 |
| Robin Lee Hatcher |
Recently, I did an interview for a radio program, and I was asked several questions about the writing process. And one of my answers made me think of this conversation from Shakespeare in Love:
Philip Henslowe: Mr.
Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition
is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
Hugh Fennyman: So
what do we do?
Philip Henslowe: Nothing.
Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh Fennyman: How?
Philip Henslowe: I
don’t know. It’s a mystery.
The natural condition is one of
insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster.
An apt description for the writing
process, too, I think. At least that’s how I’ve been feeling about my WIP
(work-in-progress) lately. I am not nearly as far along as I should be. I’m
questioning my abilities. Whatever made me think I could be a writer? How on
earth am I going to manage? Is there a way to relieve this panicked feeling in
my chest?
Insurmountable obstacles. Imminent
disaster.
 |
| Click to Buy |
So how will I pull it all together
into a book worth reading?
I don’t know. It’s a mystery.
To be honest, that is a lot of the
fun for me. To simply show up at the computer and let the mysterious process of
fiction writing unfold.
If I know too much about my story
in advance, I lose interest in writing it because I know how it ends. What’s
the fun in writing a story that I’ve got all figured out.
The plotting that I do is like the
headlights on my car on a dark night. They light the road just enough for me to
keep driving and to stay on the highway. I plot just enough to keep me moving
forward in my story and to keep it on course.
I don’t believe in analyzing the
mystery of creativity too much. I much prefer to let the “girls in the
basement” enjoy playing in my subconscious and then invite them to send up what
they find worthy.
How does that work? I don’t know. It’s a mystery.
Leave a comment to get your name in a drawing for a copy of Four Weddings and a Kiss.
Leave a comment to get your name in a drawing for a copy of Four Weddings and a Kiss.
Robin Lee Hatcher
is the best-selling author of over seventy books. Her well-drawn characters and
heartwarming stories of faith, courage, and love have earned her both critical
acclaim and the devotion of readers. Her numerous awards include the Christy
Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, the RITA® Award for Best
Inspirational Romance, Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards for Americana
Romance and for Inspirational Fiction, the Carol Award, the 2011 Idahope Writer
of the Year, and the 2001 RWA Lifetime Achievement Award.
 |
| Click to Buy |
Robin’s latest release is Four Weddings and a Kiss, a novella collection written with
Margaret Brownley, Debra Clopton, and Mary Connealy. Her novella is entitled Love Letter to the Editor.
Dear
Editor:
Do
you think there are men in this world who can value a well-educated woman with
a mind of her own and the courage to speak it? Is it possible for a man and a
woman to have an equal partnership in marriage, seeing each other as God
intended them to be? After thirty-five years on this earth, I have begun to
doubt it.
Sincerely,
Wishful
in Wyoming
She’s the best writer the paper has ever had. He’s her new
editor. And she doesn’t like it one bit.
Molly Everton is the outspoken daughter of the town’s
newspaper publisher. She had the best education her father’s money could buy
and she’s a better writer than he is. So when her father passes her over for
the position of editor and gives the job to an outsider from back East, she’s
furious. But a smart girl like Molly knows she can drive the new guy out of
town with little trouble if she plays her cards right . . .
Jack Ludlow came out West for adventure and wide open
spaces, not romance. And he’s not intimidated by the beautiful daughter of his
new employer. At first he’s just trying to prove to her he is the right man for
the job—but before long he’s set on stealing her heart.
Great post, but then your novels are great, too! Thanks Mary for having Robin here
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this. In fact I am going to make a poster of
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It's a mystery.
for my office.
This gave me great and lasting happiness.
Oh, and welcome back to Seekerville.
I'm currently letting my characters figure out how they're going to get out the disaster I put them into.
ReplyDeleteOh, wait a minute - they put themselves there!
I'm with you, Robin. I plot just enough to give myself a road map. I know where we're going and the route to get there, but those dips in the road surprise me - I hope they do the same for my readers. :)
Love your books. Thanks for being in Seekerville today!
This is great! Thanks for sharing, Robin!!
ReplyDeleteOops, wasn't quite done with that comment before "publishing."
