I love discovering the books that inspired writers, so I’m bringing back my Reading Habits interviews to the blog. What draws a writer to a novel, covers that catch their eye, and the very essential reading snack of choice will all be answered in my Reading Habits features.

Today, the lovely Rachelle Dekker shares about her habits, the book she’s wishes she’d written, and a little about her latest release, NINE! As always, we have a copy of NINE to give away, thanks to the generosity of her publisher, Revell.

Over to you, Rachelle…

Rachelle’s Reading Habits

When is your optimal time to read?

Evening

Are you faithful to a genre, an author, or simply quality writing?

I love YA and anything that dips into speculative so that’s where I spend most of my time

Which factors most influence your selection of a book?

Cover, back of the book blurb, and topic

Your fiction pet peeve?

Too much internal reflection – I never want to feel like the story is slowed because the protagonist is pondering the state of the world over and over and over. There’s a balance between letting a reader into the characters mind, but not over doing it

What book have you read this year that you could not put down, and why?

I finally read Morning Star the third novel in the Red Rising Series (I know, I’m really behind) – man those are good books!

How do you mark your spot – folded page corner, bookmark, dollar bill, whatever is at hand?

I fold a page! I love seeing a well-loved book.

When reading, what makes or breaks a story for you?

Dialogue! It is my favourite – you can have the simplest story, but with killer dialogue (which lets you understand your characters and connect with them) and I’ll be hooked.

Snack/drink of choice while reading?

Coffee or Diet Coke – I’m a caffeine head

What book cover has really caught your eye?

Actually, a Middle Grade novel – Aline and the Blue Bottle. It’s so beautiful. Also, same genre The Girl Who Drank The Moon. Beautiful. 

What book do you wish you had written? Why?

Big Little Lies, I loved the book. So witty and smart. Also, the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. The first three books in that series are SO good in my opinion!

What are you reading now?

Just starting Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince – she’s great so I’m expecting it to be a good read.

Rachelle’s Nine

Zoe Johnson spent most of her life living in the shadows, never drawing attention to herself, never investing in people or places. But when a wide-eyed, bedraggled teenager with no memory walks into the diner where Zoe works, everything changes. Now, against her better judgment, Zoe, who has been trying to outrun her own painful memories of the past, finds herself attempting to help a girl who doesn’t seem to have any past at all. The girl knows only one thing: she must reach a woman in Corpus Christi, Texas, hundreds of miles away, before the government agents who are searching for her catch up to them.

Award-winning author Rachelle Dekker throws you into the middle of the action and keeps the pressure on in this page-turning story that, asks Are we who the world says we are–or can we change our story and be something more?

What do you love most about this story, or the process of writing this story?

It was very different for me. Some subject matter, I’m always going after identity, but this time in a vehicle that was super fun to write because it is a chase story. It kept me on my toes, and I loved it.

Share a little about one of your characters – what makes them unique?

Lucy is a mysterious girl with no memory when we meet her, but as the novel progresses and you learn where she’s come from and what she is – I’ll just say, it was really fun.

Thanks Rachelle!

Rachelle Dekker is the Christy Award–winning author of The Choosing, The Calling, and The Returning in the Seer series. The oldest daughter of New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker and coauthor with him of The Girl behind the Red Rope, Rachelle was inspired early on to discover truth through the avenue of storytelling. She writes full-time from her home in Nashville, where she lives with her husband, Daniel, and their son, Jack.

Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Dekker @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Rachelle’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: Nine or Koorong