I used to sell diamond engagement rings and wedding bands, hearing countless love stories of how couples met, fell in love, and committed to forever. Now, I bring that romance to the page.”

Scott Becker

Meet the author

More information about Scott Becker can be found on his website. 

Each word means something. Finding the right ones takes time — time spent sitting in a feeling, in a space, building a mood through the five senses to draw out the words that say exactly what needs to be said. Setting that mood (for some) starts with music — turned up loud. For Warren local Scott Becker, that means blaring “Hotel California” in a language he doesn’t understand.

“I always start with ‘Hotel California,’ but it has to be the Gipsy Kings version,” he shared. “They do it in Spanish, and I don’t understand Spanish. That’s the key. When I write, I listen to music in Spanish or French. It takes me into that other world quickly. But if I listen to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones — music I know too well — I can’t get into what I call ‘character world,’ ” Becker explained.

He listens to “Hotel California” in Spanish specifically so the lyrics won’t get stuck in his head and influence his writing. It helps him stay focused on crafting his own unique combination of words to tell his story. For him, every word matters. As he put it, “I would much rather write 50 great words — the right words — than 1,000 subpar ones a day.”

The struggle of writing his romance novel wasn’t just about finding the right words, though.

Becker shared, “It is no secret it that the romance genre is dominated by women, but the public’s been duped for decades; there are actually a lot of male romance authors writing under female pen names.” He spoke about the publishing industry and the pressure he faced to do the same. But for Becker, that wasn’t an option.

It was important for him that readers knew exactly who wrote the novel. “And so, I walked away from the traditional publishing route and chose to self-publish instead,” Becker stated. He explained, “I want them to know it’s me who wrote it; let them decide if they want to read it or not.”

The writer’s oasis

Deep in the basement hidden in the back lies an old dining room table that is long and rectangular — piles of papers conceal the dark colored wood. This is Becker’s desk. Surrounded by clutter, Becker sits and blares “Hotel California” in Spanish. This is his oasis. It is where he finds the “right words” to meet the paper — or, in this case, the word document.

Down in his “oasis,” Becker can often be found working, even in the middle of the night. Self-publishing a book involves much more than just writing — it’s a process that many don’t fully grasp until they dive into it themselves. For Becker, mastering the formatting side of things came through trial and error. “The headaches with things like bleed kept me up at night. There is a science to it that I don’t particularly like,” he admitted.

Becker, who is also in the process of self-publishing a new version of the first book he published, a children’s book called “Have a Safe Summer,” opened the book and pointed to a large gap between the words on the page. He exclaimed, “These are the things that keep you up at night.” The proofing process involves uploading the PDF, submitting it and ordering a proof of the book. Becker gave a confused look and asked rhetorically, “Why didn’t that gap show up in the PDF?”

In the 1980s Scott Becker discovered a love for writing during a creative writing class in college. “I fell in love with writing,” he shared enthusiastically. Although he was a business major and didn’t pursue writing as a career, it somehow always stuck with him through the years — he dabbled with poetry, writing short stories and even published this children’s book.

But it was romance — his true passion — that he felt compelled to dedicate himself to in more recent years. He reflected, “I used to sell diamond engagement rings and wedding bands, hearing countless love stories of how couples met, fell in love, and committed to forever. Now, I bring that romance to the page.” His latest novel is actually part of a larger story, with both a prequel and a sequel already written.

Becker took his time writing each of these works, carefully choosing every word because he considers each word to be significant. He even structured each chapter of his novel with this precision and intentionality — each one just slightly more than a page long — to keep readers moving quickly through the story and fully engaged.

The prequel and sequel have not been vetted through the formatting and proofing process that his new novel, “Virgin Clueless” has, but Becker will get to that soon, and he will head back down to his basement when the time comes and blare “Hotel California” in order to begin the process of writing again —  taking his time to stay focused on each word to get it just right.

Even the name Gypsy Kings holds special meaning for Becker, who reflected on his deep appreciation of the power of words. He shared, “I love that name because I am a big believer in names.” He went on to say, “And Gypsy King — when you think of someone who doesn’t have a home, but is still a king — it’s just …”. Becker couldn’t find the “right” words to finish the thought, though the emotion behind it was quite clear.

Meet the author

More information about Scott Becker can be found on his website.