Rebecca Carey Lyles keeps popping up here this year—she’s participated in the Q&A about Writing in Idaho and in the series about Self-Publishing, now she’s here to talk about her latest book, Shaow Ranch (which I posted about earlier) and more. Hope you enjoy!
We’ve gone over your writer’s bio before, but I wanted to follow up on a couple of things. First, could you talk about your path to publication and what sparked your desire to write in the first place?
My path to publication was a long and winding road, ha. Like most authors, my desire to write began with reading. An amazing gift from our Creator, reading opens doors in our minds and in our lives. The thrill of holding that first Dick and Jane book in my hands in first grade remains with me to this day.
After reading multiple books in multiple genres and graduating from college with a degree unrelated to journalism or creative writing, I attended a six-week writing class. And got the writing bug.
From there, I enrolled in a how-to-write correspondence course and started writing articles and short stories. Some were terrible and some were published. Then I tackled books, both fiction and nonfiction. With the help of writing teachers, seminars and conferences, how-to books and magazines, and writing groups in Wyoming, Arizona and Idaho, I learned the craft.
But I haven’t stopped educating myself. I listen to writing-related podcasts and read articles, blogs, etc. on how to become a better writer, editor and marketer. I also rely on critique partners, beta readers and proofreaders to help me produce a quality product. Editing other authors’ work has enabled me to spot and address my own writing weaknesses.
Authors have dozens of ideas percolating at once (if not more), what was it about the idea that became Shadow Ranch that made you decide it was the one you wanted to focus on for a few months? Can you remember what nugget started that book? You discuss some of this in your podcast episode, “What Lurks in the Shadow Ranch Shadows” and I encourage people to give that a listen.
I don’t remember what I said on that podcast. Maybe I’m the one who should listen to it, ha. But as I recall my thought process, two things triggered the Shadow Ranch idea. First, I read Wife No. 19 by Ann Eliza Young (1844-1917). She married into a famous polygamous family at a young age and wrote about her personal experiences plus what she observed in other similarly trapped women, including her mother. Those women suffered incredible hardship and abuse, whether physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or financial. Usually, all of the above.
At the same time, friends were telling me about the Sister Wives television series. I haven’t watched the series, but to think a dysfunctional family’s illicit alliance has been glamorized for all the world to see is terribly sad. My personal opinion is that the adults and children in such “families” need our sympathy, not our adulation.
And that’s why I wrote Shadow Ranch. I wanted to show the emotional trauma “sister” wives experience as well as the control needed to ensure they continue to cooperate with the male-centric lifestyle. (It’s called brainwashing.) Today’s polygamists have all the problems their predecessors had way back when and possibly more. Yet, they continue to believe and teach that plural marriage ensures they’ll reach the “celestial kingdom” following death.
Talk to me about the research you did for this—I’d imagine it’d cover contemporary polygamy cults, some sort of trauma research—maybe some domestic abuse research? Possibly even research into some of the industries the compound used to fund themselves? How much time and effort does that part of the writing process does that take?
As I alluded to above, plenty of information is available online in news articles and documentaries. Books written by individuals who escaped polygamy and by authors who study plural marriage are also available. I just did a count and found 10 related books on my cult shelf, and more are out there. I’ve also researched narcissism and domestic abuse as well as cult mentality. Here are a couple of sites: https://psychcentral.com/ & https://www.icsahome.com/home.
Some say child labor and/or forced labor have enabled contractors in certain parts of the West to underbid competitors. Also, insiders say our taxes support thousands of polygamous women who don’t have marriage certificates for their unlawful unions. They receive food stamps, welfare payments, medical assistance, and other governmental benefits for themselves and their many children.
Regarding domestic abuse…all a person has to do is google “Warren Jeffs,” the imprisoned FLDS leader who’s still revered by thousands of followers. If you have the stomach for it, here’s a “true crime” report regarding his conviction. https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/what-evidence-led-to-flds-leader-warren-jeffs-conviction.
Truth is, I spend way too much time doing research for my stories. Rabbit trails, you know… In all seriousness, I can’t say how many hours research demands, but it probably consumes at least 25% of my writing time.
How difficult is it to write a convincing character like Brewster? And do you have to do something to get out of that frame of mind once you’re done for the day to keep him from taking up residence in your consciousness? How about one/all of the wives?
I hate to admit it, but writing nasty characters comes fairly easily for me. Brewster is an example of unrestrained selfishness. Our basic natures are selfish, mine included. Although my job is to portray a villain’s self-focused behavior, I must restrain my own tendency. Brewster is totally about satisfying his narcissistic self, however possible. If he has to turn on the charm to do so, no problem. His bottom line is not the other person’s well-being; instead, he uses others for his own self-perceived well-being. And, no, he doesn’t haunt my dreams, thank God!
To be honest, after being married almost 50 years, I cannot imagine having another so-called wife or wives in our lives. Maybe another woman could be tasked with changing diapers, cleaning toilets and pulling weeds. 😊 But it wouldn’t be worth the jealousy, the arguments, the broken hearts and hurt feelings. Or knowing my husband was regularly sleeping with other women—or favoring a certain one, maybe a younger one, which happens.
Although I try not to emotionally plumb the depths of polygamous women’s despair, I can imagine myself in their shoes and think how I would feel. Yet, nothing about plural marriage appeals to me. I cannot picture anyone finding happiness or fulfillment in that lifestyle. As a result, I want to warn others away from the fake glamor, intrigue and supposed pathway to heaven touted by groups like the FLDS.
A scripture verse in Ephesians says, “Have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” I trust that’s what I’m doing in all my books, exposing the darkness and warning people away from evil.
In our correspondence, you said Shadow Ranch “kind of a crazy one to start with.” (I probably should’ve asked for a sane one to start with). Why do you say that? How does this differ from a more typical Rebecca Carey Lyles book? (assuming such exists)
Ha, I’m not sure I have a “sane” series! 😊 My first series, The Kate Neilson Series, addresses human trafficking, and the second series, Prisoners of Hope, tackles religious cults. People I talk with at book events seem to be somewhat familiar with trafficking and religious cults. But not many know about modern-day polygamy. Americans tend to think plural marriage was outlawed over a hundred years ago, which it was, and assume it’s no longer practiced.
Online numbers, on the other hand, suggest our country has 30,000-50,000 polygamous families and somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 individuals involved in those family groups.
This is one of those novels that comes with Discussion Questions at the end—is this typical for you? What’s behind your decision to include them? These are written by Pat Watkins—what can you tell us about her? Does it feel a little strange to read someone distilling your work into some talking points?
Pat Watkins, a retired educator, is amazing—and so are her questions! She “gets” my books better than I do, ha. I could never do what she does with the discussion questions, and I appreciate her willingness to compile them for my books. She came up with the idea to include questions for book clubs. I haven’t received feedback, but I trust the questions stimulate good discussion.
To answer your question about Pat distilling my stories into talking points, I’m fascinated to learn what she gleans from my writing. Every reader has a different take on a story because we have different backgrounds, world views and life experiences. Yet, she comes up with universal questions that any reader or group of readers can ponder.
What is it about storytelling/writing that keeps it fresh for you? Is this a compulsion to keep going, or is it more pleasure? Along those lines, are there genres you are still hoping to try, or are you sticking in the lanes you’ve picked? Are there genres you don’t see ever trying?
A couple things keep storytelling/writing fresh for me (other than the notion a true writer supposedly can’t not write). First, I do a lot of research. Learning about other people groups, historical background, contemporary cultures, locations, flora and fauna, etc. fascinates me.
Also, unlike many authors, I prefer to rewrite a rough draft rather than drag the initial draft out of my head. Maybe that’s why I’m an editor as well as an author. I enjoy fixing awkward or confusing sentences, paragraphs and storylines.
Will I write in other genres? Although I set my novels in the West, I’ll probably never write a true shoot-em-up western. And I doubt I’ll ever pen a murder mystery or fantasy or science fiction, but you never know. A few years back, three other Treasure Valley authors and I compiled a short-story collection titled Passageways. A couple of my stories in that book have fantastical elements to them. So, I can never say never. 😊
What’s next for Rebecca Carey Lyles, author?
The second book in the Children of the Light Series, Crimson Arches, is finished but in super rough form right now. If all goes well, it should be available before the end of the year. The third book in the series (no name yet) is percolating in my brain…
A reminder to readers re. all my books: No matter how grim the subject matter, every story has a happy ending. 😊
Thanks for your time—both now and before—I really appreciate what you’re bringing to this little corner of cyberspace.
Thank you! I always enjoy our visits, HC! 😊
Herman Steuernagel is a science fiction and fantasy author. His internationally best-selling debut Lies the Guardians Tell reached the top of the science fiction charts on multiple retailers in the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
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