Robin Nadler's Blog

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I get asked all the time…”Are you still writing? How many is that now? How can you keep writing the same characters?”

It’s simple- I created an entire community. I have taken them with me through the last 16 years and we have both grown and evolved over that time. What began as a simple love story has evolved into an entire world of love, family, drama and fun. This book, #14 in the sequel and #47 in the whole extended series, is the fulfillment of that family. This book is one of my favorites and although full of my usual drama, it is a shining culmination of the little family that could. I can’t wait to celebrate it with all of you.

Besides- I grew up with Sweet Valley High and waited at the bookstore each month for the next one to come out. I hope I’ve brought some of the same series excitement to others. We all need an escape from the world sometimes.

Preorder coming soon!

Hi everyone. I don’t know who is still hanging around or who is still reading the trials and tribulations of my little (maybe bigger now) family. I have been absolutely awful about updating this site and I want to do better. I am also trying to revamp the site to be more user friendly and easier to find things.

But, I have been writing and that hasn’t stopped. I have some exciting news about the series and I want to share it with you.

I have always wanted to revamp the series and make the first few books more about each couple. I pulled Jack and Stephanie’s book Nothing Matters off the shelf years ago and to be honest, I struggled with the rewrite. Not because I don’t adore them, (I do…really), but because so much of the series has come from them and I didn’t feel their story reflected that. I have gone back and forth rewriting their book so many times, and most of the time, they go back in the drawer and stay quiet.

Until now. I have finally (yay!) rewritten their story to be more indicative of who they are and who they have become to me. I also introduced mentions of Brittany as she was missing from the novel. Tommy plays a more significant role and the set up to the rest of the series will flow more smoothly from their story.

Their new cover and release date will be posted shortly, along with the release information for a revamped “If Only”.

I am also ready to put out the next book in the sequel. I will have a post about that soon and a cover release as well. It deserves its own post.

I may be quiet on here, but my writing is ongoing and has rarely slowed down. I love this family by choice and can’t wait to continue bringing you their stories- both the older and the newer generation.

Any questions or comments? Just a hello to know you’re still here?

I welcome it all.

From Jack and Stephanie, Brittany and Tommy, Bill and Julie, Mike and Jade, Ron and Jenny, Evan and Liz, Ian and Cassie, Sabrina and Jimmy, David and Desi, Naomi and Bryan, Kevin and Josie, Robbie and Tessa, Sara, Eden, Scottie, Jessie, Matt, Jake, Isabella and anyone I may have missed (it’s a lot)…

THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

Robin

Hi everyone! I’m back with book 13. I have a lot to tell you about, but for now, I wanted to post the preorder links and let you know how excited I am to share more of Kevin and Josie’s story.

Link for Amazon

Link for Nook

Today Jack is Live!!! I’m so excited to share this book with you. It’s book 12 in the sequel and my 47th book overall! I would love to do a giveaway for any one of the paperbacks I have released for the sequel. Just let me know which one you would like by replying here to enter the raffle. I will pick a random winner on Thursday!

I am ready to do another interview with a character. Who would you like me to talk to?

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.CheckboxesJackTommyStephanieBrittanyJulieBillKevinRobbieTessaNaomiJosieSabrinaJimmyBryanMikeJadeRonDavidDesiSubmit[image error]

Monday is release day! I’m so excited to share “Jack” with you and take you deeper into this family saga with an unexpected twist.

What are you most excited for?

What questions do you have?

Are there any characters you wish you heard from a bit more?

Let me know

Oh, and if you’re in a heat wave like we are here in Michigan, sitting still and reading with a cold drink is a perfect way to relax!

“Why is Robbie’s dad such a jerk?”

I get this question a lot. And I love it.

I love writing characters whose motivation isn’t clear. Sometimes I don’t even understand why they do the things they do.

That’s what makes them complex. That’s what makes them real.

