Author Spotlight – Ben Rehder

In an effort to introduce my readers to other authors and their work, every week I will run an Author Spotlight, sharing information about an author, their work, and how they go about writing their books.

Ben Rehder’s love of the outdoors has influenced much of his writing, including his Blanco County comic mysteries revolving around a Texas game warden and a colorful cast of rural characters. Novels from that series have made best-of-the-year lists in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Field & Stream. Buck Fever, the first in the series, was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. Get Busy Dying, the second novel in Rehder’s Roy Ballard mystery series, was a finalist for the Shamus Award. Rehder’s standalone novel The Chicken Hanger won the Texas Philosophical Society’s Award of Merit in 2013. Currently, Rehder is slowly creating German versions of his novels, as he has seen a lot of promise in that market, particularly in audiobooks. Rehder lives with his wife near Austin, where he was born and raised.

A conversation with Ben:

How long have you been writing, and what was your first book?

I started Buck Fever, my first novel, as a New Year’s Resolution in 1998, and it was published in 2002.

What genres do you write in?

Crime fiction, mystery.

How many books do you have out?

Well, I have to go count. Be right back. Twenty-eight.

Are you trade published, independent, or a combo?

My first six novels were published by St. Martin’s Press, then one by TCU Press, and I’ve been independent since then.

What is your writing style? Panster or plotter or?

I have a very loose idea at the beginning, and possibly some plot points along the way, and then I make it up as I go along. That means there is always a point about halfway through when I think everything I’ve written is garbage, and there is no way I’ll be able to wrap this up in a way that makes sense.

Do you write more than one book at a time?

No way. Just one.

How much research is involved in your writing?

Not an extensive amount, but some, and I can accomplish almost all of it from my computer and by talking to various friends that were or are cops, biologists, game wardens, and so on.

Where do you write? Do you have a home office, write in a coffee shop, or what?

Totally home office.

Do you use any programs like ProWriting Aid, Grammarly, or ?

I’ve never heard of those, so no.

How do you promote your books?

There’s a great book promotion service called BookBub that sends out emails to avid readers who’ve signed up for their service, and you can occasionally get listed there. There a the Great American Novel re several much smaller and similar services, but BookBub is the king. I do a lot of smaller things, like mentioning my books on Facebook or doing an occasional book signing event, but I can tell you after nearly 25 years that hardly anything sells books other than BookBub and word of mouth.

What are your writing goals, long and short term?

Just to continue to make a living at it, have fun, and entertain my readers. I’m very fortunate to be in the position I’m in.

Advice to new authors or someone who wants to become an author?

Boy, I could write pages and pages about that, but I’ll try to keep it short. Not everyone can sing or draw or fix a car or write well. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and there’s no shame if you aren’t strong in one particular area. If you’ve been doing some writing and not getting very good feedback or encouragement from readers, you have to be very honest with yourself regarding your skill level. On the other hand, if all your readers think you are a talented writer, then write your book, refine it, and get it as tight as you possibly can – I’m talking publishable, with no typos or missing words or continuity problems and so on – before you pitch it to agents or publish it yourself. But even if you’ve written the next Great American Novel, it’s a struggle to find a readership and gain momentum. Luck plays a huge role, in my opinion, but so does persistence. I was rejected by more than 100 agents before one took me on. Keep at it.

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And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. – Stephen King