and especially recommended for young readers ages 4 to 6.” –Midwest Book Review

Hello Rebecca. I would like to know where you got your inspiration for Grasshopper Pie?

One day I was cleaning the bathroom and two of my younger kids wanted me to play a cooking game with them. I was intent on cleaning but agreed, half-heartedly, to play. What started as an imaginary game became all too real when they decided to find a real grasshopper to feed me for the grasshopper pie I requested. Fortunately, I was smarter than the mom in the book and I didn't actually eat it, but that's what sparked the idea for this book.

This sounds like a fun book to read to your children or grandchildren. In your new novel, Altared Plans, a reviewer wrote, “The dialogue was clever and I enjoyed the banter between the characters.” Tell us about your new book.

Altared Plans is about a young girl who's planned out her life and when it falls apart, so does she. She vows to never love another young man after her fiancée deserts her on her wedding day. She finally agrees to go back to college and against her wishes, meets another young man that first irritates her and then intrigues her. Through a series of mishaps, and an unintended fiancée, she learns that you can't plan love, it just is.

I love the book cover. Altared Plans sounds like a comedy. Where did you get your ideas? Do you ever use real life experiences in your books?

Yes, I would consider it a romantic comedy. Altared Plans is loosely based on the courtship with my husband. Of course, I fictionalized it, but some of the incidents, like meeting my future mother-in-law while I was dressed as a clown really happened. I'm still embarrassed about that. My husband also offered to feed me “Frank.” I thought maybe he was a mass-murderer who had killed a man named Frank, but it turned out Frank was one of his steers. He thought he was pretty funny. I included that in Altared Plans.

Raising 10 kids gives me plenty of material for my books so I use real-life experiences. In my upcoming January 2011 release, The Upside of Down, I use many experiences because the story is about a woman raising a large family. One such incident is when the main character begins unloading the dryer only to find that one of her kids had a crayon in his pocket and the entire wash load is stained with crayon. The main character also has to deal with an anti-Mormon mother and I based that on my experience with my grandfather who raised me.

I love learning about how an author uses real life experiences in her books. It’s fun to know. What does your family think about your writing?

I'm very blessed that my family supports me and they like to brag about my books. My daughter even started a group on Facebook about me.

Now that’s what I call real support! Tell us something about the real you that we’ll never forget.

The real me? Hmmm . . . In college, at the end of my sophomore year I was awarded "The Biggest Flirt" in my church ward. I still say it was rigged.

Rigged? Hey, Rebecca, this bit of info may not be true, but it sure is fun to imagine! I wonder what your husband has to say about it?