ReplyDeleteThat mystery is one of the things I love most about writing--the what-ifs along the way that change things up and make the story much more than it was before.
Oh my goodness, that blurb! Haha! Talk about two-dogs-one-bone! Looks like sparks are about to fly.
I know. I'm weird. I plot. But my goodness, if I did it all in the dark, I'd panic. I mean, I plot and they still don't do what I tell them to, imagine giving them free rein! I'm saving my crit partner from 100X the amount of panic that COULD happen! :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree.
ReplyDeleteMy buddy Vince will not. And like Jan, once you're selling, you have to come up with some sort of road map of the proposal for editors, they're silly that way!
But I love that they allow me enough latitude to either hang myself (guilty!!!) or grow a story from within....
Robin, welcome back to Seekerville!!! I've got the book, my kid stole my Kindle and took it on vacation, but I can't wait to read these stories! Thanks for being here today....
Coffee is here!!!!
Melissa Jagears if plotting gives you such beautiful prose, you just keep on, keeping on.
ReplyDeleteWonderful stuff.
I love that way of looking at it! I don't always love it when the "mystery" overwhelms along about Chapter 6, but your post makes me feel better anyway.
ReplyDeleteOooohhhh -- love this! It answers absolutely everything about writing! Perfect. :-) But there should be a spew alert posted because I snorted orange juice up my nose when I read "the girls in the basement" playing in your subconscious. Too funny! And very comforting to know that veteran authors get those same panicky feelings newbie ones do.
ReplyDeleteHi Robin,
ReplyDeleteYou have made me feel so much better. Some of my friends write their entire synopsis and have a complete road map to where their story is going. I always feel inadequate as they talk about their process.
I meet my characters, throw them together, watch the fireworks. I usually know my spiritual thread too before I start. As I've tried to write the "right" way, I feel stifled.
Tina, I want one of those posters too.
Robin, I can't wait to read your new novella. Thanks again for sharing today!
Robin,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your recent recognition from ACFW. Well deserved.
Don't we all have those doubts as we begin a new story or struggle to have the twists and turns join together at the end? It must be part of the creative process. Not the part I welcome. :)
Thanks for being with us today. Love the blurb and the conflict between those two characters. Makes me want to stop working and start reading. :)
Hugs!
I haven't been published yet, so it is a great relief to learn that plotting is just a guideline, and not the final say.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin for a great post that makes so much sense.
I can relax and enjoy the 'surprises' along the way and stop worrying that with all my 'plotting' I still manage to get out of 'plot' way to often! :-)
Hi Robin, Wow did I need to hear this today. I was so thinking I should give up this writing, but when I hear someone who has as many books as you have the same doubts, well phooey. I must just give in to the mystery.
ReplyDeleteI remember a post you did on Seekerville years back when you said the book you had the most difficulty writing turned out to be one of your best. That encourages me also. smile
Thanks for joining us today. Have fun.
Welcome back to Seekerville, Robin! And CONGRATULATIONS on the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award -- a well-deserved "bookend" to your RWA Lifetime Achievement Award!! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Robin, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWinner of ACFW's lifetime achievement award
And over 70 books. I'm so excited for you. And it is well deserved because you have always been so helpful to all of us.
ReplyDeleteThank you, ROBIN. It's good to know established writers have doubts about their WIPs, which is why I love this site.
It is a mystery, but no more so than Christianity itself. I went to a Catholic funeral yesterday, for the first time in ages (funerals OR Mass), and I was overwhelmed during their Communion at the mystery and the reality of the shed blood.
MELISSA, I plot too. And then leave myself open to changes. I like RUTHY's expression, "Growing the story from within."
ROBIN, I just read "Heart's Pursuit" from my local library! Nice job. I like Silver a lot, the way she risked everything for her family, and I like the skillful way you integrated elements such as "jilted bride" and the ticking clock. Loved the "meet" when she is running away in her bridal gown. AND a thoroughly chilling villain.
Kathy Bailey
It's a mystery. Really. My crit partner of 20 years (!) just signed her first contract. She's not a regular on this site, but I'd like to give a shout-out to her anyway for her persistence and talent. Here's to you, Peggy in New Hampshire!
ReplyDeleteKB
People wonder why I don't have my mug shot on here and have that Christmas Rice Krispies tree instead. There are three possible reasons. Pick the one you think is right.
ReplyDelete1. I was Shirley MacLaine's stunt double for "Downton Abbey," and they made me sign a release not to go public.
2. I can't find it! We changed computers a couple of times and I thought I put it in Dropbox, but no mug shot exists there. Just when I was about to come clean with you people...
3. The whole Witness Protection thing. Such a bore...
Kathy Bailey
Kathy Bailey, LOL!!!! I'm going with the Shirley MacLaine stunt double because years ago I met a photo double for Elizabeth Taylor and it's amazing how that whole scene worked back then. JoAnne's picture was all over the world on billboards, etc. to give Liz a break from modeling for ad shots... and no one knew it.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I met JoAnne, she was older and not made up, but you could see the resemblance if you used a VERY VIVID imagination, LOL!
Digital photography today has to be even better!
Welcome back, Robin! I love the description of your novella! What a fun story.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'm such a big plotter/ planner. But the more I write, the more I wonder if I need to back off some and just go with the flow. I think I fear getting off on a tangent and then having to backtrack (and toss all those pages).
For me, that mystery is scary. But it sure would be fun!
Aren't mysteries great? But it's no mystery that Robin Hatcher writes really great books! Thanks Robin. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes sit down to write, usually blogs and other shorter projects and I honestly don't know what I'm going to write until I start typing.
ReplyDeleteIt's like I need that physical movement, my fingers on the keyboard, to prompt creativity.
I've always thought that was weird, like the ideas were in my FINGERS rather than my head.
It's a mystery.
LOL, ROBIN ... AMEN TO THAT!! WELCOME BACK TO SEEKERVILLE!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun post and VERY encouraging to us pantsters who, like you, rely heavily on "the girls in the basement." :)
To know an accomplished and award-winning author like YOU feels inadequate about your writing is HUGE for me because that's pretty much how I feel with every book I write. So THANK YOU for helping me to realize more fully that it's more the nature of the business -- mere human beings on a mission from God whom the devil hates -- than lack of talent. :)
Hugs,
Julie
Such a fun post! Thanks for sharing, Robin. It's good to know I'm not the only one who often feels like she can see no further than the headlights. :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome, ROBIN! Congratulations on your lifetime achievement recognition--so deserved!
ReplyDeleteOh, I SOOOOO relate to this post! Even just trying to come up with a couple of paragraphs for a short proposal is more advance plotting than I like to do. Because, no matter how hard I try, once I start actually writing the book, it never quite matches up. Something out of my control happens when I let the characters live out their lives and tell their own story, and it's usually lots better than the one I tried to contrive in advance.
"I don't know. It's a mystery."
A poster? Great idea, TINA!
Okay, so who exactly are the girls in the basement? Should I know them?
Thanks for an enjoyable post and congratulations on your award. Well deserved! Please enter me in the drawing.
ReplyDeleteMARY said: "It's like I need that physical movement, my fingers on the keyboard, to prompt creativity."
ReplyDeleteI get this. Totally. If you're weird, so am I.
But then I guess we both knew that already.
Good stuff, Robin. I so enjoy your books.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Robin.
ReplyDeleteSo the good news is we aren't alone in questioning our skill. And the bad news is there's little chance of improvement!
Hmmm, Let the girls in the basement party on.
b
I have a working weekend coming up.
ReplyDeletePSYCHED!!!!
I have no parties/picnics/gatherings.
My upstairs hall is painted. Just some moldings to tack up.
It's me and the laptop and a Christmas novella to finish and then... a new project to begin.
I am grinning.
I LOVE FREE WEEKENDS. I think when you work full time and write on the side, the freedom of time to write is just beyond special.
STILL GRINNING.
Waitin' on Saturday.
Ruthy
Robin - congratulations on your award from ACFW! You're very deserving, I'm thankful for all you've done for the writing community.
ReplyDeleteThe longer I write, the more I tend to plot. The mystery was killing me. LOL
I'd love to read your new novella, so please toss my name in the hat.
Kaybee, my dear, I'm sorry you had to go to a funeral... although they are a frank necessity....
ReplyDeleteBut I'm glad you were moved by the consecration. The idea that God himself was willing to die for us is mind-boggling and crazy humbling because we are so undeserving...
But not in his eyes.
Oh, that God!!!!!
Robin!! So happy to see one of my FAVORITE authors here today! :)
ReplyDeleteI loved this post - - and am amazed that after all your published books, success, and numerous awards, you still feel unsure at times--WOW! That gives folks like me (unpubbed writers) much hope.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
Hugs from Georgia, Patti Jo
p.s. Just now saw Kathy Bailey's (kaybee) post about her mug shot - - LOL!! Hmmmm....think I'll go with the Shirley MacLaine choice too. ;)
ReplyDeleteHugs, PJ
Oh Robin, you have so nailed it -- I don't know. It's a mystery! How else to explain sitting back in the chair, staring at the computer screen, and muttering in delighted amazement, "I wrote that??" May we all have more of those moments :-)
ReplyDeleteSounds like another good book, Robin! And congrats on the award.
Nancy C
Hi Robin! Congratulations on your upcoming award from ACFW! I attended the conference for the first time last year and at the end I wanted to kick myself for being too shy to talk to a bunch of authors I've admired from afar. I'm promising myself I'll do better this year.
ReplyDeleteI love those lines; now I need to see the movie. :-) Thanks for the encouragement today.
Did one of you guys put the double lock on the front door? OKAY? WHO LOCKED ROBIN OUT OF SEEKERVILLE?
ReplyDeleteYOU ARE IN BIG, BIG TROUBLE!!!
Hi Robin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your writerly wisdom with us - as well as your writer's fears! Like the others said, I'm so happy that a veteran writer like you - winner of so many awards - still has those panicky moments. Whew - we are not alone!
And congratulations on your upcoming Lifetime Achievement award!
I'd love to win a copy of your book.
Cheers,
Sue
LOL, Tina! You are so funny!
ReplyDeleteWell, I vote we have some fun and try to guess where our missing guest is. After all, this is a mystery.
ReplyDeleteAll guesses go into a hat and we will draw for an extra copy of Four Weddings and a Kiss.
I am guessing that Mary Connealy has locked her in the cellar and is holding her hostage.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, Robin! I really needed to read, think, chew on this post. It's great. I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. It's nice when God's hits us over the head and shows us we are not alone in the writing process.
ReplyDeleteLove reading your books, too!
LOL -- no Tina, she's been held hostage by the ladies in the basement! They won't let her out until she concedes a major plot point.
ReplyDeleteI want an extra shot at the book.
ReplyDeleteHere goes, I think Robin's car broke down in the middle of a mountain range in Idaho. There is no cell reception and she's having to walk forty-five miles to the nearest town.
And I don't think Kaybee is a Shirkey MacClaine stunt double. She's in the witness protection program. If we see her face, it's curtains for her.
Kaybee is in the Witness Protection Program? I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteSo Mary and Margaret and Debra and Robin are working on a new set of novellas and each claims Title Naming rights. Robin's however refuses to be part of a lame and cheesy title. The title is Six Dogs and a Lick. So they won't let her out until she concedes.
Actually, I kidnapped Robin and placed her in my story. She's teaching my heroine and hero how to elude the villain. They needed help, and Robin was available. :)
ReplyDeleteI might grab Kathy Bailey for the next scene and use her Rice Krispies Tree as well.
Nothing is wasted in Seekerville! LOL!
We put the up in UPCYCLE.
ReplyDeleteYes, Tina, Kaybee is hiding out in Witness Protection. Shhhh, don't tell anyone.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe that doctor said we put the Psycho in Up Psycho? I can't remember.
ReplyDeleteNo, I would never mention on a blog with over a million hits, 32K monthly and a Writer's Digest Top 101 Website award that a friend of Seekerville is hiding out here under the WITSec.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I would love to read this book. This seems to be a week where all the street teems I am on have a book that needs to be read. It is a good thing I love to read. I finished Speak No Evil last night. I am now reading The Butterfly and the Lion as well as the Grand Teton Sleigh Ride (a collection of Novellas). Tomorrow I should be receiving in the mail Secrets of Sloan House to read.
