Ask the Author: Robin Wells
Answered Questions (7)
Robin Wells
It usually starts with a "what if?" question. My mind starts toying with it, and before I know it, a story is off and running!
Robin Wells
Yes, I'm working on another book set in the town of Wedding Tree, Louisiana in the 1950s!
Robin Wells
I would go to Wedding Tree, Louisiana, (from The Wedding Tree and The French War Bride) in the early 1950s, I would shop downtown for the latest fashions and I would go to the forest and kiss my husband under the Wedding Tree.
Robin Wells
Believe in yourself. If you want to write, that no doubt means you're an avid reader, and through all those years of reading, you've absorbed more about story structure than you realize. I also believe that people who try to write have writing talent. No one would want to spend lots of time alone in front of a blank computer screen or page if they didn't feel a calling; There are just too many other fun things to do! Writing is both an art and a craft. If you want to write, learn all you can about the craft. But most importantly, sit down and write!
Robin Wells
The idea for The Wedding Tree came from real life. My parents had me later in life, so they were "older" parents. As they aged, it became increasingly obvious that they wouldn't be able to live alone in their own home for too much longer. They thought of going through their belongings to move to assisted living just overwhelmed them. The thought of letting someone else go through their belongings (me) was out of the question! My novelist's brain took that scenario and started a whole string of what-ifs. What if an elderly woman had to move, but insisted on sorting through her belongings herself? What if she had a whole secret past her family didn't know about? What if she needed her granddaughter's help uncovering the truth about something she'd always feared? The book was off and running!
Robin Wells
The best thing is when the story is just flowing, and it seems like you're reading the book that you're writing. That beautiful state of flow doesn't happen all that often--often writing is the hardest thing I've ever done--but it's wonderful when it feels like you're just channeling the story.
Robin Wells
I'm writing a WWII -era novel called The French War Bride. It's about a young French woman who tricks an Army doctor who's engaged to a girl back home into (temporarily) marrying her so that she can come to America. Despite everything, he starts to fall for her-- but how can he love someone who continually reveals a new deceit?
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