Interview with Rebecca Hogue: Main Character Monday-ish

Interview with Rebecca Hogue: Main Character Monday-ish

Welcome to Main Character Monday. Yes, I am aware it is Tuesday. However, our main character’s book releases today, and I don’t think there’s a better day to interview her.

The Details

Rebecca joins us from Fireflies in Sacred Shadows (don’t you love that title?) by Tonya B. Ashley. This is the second book in the Lost and Found series published by Scrivenings Press. I’m currently reading the first in the series, Of Faith and Dreams, and I can’t wait to finish it and start this one. Both books are available in paperback and eBook formats. Stick with me after the interview for more information on Fireflies in Sacred Shadows.

Now, let’s meet Rebecca Hogue.

Interview with Rebecca Hogue

Welcome to Main Character Monday, Rebecca. Let’s begin getting to know you. Tell us about yourself

My name is Rebecca Hogue. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I run my family’s boardinghouse in Van Buren, Arkansas. Some days it feels a bit like managing a small town under one roof, but the Lord provides strength for every task. I have six siblings still living at home, each with their own personalities and needs, and much of these last five years I’ve spent holding them together since Mama passed. I don’t mind the work, though I won’t pretend I never grow tired. I do miss the days when I had the freedom to wander down to the creek on an autumn afternoon, before responsibility settled in so firmly.

Responsibilities do have a way of stealing time for relaxation. Tell me something about you that readers may find surprising?

Most people think I’m the sensible, steady-handed one who keeps the household in order. But when I was younger, I was far less… contained. I used to climb the tallest oak behind our house and sit higher than any girl had good sense to. I loved the view, the feeling that the world stretched farther than I could see.

And once—just once—when Justin teased me relentlessly about a boy saying hello to me after church, I slipped a frog into his bed to settle the matter. He hollered so loud he startled the hens. I should probably feel guilty about it, but truth be told… I don’t. Not even a little.

I suppose there’s still a part of me that wonders what lies beyond our little corner of Arkansas. I doubt I’ll ever see it for myself, but some days, when the chores settle and the evening grows quiet, I think about that oak tree and how it felt to climb so high the town disappeared and only possibility remained.

A beautiful memory, beautifully stated. What is your favorite book of the Old Testament?

If I’m speaking truthfully, the book I’m most drawn to is Esther. I admire her courage more than I can say. The way she stepped into danger with only the faintest assurance that her obedience might truly make a difference.

But I’ll admit something else: her story scares me a little. Esther was asked to risk everything for her people. To speak when silence would have been safer. To stand in a moment she didn’t choose.

I suppose that’s why I return to her again and again. She reminds me that God places us where we are for reasons we may not understand and gives strength we don’t always feel. Esther’s story makes me braver… even when I’d rather stay small and hidden.

Is there a book of the Bible you have trouble getting through?

Leviticus. I know it’s important… but mercy, it does test a person’s determination. I tend to read it in small portions with extra coffee.

I can understand that. If you could meet anyone from scripture, excluding Jesus, who would it be?

Naomi. She knew loss deeply, yet she kept going. I want to sit with a woman like that. Someone who understands grief, but also the stubborn hope it takes to go on.

Great choice. Jesus had twelve disciples. Which one are you most like?

Probably Andrew. Quiet, steady, more comfortable bringing people to Jesus than standing center stage. There’s a gentleness about him that I admire.

Gentle can be good. Jesus says we are to be His light in the world. What does this mean to you?

Light isn’t loud. It doesn’t demand attention. It simply shows the way. To me, being His light means tending to the small, faithful things—kindness, service, mercy—so others can find their bearings when life feels like nightfall.

If you could leave readers with one message, what would it be?

You don’t have to be unbroken to be useful. God meets us in the places we’d rather keep hidden.

Before I let you go, I have a few more questions, just for fun. Nothing stressful. If you could have a superpower, what one would you choose?