ReplyDeletePlus I am retying my first 3 chapters and doing additional edits on my wip to send to Tina on Monday as part of Seekerville night class from April.
At least I have things to do that I love so it is not a chore and I won't get bored this weekend.
Very interesting how there are so many different approaches to plotting.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I think I'm going to name a character Wilani, right away. I even have a novella coming up with an unnamed heroine.
ReplyDeleteWilani.
I like it. Lots of great names hanging around Seekerville of course, but I may have used all the rest of you already.
Loving this post. I think i can use the phrase for more than just writing - especially with my two boys (hubby and son) - if they ask me something I don't really want to answer, I might just go with I don't know, it's a mystery...
ReplyDeleteTINA: how does one poster things? (please don't respond with IDK IAM) Just curious...
oh, and Robin: I LOVED your novella. I could relate very much with Molly.
Natalie, that is the struggle we all have with synopsis, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI mean knowing, well, some people do know, but it's so complex, how can we know the twists and turns.
I wrote up a snop once and the editor said she didn't like it. She said, "I trust you to make this book work, but I have to pitch this book and all I've got in your synopsis, so we have to work on it."
That made sense....but knowing ahead of time what's going to happen is just a BEAR
Yeah, see Melissa, it's what WORKS for you.
ReplyDeleteIf it works for you to plot then that's fantastic.
There is no one right or wrong way to write a book and anyone who tells you there is, is wrong.
Unless it's me of course.
Kav, I come to a point in every book where I think, "I'm not good at this. I'm a fraud. This book is dead."
ReplyDeleteI just soldier on, plow on through feeling like I'm a total idiot.
And they I get past it and revise and sharpen it up and ignore my inner critical voice....usually I ignore it by drowning it out over the crunch of Doritos.
Jackie I think of it as three explosions and a conclusion.
ReplyDeleteAn explosive conclusion.
That's the fundamental form of a story.
But I don't know what those explosions are going to be ahead of time.
I explode the beginning, then an explosion about 1/3 of the way through, then another 1/3 of the way another explosion, then the big black moment, all is lost, then happily ever after...
Robin, the more I try to figure out HOW to write a better book, HOW to plot, the more I realize I just can't be taught. It is a mysterious process that just happens. I think I'm using some kind of formula but it never works. I end up with a book, but I never know quite how I did it. LOL!
ReplyDeleteSee, Mary has a specific process. That's wonderful! But no matter how hard I try, I just can't come up with a process. I don't know how to write a novel. I just do it.
ReplyDeleteRight, Melly. Just do it. Every book is a different kind of pain.
ReplyDeleteSome visceral, some surface, some gut wrenching, some poke in the eye, some funny bone hitting (ouch, that is painful) and some are just dentist drill painful.
KATHY BAILEY/RICE KRISPIES WOMAN
ReplyDeleteI vote for Shirley McClaine, either that or you're just trying to make us hungry.
It's distinctive, I'll give you that. :)
Poster? Well that's sort of like commenter. Words that do not exist except in the fertile mind of the writer.
ReplyDeleteOH COME ON MYRA, LIKE YOU DONT' HAVE 'GIRLS' PLAYING IN YOUR BASEMENT!!!
ReplyDeleteHEY TINSTER....IF I LOCKED SOMEONE IN MY CELLAR YOU WOULD BE HEARING THE SCREAMING.
ReplyDeleteIt's very vermin-y down there.
LOLOLOL.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a basement so I am not guilty in this hare brained scheme.
A good friend helps you hide the body! Remember that.
I'm willing to drive the get away car as long as we have a Garmin.
Forget bail. I am broke.
Kav maybe she's not being held hostage by the ladies in the basement, maybe she's just talking to them.
ReplyDelete(been there)
Vermin. Really good word.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Latin -to verm.
No, Tina, the saying is:
ReplyDeleteA good friend will help you move.
A great friend will help you move a body.
I smell a cover up here. And it isn't Channel #5
ReplyDeleteNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
ReplyDeleteA good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend
will be sitting next to you saying, "Darn...that was fun!"