Mr. Franklin is someone I have messed around with in my head for years. Robbie is such an important character and I always knew he had a strained relationship with his dad, but I wasn’t sure why.

Sure, his parents were divorced and he lived in a different state. But really, that isn’t so unusual. It doesn’t account for the distance in their relationship.

I have always written the parents of the characters to be one of two ways. Either super supportive and caring or evil and deranged.

Robbie’s dad is different. He’s a bit of an enigma.

Robbie is a character I have grown to adore. I had to be careful with who would hold Tessa’s heart. She is such a special character who is close to me and has so much of the anxiety I fight with on a daily basis. I have never written a character so closely resembling an issue I struggle with and showing her able to have such an open and loving relationship with Robbie is a testament to being supported and valued.

Back to Robbie’s dad. Does he love Robbie? Yes, absolutely. Does he have a really hard time showing it? Yes.

Robbie’s dad reminds me very much of someone who shuts down when unable to handle things. Robbie’s Epilepsy is a bone of contention with him not because he blames Robbie or is somehow bothered by it, but rather by his inability to ‘fix’ his son and his guilt at maybe being someone who contributed to it. None of that is helpful or relevant, and to Robbie, it’s completely insulting. But it is something Mr. Franklin has never been able to handle.

And it’s cost him years with his son.

I have worked very hard to cover Robbie’s Epilepsy with the care and knowledge it deserves. I try to show the unpredictability of the disease and how it effects his life and those around him. I also never want to make it all he is just as the issues all of my characters face are never the only thing about them.

I began to focus on Robbie’s dad more in the third book of the sequel. I planned on having his mother pass away and his father come and play a more prominent role in his life. What I didn’t anticipate is where that arc would take me.

I love showing the stronger side to Tess when Mr. Franklin does something to hurt Robbie. She is a passive person, but never confuse passivity for weakness. She will fight fiercely for those she loves.

I introduced Mr. Franklin when Sabrina needed a lawyer. I tried to show his personality in small ways through the interactions with the whole family and then through how Robbie talked to others.

Mr. Franklin had some legitimate concerns about his son, but he always focused on the wrong things. He never saw the good, just the negative. He focused on what could go wrong, and not the potential for success. I understand it, but it’s hard to be around someone like that. Someone who is always waiting for something to go wrong.

His arrogance is questionable. What I mean by that is that he is often mistaken. His personality is a bit stand offish and what he means isn’t always portrayed by what he says. He is socially awkward. He is blunt and opinionated and the lawyer in him causes him to question people’s motives. The problem with that is twofold. It makes people dislike him and it creates tension where there doesn’t need to be any.

One thing I have tried to be consistent about in regards to Mr. Franklin is how he reacts to Robbie’s seizures. His reaction is way more about him than his son, but it reinforces the idea that something is ‘wrong’ with Robbie. That isn’t the case, and it infuriates those who love Robbie and chips away at his resolve.

In book 11, I took the character in a very different direction. I didn’t realize he had a family hidden from Robbie until I saw them on the page. I realize how weird (and kind of alarming) that sounds. What I mean is that I wanted to uncover the deceit with Robbie and Tess and see it unfold through their eyes. I know it was a shock in so many ways, and I needed it to be. I wanted there to be a schism that opened so wide, it may not be fixable. That’s what happens sometimes, despite our best intentions.

Creating Candace and Luke gave me so many opportunities. In Robbie’s eyes, it was a do over for his dad. It was another chance to be the father Robbie always wanted, but it would be for someone else. That would hurt Robbie in a way he couldn’t express. Not because he didn’t want his dad to be happy, but because he hid everything from him.

Why?

I want to take time in book 12 to push deeper into the relationship Robbie has with his dad. The stakes couldn’t be higher.

There is also a part of Mr. Franklin that has been kept hidden from everyone. He will soon find that he can’t continue to live the life he’s been living. Not without consequences.

Preorder “Jack” today!

