What I learned from Rebekah Lyn’s Radio Interview

Rebekah Lyn, Onisha, and Pam have been getting the word out about Rebekah’s new book, Jessie. Yesterday Rebekah Lyn and Onisha came to my house because they wanted to use a land-phone in order to give an interview for Will Wilson’s Indie Book Show.

The three of us sat in the living room each watching our various timepieces and counting down to eleven a. m. when the phone rang. That was when I remembered to get Rebekah Lyn a glass of water. I was very quiet with the ice, and when our cat came in meowing I grabbed her and put her on the porch, so the audience wouldn’t be distracted.

We knew the interview would last about an hour which made us a bit nervous about our cordless phone, not knowing how long it would stay empowered.

Onisha took the first picture when Rebekah Lyn was settling in to the couch with the phone to her ear. She did look a picture with her shining, shoulder length auburn hair and sparkling blue eyes

The experience was a revelation to me, as I am yet to do my first telephone interview. I do have one coming up with another interviewer so I was all eyes and ears. Will Wilson will be also interview Janet Perez Eckles sometime after she returns from her mission trip to Bolivia.

Here’s a one-two-three of what I learned about a successful telephone interview.

You must have a phone with a reliable battery, a glass of water, maybe a friend or two, and a notebook with your previously recorded notes ready to hand.
Your notes will be your mainstay when the interviewer asks for answers to questions that take a bit of remembering – such as who have been some of your favorite authors over the years and why did you like them.
It would be a good idea to go to Will’s website or podcast and listen to some of his fine interviews, so that you will know in advance what types of questions he may ask. He will move on if he asks something you don’t know, but why not be ready for anything like the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America are?

A few days before the interview I received a list of Rebekah’s stops for the blog tour she has been doing. She has written a dozen blogs for various sites. I looked them over with great interest and excitement. I’ve heard her speak several times and she never bogs down or seems to be at a loss for words. There’s always something new, something she hasn’t said before. I asked how she does that when there are so many blogs and interviews and she told me that she does each one as a fresh interview, getting her notes down as early as possible in the process. When she comes to a question she has answered too many times, she simply digs a bit deeper into her own heart and mind to get new insights to share. What a wonderful idea!

Rebekah Lyn listens as well as she speaks,she’s a master at telephone conversations. Even when she agrees wholeheartedly, she doesn’t break in and validate – you hear not a word from her, but in her presence you might see an energetic nod or when waiting for more information a small shrug of the shoulders.Her voice is well-modulated and even, and always gracious,interested and energetic.

When the hour was up, we learned that the power on our cordless phone will last at least that long, which is a good thing to know. Onisha and I only heard Rebekah’s side of the conversation, so we are definitely clicking on Will’s podcast to hear the other side.

Be sure to visit Will Wilson’s Indie Book Show or subscribe to his podcasts .

A few minutes after the interview was over, Rebekah turned on her cell phone and received an email. It was a message from NASA telling her she got a spot and a press card as one of the social-media reporters for the one of the events celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. She will be tweeting live from Kennedy Space Center Follow her tweets on Monday @rebekahlyn1 or #NASAsocial.

To celebrate the release of Jessie, Rebekah is offering an eBook copy at 60% off the regular price.