Thinking up euphemisms for mouse is one of my best skills.
ReplyDeletePretty sure I know them all.
In fact did you know a musophobe is someone with a fear of mice?
Yes, I know that word, too. And the fact that I do should be NO MYSTERY TO ANYONE!!!
And no, Mr. Blogger, that is NOT a typo. Stop saying it is!!!!! I looked it up!!!!!
I'm hungry and Missy refuses to cook in the Yankee Belle Cafe today.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extraordinarily strange day.
Where's the caterer? Is that a mystery too?
Chanel #5
ReplyDeleteChannel #5 is where I watch Duck Dynasty on Cable.
I can make some microwave popcorn.
ReplyDeleteI'd serve it with Rice Krispie Bars but that's to KayBee that feels strangely.....cannibalistic
Very interesting post, Robin! I just got one of your books today! Can't wait to read it! I a looking forward to reading this new novella! I've been waiting and waiting for it! I hope I win it but I'll read it regardless! I've enjoying getting to know your writing more!
ReplyDeleteValri
In fact have you ever heard of the book Night in Rodanthe?
ReplyDeleteI always think that's about mice.
Does anyone know anything about that new Amazon phone?
ReplyDeleteI need a new phone badly.
My children are mocking me.
Chanel not Channel. I am cleaning house and now overcome with cleaning fumes. This caused a typogrettical error.
ReplyDeleteIt is, Merry. I mean Mary. It's about two mice who run away together.
ReplyDeleteI hate to point this out..but the whole mocking thing superseded the phone thing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not getting the whole Kaybee and Rice Krispies correlation. The Witsec I can deal with. The bars and why she looks like a Christmas tree went right over my head.
ReplyDeleteNIGHT IN RODANTHE IS A MOUSE LOVE STORY!!!! GOD SAVE US ALL THAT'S ONE OF THE SIGNS OF THE APOCOLYPSE!!!
ReplyDeleteTINA yes, okay, let's go there. Your typing is the fault of cleaning fumes.
ReplyDelete(besides I've told you no good can come of all that cleaning, when will you learn???)
The Apocalypse is a mystery, Mary.
ReplyDeleteAh, always a fun time in Seekerville.
ReplyDeleteI have an outline for my stories, but the outline doesn't always go the way I planned it. These characters have a mind of their own sometimes.
So true, the children have raised it to an artform, bless their little hearts.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I flip my phone open and start tapping two/three times to get to the letter I want, it just adds fuel to a fire that's been burning since the first one was born!!!!!!!!!
Where do you think they learned that kind of sarcastic wit, huh??????
WALT isn't that the truth, huh? I ended up with a recent story, all of a sudden going in a really fun, eerie, spooky way with the bad guy.
ReplyDeleteWow, I loved it!!!!
Never saw that coming until about 3/4 of the way through, gave the bad guy a really twisted outlook, then had to go back and sow in seeds to support it.
Love it when an idea blooms like that but it's not always a fit for the synopsis.
What it is, is....a mystery.
Frankly, if they don't have a mind of their own, it's probably not going to be a great story, Walt.
ReplyDeleteSarcastic wit. Sarcastic wit. Let me think on that one, Connealy.
ReplyDeleteThis all makes me want to go write a book and try to make it funny for once.
ReplyDeleteLOLOL. This makes me hungry.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Robin?
ReplyDeleteI don't know.
It's a mystery.
Nancy C
(That Nancy is so quick.)
ReplyDeleteNights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. I started crying just reading the blurb. No doubt both of these folks die a lingering death after they fall in love.
ReplyDeleteAdrienne Willis is 45 and has been divorced for three years, abandoned by her husband for a younger woman. The trials of raising her teenage children and caring for her sick father have worn her down, but at the request of a friend and in hopes of respite, she's gone to the coastal village of Rodanthe in North Carolina to tend the local inn for the weekend. With a major storm brewing, the time away doesn't look promising...until a guest named Paul Flanner arrives. At 54, Paul is a successful surgeon, but in the previous six months his life has unraveled into something he doesn't recognize. Estranged from his son and recently divorced, he's sold his practice and his home and has journeyed to this isolated town in hopes of closing a painful chapter in his past. Adrienne and Paul come together as the storm brews over Rodanthe, but what begins between them over the weekend will resonate throughout the rest of their lives, intertwining past and future, love and loss.
Oddly enough, there's an actor named Adriane Paul. I wonder if this book is a sort of tribute to The Highlander.
ReplyDelete(I loved that show)
Yeah, since Sparks doesn't do those sappy HEA endings like WE do. Of course my books are not optioned for movies either. Although I did think I saw Josh Duhamel in the grocery store following me. My hopes when it turned out it was the store security guard watching me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's it. Night's in Rodanthe, Men in Kilts. Sort of sounds the same.
ReplyDeleteI had to google Josh Duhamel. Guess what? I can't do that on my phone.
ReplyDeletebtw, oh yeah, baby. Josh Duhamel
Why did I not drop by Seekerville earlier today?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It's a mystery.
But, glad I did, when I did! This is going to be my stock answer for everything. World, watch out! :)
I think it's time to step away from the computer. I am laughing so hard I am losing words. This does not bode well.
ReplyDeleteI have put out an APB on Robin. I am wringing my hands and look sufficiently worried, I think. So I will now go take a nap.
ROBIN IS MISSING??????
ReplyDeleteSay it ain't so!!!!!!!!
This is what happens on a Friday afternoon.
ReplyDeleteMice. Rice Krispies. Witness Protection. Girls in the basement.
I think they're all related.
I'm going back to my WIP. Thanks for the fun break, everyone!
I think I saw her at the Walmart!!!!
ReplyDeleteI was down there, grabbin' a box of fresh hair color, kind of blondish-brassy-country-girl-gone-wild and I looked up, and I could swear it was her but she was in Kaybee's DARK GLASSES.....
Carrying a Rice Krispie Treat Christmas tree!!!!!!
COLLUSION!!!! CONSPIRACY!!!!!!!!1
I like Nancy's poem best.
ReplyDeleteAwesome.
Ruthy she's not missing.
ReplyDeleteProbably.
911
She must be missing.
ReplyDeleteI contend that she is, in fact, missing.
She's not here, right????
Therefore: Missing.
I rest my case.
Josh Duhamel....
ReplyDeleteAw, he's cute.
I've kinda been on a Henry Caville kick but I may switch.
ReplyDeleteHenry Caville...the new Superman!
Now we're gettin' somewhere!!!
Henry's way cuter. This is no contest. Although I'm a big Patrick Dempsey fan ever since Enchanted.
ReplyDeleteI love Enchanted.
I long to be Giselle, just for a day, surrounded by NYC rats, mice, pigeons and cockroaches. I can't help but laugh just thinking about it!
Henry gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteShould we do a straw poll????
ReplyDeleteWave your hands in the air if you think Henry Caville is cuter than Josh Duhamel.
This is not a scientific poll, there is an error margin of 33.5% if polling is done on a Friday evening at the end of a LONG week...
Feel free to Google them, I'll wait.
True! Writing fiction is a mystery, and that's the fun (and scary) part...until I get to the final polished version. Then I want to start the process all over again, lol.
ReplyDeleteI Googled. Henry wins.
ReplyDeleteOh no, this IS a scientific vote, definitely.
ReplyDeleteBecause I suspect this is how they take most public opinion polls.
Also I think a strong case can be made for Bailey Chase, who plays Branch Connelly on Longmire. VERY handsome man.
I had to Google Josh and Henry.
ReplyDeleteBut Mary's right. Bailey wins hands down.
Now I'm heading back to my WIP before my husband wonders why I'm looking a pictures of men young enough to be my sons....
Fine! Put Bailey Chase into the mix. Unfair though. He wear a cowboy hat. He just beat Henry and Josh.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Robin got caught up into a tornado like Dorothy, where she is dreaming up a new story.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Robin. It is a mystery for me also. Even with plotting, I'm often shocked by what happens in the heat of writing a scene. Thanks for the fine post.
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend, everyone. On Saturday and Sunday night we're going to play groupies to two local rock cover bands whose members are my age...
Ruthy, think Skycoasters - Rochester's fav cover band.
