Meet Ivy Beck
My hearts, I am excited to introduce you to my fellow Indieverse Awards nominee Ivy Beck. Her romantic suspense novel Snapshot is nominated for Best Romance and for “Book I Always Recommend”. Her snowbound-in-Alaska love story Unexpected Arrival is in the Best Novella category.
Ivy enjoys writing contemporary romance and romantic suspense with emotion and humor woven throughout. Her former life was spent teaching marine science along coastal Alabama. She switched to raising kids and editing for several New York Times bestsellers a few years ago. The kiddos are older now giving her time to let her creative mind wander. Ivy loves her boys, her pets, and spending time outside. She loves kayaking and hiking. The water and the woods are her happy places. She lives in South Alabama with her husband, two sons, two dogs and one cat, and spends most of her day being a mom taxi. Which she says is a surprisingly good place to think about the next chapter of her current work in progress!
JEN: Ivy, it’s so nice to meet you! Thank you for agreeing to an interview. I’m excited to talk about your process. How long have you been involved in writing and publishing?
IVY: My self-publishing debut was March 2023 and I had to work hard to figure out how to market myself and my books. I went about it backwards, by hopping on social media and saying, “Hey, y’all, I wrote a book,” instead of promoting myself first as a new author and build fellowship and a following that way, then tease parts of my book before it released. Now I know better, but that had to be learned the hard way.
JEN: I’m so envious of authors I see doing that. I really wish I’d had my act together early enough to build a community first and launch my books second. It’s much more challenging to do it this way. Tell me more about your start.
IVY: I began by submitting my work to multiple publishing houses and was denied. Finally, I just made up my mind with the help of my NYT-bestselling bestie (whose husband helped me with formatting and cover design) to put my books out there. It's been slow-going, but I'm working on my marketing strategies and creating ads so it’s improving.
JEN: Where do you get the ideas for your novels? What inspires you?
IVY: I find inspiration everywhere. Street signs, commercials, music, song titles, people watching, etc. Creating energizes me. I'm usually thinking about the story I'm working on throughout the day—especially in school car line or on errands around town. My notes app on my phone and I are friends and work together on those days that the ideas are flowing and I’m not able to be on my laptop. I just hit the microphone and let it all out! I’m energized when things start coming together on the document, and even more so when the story surprises me and takes a turn while my fingertips are flying. I love that creative process! Now, does that happen each time I'm in front of the computer? No, I wish. But I love those days when it does.
JEN: Can you imagine if it did? I think we all wish for that magic each time we write. Who is your favorite author?
IVY: I have many favorite authors. I can’t just name one. From my early years? Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, and Julie Garwood. From present day? Cynthia Eden, Toni Anderson, and Kaylea Cross.
JEN: I love that question because my TBR grows with each interview! I’ve never heard of those last three. I’ll investigate. Tell me about your writing routine. What helps you work?
IVY: I’m a coffee fan—hot or iced—and like something to crunch on when I’m creating, so usually a nut and fruit mix. I’m a night owl. For years I was only able to write after the kids went to bed. Even though I have more time in my day since they are both in school full-time, it’s just habit to write a little each night.
JEN: I get it. My day job makes me a morning person, but I’m naturally a night owl. Tell me more about your family.
IVY: My sister is my beta reader and first editor. She’s also my champion, helping to promote my books to friends in her state. My husband encourages me along the way as well.
I love being outside. I walk my dogs each day. My boys play sports that I help coach or practice with them. Hiking is one of my favorite go-to activities. We usually plan our vacations around places to hike with the boys and dogs.
JEN: Where are you? Where do you get to spend time outside?
IVY: I'm from Great Bend, Kansas, and currently live in Mobile, Alabama, so nowhere near where I lived my first ten years. I enjoy writing about the Gulf Coast and have two stories out and one in the works that are set in Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana. Previously I taught marine science at an education center on the Gulf Coast, so I have incorporated that knowledge into two of my books that are out (Lucky Girl and Back Where You Belong) and one of my works in progress will be set in Louisiana.
JEN: Wait. Where does your sister live? You said, "her state"? Is that Kansas where y’all grew up?
IVY: Yes, my sister lives in Kansas. We are lucky to have her visit us a lot. She’s a retired middle school language arts teacher (God bless her).
JEN: I’m a recovering middle school teacher, too. [both laugh]
What advice would you give to your younger self?
IVY: Keep writing. Find the time when you can and when the mood strikes and keep at it. Keep sending it off to see if it catches a publisher's eye. Don't give up. Also, don't rely on this being your only income. Have a backup plan and make this an amazing hobby that might one day be all that you do!
JEN: Thanks for your time today, Ivy. Tell us. What's coming next?
IVY: Constructing a Work of Heart, the free short story I have available, is getting lengthened into a novella and will be out January 2025. I have many more works in progress, but the one I have plans to work on next is Book 2, called Sweet Spot, following behind my romantic suspense Snapshot set in a southern small town in Georgia. I'm hoping that I can release that one and at least one more in 2025. Fingers crossed all goes well and I have plenty of writing time to make that happen.
Thanks for reading my interview with Ivy Beck, my hearts. Please also check out Indieverse Awards and all the amazing creators featured there. Voting begins today!
Ivy Beck is nominated for
· Best Novella for Unexpected Arrival
· Best Romance Novel for Snapshot
· Book I Always Recommend for Snapshot
(Yes, When Ivy Met Adam is up for Best Romance Novel, too. To quote my favorite MMC: “Love isn’t pie—it doesn’t get divided up and handed out until it’s gone. The more we love, the more capacity we have to love.”)
Like, follow, subscribe to keep up with Ivy Beck in all her hangouts: Her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.
Are you a human author? A human who narrates audiobooks? A human who designs book covers? Or a human who does PR and promotion for other authors? I’d love to interview you, too. Let me know when you’re ready!
