MEET OUR BUDDY ROBIN
One of the most fun things I get to do is encourage up and coming writers. I met Robin Caroll (Robin Miller) way back when she emailed me to tell me how much she loved my Rock Harbor books. We became friends and I started mentoring her. I'm so proud of her and her writing! She is a FABULOUS writer and I'm thrilled she's ended up under Karen Ball's tutelage at Broadman and Holman. I recently got the chance to ask Robin about her writing life (and hair color) and want to share it with you today. Her new book DELIVER US FROM EVIL is fabulous! Now here's Robin:

You have a great mix of romance and suspense in your novels. How do you balance the two elements? Honestly, I don’t really plan a balance. When a story idea comes to me, I do a basic outline, but I don’t plot it out. I let the characters come alive in my mind and I tell their story. As a romantic at heart (shh, that’s a secret) I find every story has a romantic element. Sometimes I may go back and enhance that element, but the basis for the romance is already there.

I’ve said before that you “own” southern romantic suspense. Give us your worst and best Cajun secrets. Best Cajun secret is how to make a good roux, but I’ll be honest, my husband actually makes a better roux than I do—and he was born in California! LOL And for those of you who don’t know what a roux is, you have no idea what you’re missing…google it and salivate! lol The worst? Hmmm….I actually DO know some voodoo and hoodoo, which is terrifying.

What was the most fun (or scariest!) part of researching Deliver Us From Evil? The hardest part of researching the book was finding all the data on child trafficking for prostitution. That part was truly sickening for me, as a mother of three daughters to read. The most fun was the helicopter parts. My husband had taken helicopter flying lessons and we became great friends with the pilot, who took me up for rides. Knowing how it felt to sit in a helicopter in the air, without doors, during an auto-rotation….scariest thing ever, but sure came in handy in writing those scenes.

Most of us have a little piece of ourselves in our main character. What part of you is Brannon? LOL, as if you have to ask. Definitely her attitude and her speak-first, think-second mishaps. She’s also a bit of a control freak, and uh, believe it or not, I’ve been accused of that same trait. Shocking, I know. 

How did you come up with the name Roark? He’s a great hero. Come on, you can confess to reading Kathleen Woodiwiss back in your younger days. Oh wait, that’s a historical. So fess up. Did you actually read a historical once upon a time? Oh, puhleeze! I’ve read 3 authors hysterical—yours, C, part of Cara Putman’s, and Pam Hillman’s. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I survived, but I still avoid the genre. I came up with the name Roark because I knew a Roark in college who was a bit of a lovable rogue and I was good friends with his girlfriend. I always liked the name.

What gadget do you lust after right now? An Ipad, of course!  Of course, I also want a Mac desktop and MacBook, but right now, I’m REALLY drooling over the ipad.

So tell us the truth--do you tie up your kids so you can write? I know all the things you do. I think you’ve secretly cloned yourself. LOL…sometimes I wish…no, seriously, I’m a freak about my time management. (guess there’s that control-freak thing again) I have a gift in that I can multi-task very well (yes, I CAN talk on the phone and write a scene at the same time—ask Dineen Miller) and my brain works in a really odd way (no comment) in that I speed read, and certain things just “click” for me. Now if I COULD clone myself, the clone would be responsible for cleaning the house. I truly, truly DETEST housework. LOVE to cook, like to do home improvements, but can’t stand housework.

What color is your REAL hair? LOL…only you would ask. It’s gray. No kidding. And I’m not talking a pretty silver or pure white…it’s ugly, wiry, gray. I started getting gray at 18 (gotta love genetics, sigh). But, to try and answer your question…as a child I had dark, dark brown hair but with natural red pigments (both my grandmothers had beautiful auburn hair) but my mother had black hair and my father had dark hair as well.

Thanks for letting me drop in to visit with you girls. As always, I love hanging out with y’all.

Labels: Karen Ball, Robin Caroll, Robin Miller

EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER FUN
This past weekend I got to see a real Extreme Home Makeover house! I flew out to Colorado Springs to speak to the ACFW conference there. Sweet Kimberley Woodhouse invited me to stay with her and the family. I was excited to spend some time with her! I'd seen Ty Pennington show her their new house (completed in 4 days) but the reality of it was sooo much better than just seeing it on TV. Her kitchen was to die for! The granite was just fabulous and I loved the island. I nearly screamed when I got to see the dragon in Josh's room. And in the basement where I slept there was a bowling lane, a jukebox, a HUGE projector TV. This TV played a huge role in the fun we had over the weekend because I got to see the Masterpiece Theater production of Jane Eyre on Friday night and Pride and Prejudice on Saturday night. They were both sooo good! We giggled like school girls. LOL I was wishing my girls were with us. I KNOW Kristin especially would have been giving me all the background to the Jane Austen movies. LOL I would be giving her all the background to the Jane Eyre (which she never liked.)

