Women in Horror Month – Regina Puckett

BIO:

Regina Puckett lives in Tennessee writing sweet romances, horror, inspirational, steampunk, picture books and poetry. Sometimes all of these genres find themselves in the same book.

AUTHOR Q&A:

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A: I knew in the seventh grade I wanted to become an author. I had just finished reading Gone with the Wind and it made me want to write something just as touching. I thought it had to be the wonderful thing in the world to be able to make other people feel as if they had been transported to another place and time.

How long does it take to write your book(s)?

A: It just depends. Some books come to me in a flash and I can’t wait to put it all down on paper. Other stories come to me as I’m writing them and I’m just as surprised as everyone else by how the story ends. The ones that come in a flash are my best works.

What is your work schedule like when writing a book?

A: I don’t have one. I work full time for a local university so I have to fit in my writing whenever I can find a free moment. I usually write at night and during my lunch hour.

Where do you get your ideas or information for your book?

A: I never know where my next idea is going to come from. They usually come from the most surprising places. My first book, Concealed in My Heart, came from a dream. One of my short horror stories, Paying the Hitchhiker, came on a trip to Florida as we drove pass a hitchhiker. Ideas just pop in and they refuse to leave until I make up a story to put them in.

When did you write your first book?

A: I have been writing short stories since the seventh grade, but it wasn’t until my daughters were born and I became a stayed at home mom that I finally sat down and wrote a full length novel. My three books will forever be locked away in the deepest, darkest hole to never been seen again. They are so awful that even I can’t read them.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

A: Every year I try find a couple of months at the end to read. I love a good mystery.

What does your family think of your writing?

A: I’m the first to admit that living with a writer is tough. We never listen and we’re always talking about people that don’t really exist. I’m very lucky though. My husband and daughters are supportive. They are my very own real-life spell checkers. I have no idea why they put up with my eccentric ways but I guess they’re used to me by now.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in creating your books?

A: How hard writing really is. Some days it feels as if I’m building a house brick by brick. It’s a process that can’t be rushed.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

A: I have no idea how many books I’ve written. I write in several different genres and in each genre, I have a favorite. Here are on a few – contemporary romance – Concealed in My Heart. Children’s – Borrowed Wings, Steampunk – I Will Breathe, Historical romance – I Close My Eyes, Horror- Mine.