Rebekah Weatherspoon is the award-winning author of series Vampire Sorority Sisters, Fit Trilogy, and several standalone novels such as At Her Feet and Treasure. She’s well known for her erotic swoony books starring queer multicultural cast.
This week Rebekah is kind enough to join us for an interview. She talks about her latest series Beards and Bondage, representation for QPOC, publishing advice, writing, and upcoming books.
Every book is different as most authors would say and you’ve penned several, from your oldest Vampire Sorority Sisters to your latest Beards and Bondage, which one is the most memorable experience for you?
Rebekah: Oh man. They are all memorable for different reasons. I would have to say FIT because it was the easiest for me to write. Violet and Grant just flowed and I had the most fun with them in terms of the process of getting the words on the page. SO FOR REAL was the hardest to write because Michael and Kayla were so in love and I had just been dumped.
Most of your books have QPOC, several of them have f/f endgame while some are f/m. It doesn’t have to be same-sex pairing to count as a queer representation. I also noticed that they are always sex positive and very feminist. How vital it is for those intersections to be shown in the text?
Rebekah: I’m a walking intersection (queer, black, fat, dealing with ADHD and depression) so for me that’s just how I see the world. People are complex and layered. They also deserve healthy love and respect. So why not put all of that into a romance.
There was a heroine trend before where only “good girls” who are sexually clueless could be deserving of love and respect. While you have queer vampire ladies of color, sex worker mc, heroine that has a sugar daddy. They are not afraid to embrace their sexuality. They are the worst nightmare of every misogynistic, racist, and homophobe assholes. How do you pick and craft your heroines? I really love that they are different from one and another, but all are awesome.
Rebekah: I usually come up with what kind of story I want to tell first. So with Keira in Sated I wanted to write a black geek girl. She also already worked the gym with Grant and Armando. I had to figure out what kind of girl she was, top to bottom, and look at how the world would see her, being super in shape and gorgeous, but also being a HUGE sci fi nerd, and how she sees herself.
Do you have any specific genre or tropes that you haven’t done but would like to try someday?
Rebekah: I have a queer sci-fi YA romance brewing. We’ll see what comes of that.
If one of your books can be a movie, which one would you choose and why?
Rebekah: I think SO SWEET or my Vampire Sorority Sisters would be the most watchable. Also SATED would be fun. Kinky nerds for everyone! Kayla has always been Danielle Brooks from Orange Is the New Black. There have been 78 Michaels. Daniel from Sated has always been Daniel Henney and Keira has always been Trinity Fatu of WWE fame. My vampires are a little trickier so I’m not sure.
There’s a lot of hurdles for authors of color in the publishing industry. And you’re considered as one of the pillars of the community, what’s your advice to aspiring authors, especially those who are writing queer romance who feel daunted?
Rebekah: If this is something your truly want to do, just do it. Write the best story you can and don’t stop until you get it published, whether its self published or through a publisher. Life doesn’t get any easier, but don’t stand in your own way. If this is something you want, go for it.
What’s next for Rebekah Weatherspoon this 2017?
Rebekah: Not being drafted for Trump’s WWIII. Just kidding. Kinda. The rest of the Beards & Bondage series will take up the remainder of 2017 and the first part of 2018 and then I’ll be writing the So Sweet spin-offs featuring Kayla and Michael’s friends.
FAST TALK
- Coffee or tea? Soda
- Top three favorite characters you’ve written? Daniel from SATED, Alexis from Treasure, and Nailah from TAMED.
- Top three least favorite characters you’ve written? WHAT? I LOVE ALL OF MY CHILDREN. No, Benny from Blacker Than Blue. She’s such a dick. She’s it.
- Who’s your current celebrity crush? Henry Cavill. I have a problem.
- Lights on or lights out? Depends on what I’m doing. Cooking? On. Sleeping? Out.
- Soft hero or brooding hero? A soft brooding hero, like Shep.
Books mentioned in the post:
Vampire Sorority Sisters
Fit Trilogy
Beards & Bondage
So Sweet
Treasure
About the Author
After years of meddling in her friends’ love lives, Rebekah Weatherspoon turned to writing romance to get her fix. She’s worked in various positions from library assistant, meter maid, middle school teacher, B movie production assistant, reality show crew chauffeur, D movie producer, and her most fulfilling job to date, lube and harness specialist at an erotic boutique in West Hollywood.
Her interests include Wonder Woman collectibles, cookies, cheesy pop music, football, American muscle cars, large breed dogs, PBS documentaries, cartoons, naps, and the ocean. If given the chance, she will cheat at UNO. She was raised in Southern New Hampshire, Rebekah Weatherspoon now lives in Southern California where she will remain forever because she hates moving.
Find more at www.rebekahweatherspoon.com.