But you know, the true fun of the whole weekend was being with Kim and her family. She has a contagious joy that spills over into everything she does. I got to read some of the story she and Kayla are working on for Broadman & Holman (they get to work with Karen Ball!) and it's GOOD! How can a 12 year old write like that? I knew Kim could write, but I was shocked to see how early Kayla was developing her talent.

I spoke at a writer's conference for Kim, and also got to see my fabulous editor and friend Erin Healy! Her first solo book, Never Let You Go, will be out next month. Rachelle Gardner, agent extraordinaire, was there as well, and we had a grand time together! The weekend made me doubly thankful for the friendships we develop in this business. My life is so much richer for the people God has brought into my life since I started writing.

How about you? Want to praise a friend who has gone the extra mile for you lately? Now's the time to do it!

Labels: Erin Healy, Extreme Home Makeover, Karen Ball, Kimberley Woodhouse, Rachelle Gardner, Ty Pennington

ACFW CONFERENCE
We were quiet last week but for a good reason. For the first time in three years or so we were all together in one place! Di brought us all DeBrand truffles and Kristin brought us manicure stuff. Fits, doesn't it? LOL We barely got any sleep, but oh it was so worth it! Kimberley Woodhouse (Welcome Home about her experience with Extreme Home Makeover) got us from the airport. She is a super talented photographer and took some pics of us that we'll be posting later. Girls Write Out's own Jaime Sundsmo was there and we got to "meet" little Chloe whom we've practically prayed into existence. That's her we're all touching!

The hotel (Marriott Tech Center) was fabulous. The staff couldn't be beat, though no matter what we did I couldn't charge anything to my room even though Robin told them three times I was CEO and on the master account. This didn't matter except it seriously cut my coffee consumption since I tended to run over to Starbucks without my wallet. The food was terrific and our servers were just awesome. Everything ran so smoothly with our conference director Robin Miller and conference coordinator Sydney Zech overseeing everything.

The thing that set the foundation for it all was how our president, Cynthia Ruchti, and our conference director, Robin Miller, prayed over the meeting rooms and the halls outside the sleeping rooms. The Spirit just hovered over that place and blessed us all beyond measure. Debbie Macomber's messages as keynote were exactly what we needed this year. I have my 3 x 5 card with my goals all written out and have been mulling over other things she's said.

I got to spend time with my wonderful agent, Karen Solem, this year too. Everything good that's happened in my career I lay at her feet (and Jesus's of course.) She was the lynchpin that got it all rolling in the right direction. And the grand announcement that my fabulous Ami McConnell won Editor of the Year just blessed me beyond measure! She is such a terrific editor and has taught me so much! I was so excited when she won that I could barely speak. I rushed back to the table, grabbed my phone and called her from the banquet hall. When I realized from the giggles around me that I was talking too loudly, I rushed for the hall so I could squeal with abandon. LOL She was thrilled!

I arranged a dinner for the Nelson authors and we had the best time with superman Allen Arnold and editor Becky Monds! I'm so blessed to be part of the family. In the other post for the day, I'll post some more pictures. It would only let me post four. :( I learned something new about Allen. I knew he loved Mexican food but I DIDN'T know he liked to order big bowls of salsa and eat it with a spoon! He ate two bowls of it! My beloved Erin Healy also showed up!

The workshops were exemplary and I learned so much from the advanced class taught by Allen Arnold and Karen Ball. Though some faces paled when he suggested we all do Twitter and Facebook. I was one of the first Christian authors on Twitter so that was one thing I didn't have to change. Okay, this is so Kristin. Late in the morning of the 2nd class, she decided she was going to run to Target and she'd be back before our "graduation." Cheryl Hodde went with her. When K's name was called and she wasn't there, Karen Ball said, "Oh she probably went shopping." It was a joke but the room roared when they found out she actually HAD gone shopping!

And I always get so tickled to see our quiet little Denise up there banging away on the drums. Friends, she is an AWESOME drummer! I'm so proud of her! Rachel Hauck is the leader of the worship team and she just leads us right into the presence of the Lord. I just love that part of it!

So I'm tired but happy today. And so blessed with friends!

Labels: ACFW Conference, Allen Arnold, Ami McConnell, Becky Monds, DeBrand truffles, Erin Healy, Karen Ball, Karen Solem, Kim Woodhouse