Your novella looks interesting, Robin, and I don't say that lightly, considering I'm not much of a novella person. (No naming me in front of everyone like last time for confessing, Ruthy!) But I always love a good man/woman gender role romance story. :-D
ReplyDeleteLyndee, have fun!!!
ReplyDeleteRock n Roll, Lyndee!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Naomi, I respect your opinion.
Hey, I respect everything about Naomi.... :)
ReplyDeleteBut it's fun to have fun with her...
Okay, I have to shift my vote to Bailey, and why don't I remember to DVR Longmire???
Especially now with my western/cowboy LOVE??????
Wave your hands in the air if you think Henry Caville is cuter than Josh Duhamel.
ReplyDeleteThis is a trick question, yes?
It is Pam. It really is.
ReplyDeleteOMG ... WAVING FOR HENRY!!! He's who I picked for Patrick O'Connor -- hands-down WAY cuter than Josh ...
ReplyDeleteChecking in late, but glad I did, hilarious! Mary C and Tina have me laughing so hard I can't breathe.
ReplyDeleteI think Robin is off with Josh, Bailey and Henry interviewing them for her next book, I hope she remembered to wear her Chanel#5, and stays away from that basement with all the rodanthes in it
Let it be known that Robin is not locked in the basement with the girls. So sorry to be absent today of all days, but my husband and I were driving from Boise to Las Vegas. I'll be signing copies of Four Weddings & a Kiss, along with Margaret and Debra (we are missing Mary!) at the American Library Association convention this weekend. By the time I could open my laptop, I had 150 emails awaiting me to slog through. (Still slogging.) I stopped to read the comments on Seekerville. You are all so much fun. I'm sure I read to fast and have missed something I should be answering.
ReplyDeleteRobin
PS Forgot to mention that it was an eleven hour drive (including one stop to eat and a few others to fuel the car). So I'm a bit rummy-eyed at present.
ReplyDeleteHow did I miss all this fun today??
ReplyDeleteYall are the Best!
Robin, I love your books!!!
Thanks for coming by!!
I love that movie. Sometimes things do just fall into place.
ReplyDeleteWhy oh why did I ever decide to stop the Seekerville blog posts from arriving in my Gmail inbox each week?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It's a mystery.
I think I must've been hit on the head with a very large, VERY hard object! I forgot how entertaining the blog is, as well as all of the comments left at the end of the posts!
Gosh, I don't know where I learn the most about writing: the many blogs with tips, tricks & "insider info" written by the many Christian authors I admire & adore? Or all the silly comments made about/after said blogs by those same ladies and many other equally admired & adored Christian authors?!?
Btw, thanks for the chance to win a copy of Four Weddings and a Kiss AND Congrats on your Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin!
Kristen Anissa
Tracey Hagwood!!!! YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE GAME, OH MY STARS, YOU ROCK!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBasements with Rodanthes are to be avoided at all costs... Because there might be witness protection peeps down there! On a need-to-know basis, oops....
DEMISE!!!!
Well done, my friend! :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKRISTEN!! BIG HUG COMING BACK AT YOU!!!
ReplyDelete@Ruth Logan Herne~I was a little (okay, a lot) too serious earlier in the week and needed to redeem myself (if one can even do such a thing)
ReplyDeleteLaughing is right up there with reading on my Favorite Things List and Seekerville offers both, what a deal.
After a good night's sleep and then a nap this afternoon, I returned to more slowly read through all of the comments. What a hoot! It all spiraled out of control so quickly. I didn't remember writing about mice, and I haven't ever named my girls in the basement but I think perhaps I should. Let's see ... Hmm. I don't believe I should do that in haste. I'll ponder it for a while.
ReplyDeleteAnd just to clear up one point: I go through the same doubts with every single book I write.
Another point: It is my belief that writers attend writer conferences not so much to improve their craft as to try to discover AN EASIER WAY TO DO THIS!! We tend to think the way we do it is flawed and if we could just do A ...B ... C, it would be so much easier. But the truth is, THERE IS NO EASY WAY to write a novel. Each of us must discover the way that is right for us. That takes some time and some bumbling around.
Okay. Done shouting.
Robin
Love your writing!
ReplyDelete