This article has some interesting history of North Merritt Island, where Jessie’s story begins. I hope you enjoy reading it.
Tag: #Jessie
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.
God Constantly Renews
I delight in the way God constantly renews us. Saturday, I was invited to a tea party at a lovely home in a beautiful subdivision north of town. It was a celebration for the launch of Jessie, Rebekah Lyn’s brand new book.
We were all invited to wear hats, if we wished, which set the tone for our dress. At the last minute, I grabbed my only skirt – white, cotton, tiered, and put it on with a favorite flowery tee shirt. It turned out to be the right thing to wear – after all, it’s summertime down south.
One friend did wear a hat and it was a vintage number – a work of art – satin apple blossom in pale turquoise on a light frame of ribboned stems and a tiny veil. The dress she wore was beautiful too; in fact, it was such a fine dress that one of her best friends confessed to having one like it in a different color. Fortunately, it was still at home and she was wearing a long linen skirt and a bright gauzy peasant blouse.
Everyone at the tea party was interesting. Rebekah Lyn had known many of them for most of her life. Her mother was there. She’s Onisha Rebekah Lyn’s publicist. Another friend came too. She had been in charge of setting up the party, making sure there were enough china teacups and antique teapots to serve from. She handled many other organizational details and received a public promotion to assistant marketer. About a dozen of us sat at a round table and chatted. It was deliberately old-fashioned and reminded me of my mother, her friends, and their parties.
Rebekah Lyn’s great aunt Joan attended. She volunteers at The Titusville Historical Society and was instrumental in helping Rebekah with research of the history of this area. Jessie starts out in a community that no longer exists. The property became part of the Space Center, so the families who lived there had to move to the mainland.
One of Rebekah’s favorite teachers was at the party. Rebekah calls on her for not only general historical references, but for tricky English questions as well. Everyone paid close attention as Rebekah talked about the writing and publishing of Jessie.
Rebekah Lyn will be at the Sea Turtle Festival in downtown Titusville on June 14 with her books. I’m going down to help her set up, I think Onisha will still be in town, too and her assistant will come by and help, then head up to Jacksonville to visit her sister. As for me, I may look for a ranger I know who is monitoring baby turtles as they hatch. He’s looking for volunteers too and I may know someone who’d like to do just that. Maybe our son and his wife will come. He’s an environmentalist who dearly loves turtles and all other wildlife unless they’re “exotic,” which means they’re taking habitat and food from the local critters. Really though, he’s got a soft heart and will take the time to have a conversation with any live thing, even the brown lizards, who are taking over from the jewel-like green anoles.
That’s what it’s all about – tea parties – talking to the animals, family communications, reading each other’s books. It’s all about people loving people and working together in love and harmony.
Psalms 104:30 “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” (KJV
Jessie, coming-of-age story set in the exciting years of the U.S. race for the moon and releases July 20, 2014. Pre-order are available now at a 60% discount. Kindle readers will need to purchase through Smashwords
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