Fridays off the Wall with Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Today, I'm welcoming fellow Astraea Press author, Rebecca Gomez Farrell.  Her latest book is called Maya's Vacation. 

Joselyn: Who would you cast as the main characters in a movie of your latest book?

Rebecca: In Maya’s Vacation, the main character, Maya, is a woman in her early 50s. She has a salt-and-pepper bob and an intuition that guides her strongly. I could see Kathy Najimy playing her. Dean, the main romantic interest, is an artist of the same age, lanky, and has a mop of curly blonde hair. Richard Gere with long hair would be a fun choice and would get that emotional angst just right, but I’d love Viggo Mortenson also. Danny Devito would be a perfect actor for Maya’s bustling friend, John. Naomi and Wynona Judd would have great fun playing Opal and Esther Donnelly, a pair of randy widows, as long as they don’t mind dying their hair pink.

Joselyn: I love the idea of a not 20-something heroine.  We can find love at any age. What is your favorite line for your most recent book?

This is not from a book but from my short story, Apocalypse, published recently at Yesteryear Fiction. It is about a woman—a diviner, actually—who is noticed by someone else for the first time in her life, which makes her realize that she’s worth noticing: His face is alight with the reflection of something dazzling, something she has never seen but always been. From the novel, I can only give my second favorite line—my first is the last line of the book, and I don’t want to give that away! My second favorite is Maya thought that interesting, but Dean’s soothing voice, like jazz spilling out of a sidewalk café, distracted her from giving it any further consideration.

 Joselyn:  That is really nice imagery. Do you have any characters who keep bugging you for their own book? Will you give them one?

Rebecca: I assure you, both John and Opal from Maya’s Vacation are quite confident they are worthy of their own books, largely because they find themselves infinitely entertaining and think they are great catches to anyone of the opposite sex. The fact that I have no plans to do so simply mystifies them. Obviously, I’m not paying due attention to their charms, and they may be forced to try harder.

Joselyn: LOL. I wonder if they would like a book together or one for each of them.  Maybe I have to read Maya's Vacation to find out.  Don't worry, it's on my To Be Read pile. What one thing would make your writing space perfect?

Rebecca: Some sort of high-tech device I can attach to my head that will increase the connection between my imagination and language capabilities. I spend far too much time trying to find the right words to capture what my mind is seeing—of course, that’s writing. It appears that what I really want is someone else to write for me whom I stow in the closet and take out only when I’m ready to steal credit from them.

Joselyn: When the power goes out, what do you do? (Cell phone service is out too.)

Rebecca: Make myself a cosmopolitan (fresh limes and Cointreau only, please) and sit out on the deck, enjoying the thunderstorm rolling by that likely took out the power. If it’s not too stormy, I’ll let the cats entertain me as they chase each other around the yard and fight over snakes, lizards, shrews, and other wonderful “presents.”

I love thunderstorms too.  Rebecca, thanks for putting up with my questions.  If you want to know more about Maya's Vacation: 

Twenty-year-old Maya knew, as she watched Dean walk away from her front door, distraught at her silence and her father’s threats, that she would never love anyone with the intensity that she loved him. He was her painter, her artist, her soul mate and being apart from him hurt too much. She tucked those feelings away, determined to enjoy the safe and secure life her parents approved of: business school and a marriage to Chuck, a successful real estate agent.

Thirty years later, Chuck has cheated on and divorced her. But when he comes back, begging for reconciliation, Maya follows her intuition and takes a vacation to think it over. Her love of art, food, and wine combine at this retreat in the woods, and she prepares for a week of making new friends, tasting exquisite wines, and learning to paint again. What she hasn’t prepared for is the familiar voice she hears the first morning at camp . . . a voice that makes her skin tingle and brings back memories of who she used to be before Chuck. Has Maya buried her passion too deep to find love with Dean again?

Maya's Vacation is available for purchase at:

Astraea: http://astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=662245&mode=product&product=3028832 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mayas-Vacation-ebook/dp/B004UB1REI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1301707190&sr=8-3 

Barnes & Nobles: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Mayas-Vacation/Rebecca-Gomez-Farrell/e/2940012318350/?itm=1&USRI=maya%27s+vacation

Have a great weekend.