Author Feature: Rebecca Mikkelson, Historical Fantasy Author

The Author: Rebecca Mikkelson

Rebecca Mikkelson has been writing fantasy stories since her early teens for fun and was thrilled to turn her dream into a reality when she was published for the first time in an anthology. She currently lives in Hawaii with her husband of nine years where they enjoy not going outside and avoiding the scare ball in the sky.

In her free time, Rebecca likes to cross stitch to relax when her cats aren't hogging the embroidery floss. She also enjoys reading a wide variety of books, ranging from non-fiction biographies of historical figures and families to high fantasy.

As well as being an author, Rebecca works as the Chief of Business Development at Authors 4 Authors Publishing, which she helped start in 2018. She also works as an editor with several of the A4A authors.

The Debut Novel: The Anatalian Soldier

Liam Fulton wants to see the world beyond the vineyard his parents live and work on. The only option he sees is the Anatalian army. Shortly after he joins, war breaks out, where he discovers a treasonous plot. Will he come away unscathed, or will his actions during the war irreparably change his life?

Margaret is just learning to fit in at court when her father falls gravely ill. The other courtiers start to pull away from her family, thinking they're cursed by God for reaching too high. Her mother, unable to handle the pressure of scrutiny, abandons them. Can Margaret figure out how to care for her father on her own?

The Anatalian Soldier

Other Works: Short Stories

The Measure of a Princess: a retelling of The Princess on the Pea

A story in A Bit of Magic: A Collection of Fairy Tale Retellings (JL Anthology Book 5)

The Interview:

What made you become a writer?

I've been writing from a fairly young age for fun and for friend's entertainment, but I really didn't get started writing with any serious intent until I lived in South Korea with my husband for his work. I couldn't get a job with any of the English-speaking companies while I was there, and I was too scared to go out and explore on my own. (I'm very directionally challenged—I can get lost in a grocery store if they rearrange stuff.) I had to do something with my time. There were only so many ways I could clean our tiny apartment (I could walk end to end in ten seconds, no lie), so I thought I would give writing a chance. What did I have to lose?

That's kind of cool--after the fact--like life handed you a situation to bring you here today with your first novel being published. About the writing, tell us your process. Are you a plotter or pantser?

I’m definitely a hybrid between the two—I know exactly where each book in my series is going to end already and have written the final scene of the series, but beyond that and my brief outline (maybe a sentence per chapter—if that), I have zero idea how the characters are going to get to that point. They fill that in for themselves, and a lot of times change the plan on me.

I always feel like that method works the best, with an objective in sight, but the journey is exploratory. Speaking of objectives, what’s next for you?

It’s a little bit of a happy surprise for me, but we’re moving my books two and three, The Anatalian Countess and The Anatalian Throne respectively, up a bit because of a schedule change. Book two will now be coming out in April of 2022 and book three will come out November 2022. I’m really excited that the readers are going to be able to pick right back up with Liam and Margaret—and get to visit some sweet characters in depth—so soon.

It's not just a happy surprise for you, Rebecca. After reading the first novel, I'm excited to get my hands on the next one.

Where to find Rebecca: