Interview with Author Robin Kaye:
Hi Robin. Thank you for doing this interview. I would like to welcome you to the Romance at Heart Interview and Author Grilling session. *bg* We are interested to find out as much about you as we possibly can, so lets get started...
- Please tell us about your latest book.
Romeo, Romeo is about an Independent business woman, Rosalie Ronaldi who’s life would be perfect if she could just figure out how to keep her nosy, pushy, Italian family from trying to marry her off.
Nick Romeo, Brooklyn’s Donald Trump without the comb over, thinks independent women are an urban myth, until he meets Rosalie and realizes they’re no myth, just a pain in the ass. He’s finally met a woman who is looking for the same thing he is, a commitment free relationship and is shocked to discover that all he wants to do is take care of her... Before too long, he's moved in, cleaned her apartment, stocked her refrigerator, and adopted her dog.
- What can we expect from you in the future?
Too Hot To Handle will be released this spring, it’s the second in my Domestic Gods series and a third book will follow next fall. I’m still trying to think up a title for that one.
- How do we find out about you and your books?
You can check out my website. www.robinkayewrites.com.
- How may readers contact you?
Email me at robin@robinkayewrites.com there’s also a link on my website.
- Do your fans' comments and letters influence you in any way?
I’m not sure. So far, I’ve only had about six emails from fans. They’ve been wonderful and so far, all positive. I guess I’ll let you know.
- Do you have a favorite comment or question from a reader?
I did have a reviewer compare me to Janet Evanovich, it doesn’t get much better than that. And no, I didn’t pay her. I did, however, want to thank her. What an amazing compliment.
- Why did you decide to write romance novels?
I love the genre and when it came to writing, I write what I love to read. I also love mystery and suspense, but I don’t think I have the uber-analytical mind it takes to write those.
- How much of your personality and life experiences are in your writing?
A lot. I grew up in a Sicilian Italian family and have lived in Brooklyn. I was homesick so I set my book there. I know Brooklyn, I know Italian families, I know headstrong women of all ages. But I’ve always been and observer of people. I’ve lived all over the country and have observed all kinds of people and luckily, they’re all clawing to get out onto the page.
- When did you first think about writing and what prompted you to submit your first ms?
I was writing Jane Austen fan fiction, a modern-day telling of Pride and Prejudice with a twist of Persuasion. One of the other writers was a professor at Oxford. She contacted me one day, said she’d read it, and told me I should publish it. At first, I thought she was pulling my chain, but she insisted she was serious. She’s the one who planted the idea that I might actually be able to publish something I’ve written. It had never occurred to me before. I entered a contest, won and received a request for a full. I did submit Romeo, Romeo then and received a lovely rejection. I worked on it some more, entered the Golden Heart and finaled. I didn’t really submit it to Sourcebooks, the editor who bought it was one of the Golden Heart judges and had requested it from RWA. I’ve been incredibly lucky.
- Generally, how long does it take you to write a book?
I’m not really sure. I have my next book due in about 4 months, so I’m hoping 4 months. We’ll see.
- Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
I get up every morning and start writing at about 5:00. I write until I have to get my kids up and off to school. I’ve recently started home schooling one of my daughters – she’s a pre-professional ballerina and dances 25-30 hours a week. I work in between teaching and testing, and then four days a week I drive the hour and a half to my daughter’s dance school. I drop her off and head to the library or Starbucks to continue working until it’s time to drive back. My husband takes the weekends while I write and run around with my other two children. It’s crazy and not always pretty, but it’s what we do.
- What is your writing routine once you start a book?
I write from beginning to end. I’m always amazed at those people who can jump around. If a scene does come to me that will be later in the book, I add it to what I call my story-line synopsis and then go back to where I left off. If when I get to that part of the book the scene still fits, than I just cut and paste, if not, I trash it.
- What about your family, do they know not to bother you when you are writing - or are there constant interruptions?
There are constant interruptions. Even the animals interrupt me. It’s a conspiracy. I keep the soundtrack for my book on and that helps me get back into the story after an interruption without much trouble. I try not to stress about it. I don’t always succeed, but I try.
- What do you do to relax and recharge your batteries?
I sleep, and every now and then I go to a writing conference for the weekend. That works wonders. I hang around with my writing friends and talk shop. I just went to the New Jersey Conference and had a fabulous time. I didn’t write for two days. I just went, had a great time, and on Sunday my critique group met and we plotted together. It was a blast.
- Do you feel humor is important in women's fiction and why?
Humor is incredibly important in life and in women’s fiction. Women today have so much stress in their lives. I know I do, and there’s nothing better than getting into a hot bubble bath with a great book. I want a book that will make me smile and forget about the economy, the crisis of the day, and the demands on my time. Life is serious business and sometimes we just need a good laugh.
- What are your thoughts on love scenes in romance novels, do you find them difficult to write?
I write a pretty hot book, and I don’t find love scenes difficult to write. Usually I have a problem keeping my hero and heroine out of the bedroom. A love scene has to move the plot forward. They don’t ring true if you just stick one in there because you’re following the unwritten rule ‘sex before chapter six.’ The characters have to be ready and the chemistry has to be there. In my experience, if I have trouble with a love scene, there’s a problem within the manuscript itself.
- What kind of research do you do?
I went back to Brooklyn for a weekend and just walked around, took a ton of pictures and drank in the atmosphere. I went brownstone shopping on line to get the general layout of a brownstone in Park Slope. I always keep an Italian/English dictionary and the NY subway map close at hand, and my relatives on speed-dial.
- Would you like to write a different genre than you do now, or sub-genre?
