Citizens of Logan Pond Author Rebecca Belliston – Interview

Citizens of Logan Pond Author Rebecca Belliston Interview – Rebecca Belliston of Milford is the author of 3 romance novels. Her third novel, Citizens of Logan Pond, has just been released. I caught up with Rebecca to learn more about her latest book.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – When you approached me as an author of romance novels, my mind jumped to Fabio. After browsing a few chapters of Citizens of Logan Pond on your website, I’m thoroughly impressed by the heady, creative theme of a futuristic (almost oppressed) setting for a speculative romance. What inspired you to come up with some of the concepts and theme of Logan Pond?

Citizens of Logan Pond Author Rebecca Belliston – No Fabio in this story. :) It’s rated PG. But the idea came several years ago when I became obsessed with a question:

What if the end of civilization as we know it doesn’t come from some huge war or catastrophe? What if it comes from the loss of one small thing: the dollar?

I’ve read many speculative books about the collapse of society (Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched), but it seems like all of them deal with things on a large scale, how a disaster affects the whole country and world. Most of them are also set several years or centuries in the future. I wanted to take a smaller/closer approach.

How would a financial collapse of America affect a small town, a neighborhood, a family? How would it affect me if this happened five years from now? How would I keep myself and my kids alive?

Those questions still fascinate me. It’s been a mind-bending project, and that’s been fun.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – You’re also an accomplished pianist. How did you make the jump to novels? Did you start to write (novels) knowing you wanted to be a published author?

Citizens of Logan Pond Author Rebecca Belliston – I’ve played the piano longer than I can remember. My mom taught piano lessons and tells me that, as a child, I would climb up on her lap and listen contently to all of her students. Now I’m a piano teacher and compose songs. Music is part of me. So really, it’s the book thing that came as a shock. My dad is an author (Gerald N. Lund), and so I’ve been surrounded by books as well as music for most of my life, but writing books was always ‘his’ thing. I’d never been interested.

Six years ago, however, a story lodged itself in my brain. It played on the stage of my mind when I was falling asleep or if I had time during carpool to sit and think. One morning, when my youngest was napping, I decided to write down the main gist of the story hoping that if I jotted down the idea, it would leave me alone. Well, the second I started writing, I feel in love with the process. I’ve been writing novels ever since.

I’ve written six novels. Three are published, and the other three are on their way. I love, love, love writing. Whether that’s music or books, doesn’t matter. I love the whole creative process.

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – You’re from Utah. It’s a long way from Milford. How long have you lived with your family in Milford? Do you see yourself staying in Metro Detroit?

Citizens of Logan Pond Author Rebecca Belliston – My husband and I met at Utah State University where he was studying to be a mechanical engineer. His senior project was to build a dune buggy, which got him interested in automotive things. When he graduated, he was offered a job with an automotive supplier in Michigan, and we moved to Farmington Hills–my first time ever in Michigan.

In 2003, we moved to the Milford area, and we love it. It’s so quaint, beautiful, and family-friendly. It’s been a great place to raise our five kids. Our extended families still live in Utah, and we visit as often as we’re able, but Michigan feels like home. We love it (except the winters; we’ll never get used to the winters. Yikes.).

Lisa LaGrou of Oakland County Moms – Citizens of Logan Pond: Life is book one of a trilogy. Do you have the next two books pretty planned out in advance or does it change daily? Also, when will the next 2 books in the series be released?

Citizens of Logan Pond Author Rebecca Belliston – This story started out as one book in my mind, broken into three sections (named LIFE, LIBERTY, and THE PURSUIT). However, when the book passed the 800 page mark, I realized it had grown into a beast, far too long to tempt a publisher. So my husband suggested I split the three sections into three books.

Because of that, I know the plot of books 2 and 3 already. Much of it is written. However…splitting one book into three isn’t as easy as you’d think–or as easy as I’d anticipated. Each book needs its own story arc, character growth, and climax. But I love the series so much better this way. It’s allowed me to delve deeper into the characters and plot, and I think it’s a stronger story because of it.

Book 2 (LIBERTY) is nearly finished and due to the publisher in a month. It should be released late spring or early summer of 2015. Book 3 (THE PURSUIT) will hopefully come soon after that.

Visit www.rebeccabelliston.com to learn more and to order any of Rebecca’s novels.

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