Ask the Author: Barbara Robinson
Answered Questions (6)
Barbara Robinson
I would visit Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionovar. Not at the beginning, when evil is stirring and it isn't clear who is good and who is not. Not even in the middle, when people do extraordinary things and make you believe in the inherent goodness of people. I would like to visit at the end, when things are still raw because there were tragic losses and impossible choices, but there is the hope of a new age where evil has been defeated.
I would visit for the chance to build a Utopia, in a world that functions as a Platonic form for our own.
I would visit for the chance to build a Utopia, in a world that functions as a Platonic form for our own.
Barbara Robinson
As a romance author, I get to give people "happily ever afters". The characters might have to overcome a few dark nights of the soul, but in the end I get to give them lasting love and happiness. How cool is that? There is so much unhappiness in the world, and I get to bring a little bit of joy into it with my writing.
Barbara Robinson
The broad story arc is usually derived from a question or observation related to life events, world events or some other catalyst that makes me think "wow, that would make a really good story". Individual scenes and plot points will usually come into my head unbidden, once I know what the story is about, but the story itself is often rooted in something real.
Barbara Robinson
I procrastinate, but when I've procrastinated enough I use a kitchen timer. Another writer once told me that she sets a timer for 25 minutes, then takes a 5 minute break before doing another 30 minutes. It seemed worth a try, and I have found that once I'm sitting at my desk the ideas will start to flow - you just need something to get you started.
Barbara Robinson
I am currently working on a late Viking age historical romance featuring a young 'volva' or seer. I wanted to explore the rich traditions of shamanistic magic and prophecy from the perspective of a female character, as many of the fictional depictions of women's magic in Norse and Anglo-Saxon traditions have been negative. The heroine of this story certainly makes mistakes, but she isn't wicked or fraudulent.
Barbara Robinson
I suffered a mild traumatic brain injury at work a few years ago, and some things (neuro-visual processing, short term memory, and executive functioning) were permanently impacted. When I returned to work following the injury, I was no longer able to succeed at my former job. The idea of a character having difficulties at work took hold, and a plot began to emerge around that. The summer after I stopped working, my son and I visited a national park, and that stunning setting inspired the idea of an enchanted forest. After that, the book began to write itself.
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