Right now I’m having a great time writing what I’m writing so I have no plans to switch genres. Maybe if it ever gets old, but I’ve got more stories in my head than I have time to write so I don’t see that happening any time soon.
- What does your husband think of your writing?
My husband is incredibly supportive. He believed in me way before I did. He does whatever it takes to help me succeed. I’m really blessed. I’ll never forget when I decided to write toward publication he came into my office and sat down to talk. He said he’d been thinking about it, and realized that I have two full-time jobs, writing and taking care of the children and since he only had one, he’d take over the laundry and the bulk of the housework. He’s been doing it ever since without complaint. He never gets upset if I forget to make dinner. He just comes home and starts making dinner. He’s even been known to bring it up to my office if I’m not at a stopping point.
- Do you ever ask him for advice?
All the time. He’s great at seeing the whole picture. We discuss plot, and when I hit a wall, we talk about it. He’s very anal, and over the years has studied plotting where I’m more of a seat-of-the-pants writer. He always keeps me on track.
- Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)
I weave, spin yarn, and knit. I’m a mentor to a wonderful sixth grade girl. I’m an avid reader with a book-a-day habit, a stay-at-home mom to three children, two dogs, a three-legged cat, and a bearded dragon named Puff. And I’ve been happily married for 19 years.
- Fill in the blank favorites –
Dessert - Gelato
City - New York
Season - Fall
Type of hero - Alpha, but then there are some real intellectual types that get to me even if they’re beta.
Type of heroine - Strong and smart. I like them snarky too.
- What are some of your favorite things to do?
I love to cook and spend time with my kids and husband. I’m a music addict and I love discovering new bands and going to shows.
- Do you have a favorite author?
Jane Austen
- Favorite book?
Pride and Prejudice.
- Who are some of your other favorite authors to read?
Suzanne Brockmann, Janet Evanovich, Maureen Child, Susan Mallery, Christine Ridgeway, Rachel Gibson, Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Beverly, Virginia Kantra, Marie Force, there are so many more but those are the one that roll off the fingertips.
- Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?
I think anything you read influences a writers writing, as a writer I tend to notice great writing. I try to internalize it and then use it to improve my own.
-
Are you a member of any author groups - RWA, critique groups, etc.? I belong to RWA, The Valley Forge Romance Writers, Washington Romance Writers, and the Maryland Romance Writers. I’m in two critique groups and love them. I’m also in a few on-line groups a goal setting group called GIAMX-3 and PASIC.
- What do you think of critique groups in general?
Critique groups that work are invaluable. I’ve been really lucky with my critique partners. I’ve heard nightmare stories and I’ve seen great groups too. If a group doesn’t help you and lift you up, it’s not worth belonging to it. I know some people who dread their critique groups, that’s a bad group.
- Where do you see yourself in five years? How long have you been writing - have you always wanted to be a writer?
I see myself doing pretty much the same thing I’m doing now just with more books to my name. I’ll be writing, spending time with my husband, taking care of my kids—one of whom should be in college by then. Yay! I really love my life as it is. The only thing I would change is to move back out west. I was much healthier there in the high-mountain desert. I’ve been writing all my life but seriously for almost eight years. Four years toward publication.
- How many books have you written, how many have been published?
Romeo, Romeo was the first book I ever wrote toward publication. I got very lucky. I’ve written Too Hot To Handle (coming out in Spring 2009) since then, it should come out this spring. I’m now working on the third book in the Domestic Gods series.
- Which comes first, the story, the characters or the setting? What are the elements of a great romance for you? What is the hardest part of writing/the easiest for you?
The first thing that comes to me is a scene. In Romeo, Romeo it was a scene with the heroine Rosalie Ronaldi around the family dinning room table on a Sunday afternoon. I fell in love with Rosalie and had to write her story. The same thing happened with Too Hot To Handle but with that one, the heroine wakes up wondering if ghosts have sex…
- Are you in control of your characters or do they control you?
I’m in control, but sometimes I surprise myself. As I write, I get to know my characters better. I do my best to plot the book in the early stages of writing so sometimes I don’t see all the possibilities until I spend more time in my characters’ heads.
- Have you experienced writer's block---> If so, how did you work through it?
Yes, I did with Too Hot To Handle. I talked it out with my husband, I showed up every day and stared at my computer, I tried writing on paper with a pen--something I hadn’t done in years. Writer’s block, like everything else, passes eventually. You just have to be there when it does.
- What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?
Writing a fabulous scene—when everything comes together, the stars all align and the story just flows. That’s the best feeling but it happens so rarely, I live for those times.
- If you weren't writing, what would you be doing?
I’d be writing. I don’t see myself ever not writing. I think if I were writing without deadlines, I’d be doing more cooking, knitting, reading, and weaving.
- Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?
I can only say what helped me. I entered contests. I targeted agents, editors, and houses, and only entered the contests they were judging. I got several requests by doing that. Then I entered the Golden Heart and was lucky enough to sell to one of the final judges. I know I’m really lucky.
The other thing I’d suggest is to go to conferences and meet people. Put yourself out there. I’ve found myself talking to a total stranger and then realized she or he was an editor, agent, or writer I loved. Chitchatting has gotten me requests from editors, agents, and it even got me a cover quote.
Thank you very much for taking the time with us and answering our questions. I really appreciate this interruption to your busy schedule. Good Luck, and we will be looking forward to the next delightful creation from your talented imagination!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
Author Links:
Website Email
Purchase Links:
Buy Robin's Books At Amazon
Buy Author's Books at Sourcebooks' Casablanca Romances
Buy Mainstream Books at Sourcebooks