Well… I’m not entirely sure I understand this notion of extraordinary abilities. Something about people doing impossible feats as if it were everyday business? If I had to choose, I suppose I’d ask for the ability to pause time long enough to finish all the chores before another mess crops up. Though truth be told, I’d settle for everyone putting their boots where they belong.

If offered the opportunity, would you choose to travel in space?

In space? You mean among the stars themselves? Goodness, no. The Lord placed me on solid ground for a reason. I prefer my feet where I can feel the earth beneath them—and where there’s a clear path home if I need it.

Dark or Milk Chocolate? I… don’t rightly know the difference. In my day, chocolate was mostly for drinking, and only if someone had a sweet tooth strong enough to counter the bitterness.

Roses or Daisies? Daisies.

Salad or Soup? Soup.

One final question. If you had three words to describe your author, Tonya B. Ashley, what words would you choose?

Hope in shadows.

That’s what I’d say. She seems to understand life isn’t without its dark corners, but she keeps her lamp trimmed just the same. She looks for light where others might give up searching, and somehow, she finds it—then writes it down so the rest of us can see it too.

Beautiful. You really do have a way with words. Thank you Rebecca, for joining me today.

Readers, thank you for joining me for this interview with Rebecca Hogue. Stick around for more about Tonya B. Ashley and Fireflies in Sacred Shadows. And don’t forget to leave questions for Rebecca or Tonya in the comments.

More About the Autho

Tonya B. Ashley is an award-winning writer who enjoys a thread of adventure, whether in story or in life. Fascinated with people, places, and nature, she loves to explore through writing, reading, creating art, and hiking. One of her favorite hiking destinations is Fuzzy Butt Falls, which exudes quite the Narnia experience despite its humorous name.

She and her firefighter/paramedic husband are the parents of an adult son, also a firefighter, and a school-aged son. Though she has past experience as a 911 dispatcher and volunteer firefighter, life with boys is her most incredible adventure. She has learned so much from them, including how to hike ten miles in 90-degree weather with 90 percent humidity, the easiest way to set up a hammock, the quickest way to the emergency room, and how to play a tenor saxophone. Sadly, attempts to teach her to play the trumpet only sounded like dying baby elephants.

A few things from Tonya’s adventure to-do list include the wild cave tour at Blanchard Springs, a hot air balloon ride, and hiking on a remote island searching for a rare kind of coffee. (Don’t tell anyone she hasn’t taken that coffee hike, though. That’s the story she uses when people ask how she split the tendon in her ankle. It’s much better than, “I was walking to the coffee machine in the kitchen.”)

When she is not writing, hiking, or enjoying time with family, she substitutes for the local schools. She loves to help students make connections through story and find their voices through writing. Her most treasured moments with students come when they have room to explore topics, situations, or emotions, and they wander into deeply profound or deeply humorous places.

Her favorite writer is C.S. Lewis, who offers enchanting worlds and flawed characters to explore in his fiction and no-nonsense, hard-hitting wisdom in his nonfiction. While she adores Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia series, her favorite book is the Bible, which she loves for its artistry, messy people, practicality, and ability to deepen her relationship with God. She often reminds herself that “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6).”

Tonya writes stories of resilience featuring messy characters and a thread of adventure. Like a good treasure hunt, great stories ought to offer a gem the reader can keep. Along with her publication credits as a devotional and article writer, she received first place in an ACFW First Impressions contest.

More About the Book

A hidden message. A broken past. A chance to begin again.

Van Buren, Arkansas, 1853.

Rebecca Hogue is doing everything she can to hold her family—and their boardinghouse—together. But when a mysterious spyglass surfaces and her reputation is called into question, the danger becomes far more personal.

Dr. Benjamin Ewing returned to Van Buren with nothing but regrets and a heart still tethered to the woman he left behind. When the spyglass reveals a coded message and Rebecca finds herself in harm’s way, Ben must face the ghosts of California and the emotional wounds he still carries.

Can Rebecca and Ben unravel a tangled scheme, navigate fragile trust, and learn to appreciate walking through hard places together?

Purchase Fireflies in Sacred Shadows