Ask the Author: Robin Elder
Answered Questions (10)
Robin Elder
It would have to be Hogwarts to spend a year at school with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
Robin Elder
The Book of Lost Friends and the Lost Bookshop.
Robin Elder
I have no mysteries in my life which is why I like to incorporate some into all of my books!
Robin Elder
Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox from You've Got Mail. They had wonderful chemistry and a sense of humor throughout the various stages of their engaging encounters - via their anonymous chat room exchanges, as retail foes, and during the process of getting to know each other as human beings.
Robin Elder
I self-published Passport to the Past many moons ago (which you see as one of my novels). That was when the concept of self-publishing was fairly new and I happened to mention to my father that I was writing a book. Being a proud papa, and adding the fact that he himself had numerous scientific papers published, he offered to pay the cost of having it self-published. I was thrilled since the process wasn't cheap. At that point, I'd probably written about a third of the manuscript. Due to the fact that my father had just turned 80 and was in failing health, I rushed to finish it for his sake. I wanted him to have a copy in his hand before he died. Of course, in retrospect, it wasn't ready for publishing. While the plot was a good one, my writing needed to mature. It was never more obvious until I finished Vindication Key and a publisher actually paid to publish it. Since then, I've asked the company that published PTTP to make it unavailable. My plan is to rewrite it and make it the type of book my fan base has come to expect. That time is now, and I hope to have it "renovated" and ready for publication by spring of 2017.
Robin Elder
Sorry to be redundant, but write what you know and/or have a passion for and don't ever give up!
Robin Elder
Putting my very overactive/conspiracy theory imagination to work.
Robin Elder
Take a writer's "vacation" and hope while on the hiatus, the light bulb in my head turns back on!
Robin Elder
My husband and I have been making annual trips to the Florida Keys since 1993. During those visits, I picked up tidbits of Keys history here and there, most notably regarding the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and the WWI vets that lost their lives during the storm. Their story inspired me to write my first Keys novella, Vindication Key. While putting the finishing touches on it, I stumbled across an online article about a small twelve acre island called Indian Key. Located on the Atlantic side of Islamorada, I was amazed at what history recorded as having happened there in the early 19th century. It was then that I knew I had the subject matter for my next novella.
Robin Elder
My vivid imagination is such that I always thought I could weave a darn good tale, especially if historical fiction was the genre. My next motivation to write became the simple question: What if? What if I took actual history and embellished the events with a “and what if this happened, too” scenario. You know, it may not have really happened, but it could have. And then to entice the reader further, I could tell it in dual timelines, so any questions not answered in the older timeline get answered in the newer timeline. And vice versa. Well, voila! You have my first dual timeline book, Vindication Key, inspired by my annual trips to the Florida Keys. For those of you that have read it, you know that it’s rather short. It would be considered what’s known as a novella. I’m probably most suited to writing novellas, as I like to move my story along, keeping the reader interested throughout. I don’t use much filler, as I myself don’t like filler when I’m reading. I had a vision of Vindication Key’s plot and made it happen. I think I succeeded successfully since in several of the reviews I’ve received on Amazon, the reader said “I couldn’t put the book down.” And isn’t that the desired goal for both reader and writer?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more