Click here for Kindle Click here for Nook

I’m not sure why it took me so long to write a book focused on the character that started it all. The opening line of Nothing Matters introduces us to Jack.

“I’m a Cardiologist, not an internist,” Dr. Jack Stephens complained into the phone as he was called to the E.R. The handsome doctor had been working for 24 hours straight and was exhausted. He needed sleep and food, and not another case.

I think back to that sentence a lot. It wasn’t written the best. Handsome isn’t a great descriptor. I teach my students to do better than that when describing characters, yet to me, Jack is indescribable. (I get how that isn’t okay when writing a novel).

What I mean, is that Jack is the beginning. He is what everyone else came from. Tommy shows up to support Jack. Julie is introduced connected to Jack. Stephanie is introduced through the eyes of Jack. Ron comes from Jack. Jenny comes from Jack. Everything in this series stems in one way or another from the introduction of Jack Stephens.

He has saved almost everyone in the story. Whether literally, by operating on them, or metaphorically by stepping in to be who they needed.

He would say that he did what he needed to in order to survive. He would tell us that if he didn’t move in with Tommy and Julie, he wouldn’t have made it through his mother’s death and his father leaving. He would tell us that helping Stephanie gave him a purpose and a chance to realize the life he always wanted.

He would tell us that he is selfish- he always has to be the one in charge. He hates not being in control.

The two worst moments in his life were his mother dying and Stephanie and Tess being almost frozen to death (book 7).

Moments he felt like he couldn’t breathe- trying to help his daughter with her health and emotional struggles. Watching his wife deal so eloquently with her MS.

His fears at having a daughter who is as head strong and opinionated as he is. His need to protect himself from hurt and in doing so making things worse.

Jack is the series. Tommy and Brittany are a powerhouse. Bill and Julie are the hope and the strength. Stephanie is the reason, but Jack is the story.

Everything begins and ends with him.

So what happens when he is the target?

I waited a long time to write a book where Jack was in trouble. I always needed him to be the helper. To be the one everyone relied on. To be the strength, even if he didn’t handle it the best way possible.

I know a lot of ‘Jacks’. In some ways, I am Jack. If I can’t be the helper, I don’t know how to handle things. Healthy? Not really. But it is what it is.

In Nothing Matters, Jack was a victim. He was again at points in the series, but never like this. Never from someone who attacked him from the place he felt safest.

Never when he didn’t see it coming.

Book 12 will bring a new perspective and a serious change for all of the characters. It isn’t a “Family by Choice” versus “The Next Generation” book. It isn’t a Tommy and Jack versus the world situation. It isn’t anything we’ve encountered before.

That isn’t to say Jack is more important than anyone else. It doesn’t lessen anyone else’s connection or purpose. It’s simply a profound moment when the person you look to as the rock, crumbles.

I am very proud of this next installment and I hope you will take this journey with me. After 13 years of writing this family, it’s a shock.

It’s going to challenge everyone and bring out issues nobody saw coming.

It’s going to forever alter this family by choice.

Coming to you on June 24, I present…

New Release!

Hi everyone! Book 11 in the sequel will be released on Monday September 25. I am so excited for this one because I was able to add a lot of fun and happiness in the midst of the chaos I usually bring to my beloved characters.

This book gets back to basics for many and I believe it shows incredible growth for a few of our couples who have been a little stuck.

I also decided to add an element of chaos to the older generation, because sometimes it’s necessary.

I’ve been spending a lot of time re reading the entire series from the beginning and I realize how many people I have introduced and created in the last 16 years. I began writing this series in 2007 and published for the first time in 2011. The way the characters looked in the beginning (in my head) show little resemblance to who they are now, but that’s what happens with life. We grow. We evolve.

I hope you are as excited for “Found” as I am to show it to you. Please click below to pre order your copy today.

Thank you for being a loyal reader and I can’t tell you how much you all mean to me. As long as the characters keep talking to me, I’ll share their stories.

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