Interview With Author Vera Bell
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m an award-winning author of the trilogy, “Always & Forever,” set in sixteenth-century Ireland and present-day United States. Book One, “Through the Veneer of Time,” is my debut novel. I wrote it after trying Past Life Regression and finding myself immersed in a world so captivating, I couldn’t let it go. Book Two, “Into the Lure of Time,” is coming in 2024, and Book Three, “Beneath the Shadow of Time,” is scheduled to release in 2025 or sooner.
A former commercial artist, I live in Georgia with my husband, two teenagers, and one fur baby. My favorite place to write is on my porch, overlooking a pond lined with river birches and magnolias. The topics I never tire of are Ireland, past lives, and love that transcends time and space.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
“Through the Veneer of Time” originated in my first experience with Past Life Regression (PLR). I’ve always had this inexplicable (slightly weird) fascination with Ireland. As long as I remember, I’ve longed for Ireland, even before I knew what that misty emerald place in my dreams was called or why Celtic art and music touched something deep within my soul. Still, as an adult, I approached PLR with an entirely open mind and a sincere intent to meet and experience whatever it would bring. The outcome was startling—a vivid encounter with colors, sounds, smells, textures, even temperature, and my visceral knowledge and feelings that went beyond the immediate. It was a highly charged situation, happening to someone who didn’t look like me, yet was undeniably me, with my entire family present and everything at stake. I tried several times to go back but, sadly, never could. So for several years, I wrote the continuation in my head, until one day, it became so vast and detailed, I could no longer contain it. Chapter Four of my book is an almost precise account of my PLR experience.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I often come up with my best ideas just as I begin to fall asleep. I’ve learned that unless I write them down, they’re usually gone in the morning. So no matter how sleepy I am, I try to grab my phone and quickly record them. Then, I can sleep in peace.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
There are so many authors who’ve had tremendous influence on my love of literature, but the ones I keep going back to are Donna Tartt, Charles Dickens, and Edith Wharton. The books that “made” me a writer are “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt, “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens, and “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton. I’m also forever in love with “Gone With the Wind” by Margarett Mitchell.
What are you working on now?
I’m in the midst of editing “Into the Lure of Time,” Book Two of my “Always and Forever” trilogy. I’m writing Book Three, “Beneath the Shadow of Time.”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m still figuring this one out!
Do you have any advice for new authors?
The common advice is to write what you know, but I disagree because we don’t always enjoy what we know or want to write about it. Instead, turn off the noise and write what you love or truly yearn to know. You’ll never want to stop.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Quality over quantity. I’m a perfectionist and like to take my time with each sentence, so this advice resonates deeply with me. I’d much rather write one thoroughly researched, flawlessly executed book per year than three books I can’t be proud of.
What are you reading now?
I recently started reading “From Sand and Ash” by Amy Harmon. It’s a heartbreaking and very timely story of the forbidden love between a young Catholic priest and a Jewish girl in the war-torn Italy.
What’s next for you as a writer?
After I finish the trilogy, I’ll be working on three prequels. Each one is a standalone historical romance involving my main characters’ other past lives. After that, I want to write a retelling of a story from the Old Testament.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible—it’s everything. I would also pack as many Outlander books as I could fit in my bag. Can I take them all?
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