Interview with Robyn Carr
ROBYN CARR is an award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than sixty novels, including highly praised women’s fiction such as Four Friends, The View from Alameda Island and A Family Affair, as well as the critically acclaimed Virgin River, Thunder Point and Sullivan’s Crossing series. Virgin River is now a Netflix original series. Robyn lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit her website at www.RobynCarr.com.
The Gloss Book Club: What can you tell our members about your novel The Friendship Club?
Robyn Carr: The Friendship Club is the story of four women ranging in age from twenty-two to sixty who are bonded by their need for support as they examine their lives while grappling with problems ranging from domestic abuse to falling in love late in life, all within the setting of a cooking show where they work together.
TGBC: Where did the inspiration for The Friendship Club come from?
RC: One of my favorite and irresistible rabbit holes is the online cooking demonstration! I can be distracted for hours watching a cooking show.
TGBC: What appeals to you most about writing romance novels?
RC: I love the sense of optimism and hope romance provides, not to mention the feel-good storyline that romance delivers.
TGBC: The Virgin River series was such a huge success – what was that process like going from book to screen?
RC: For me it was simple, since I didn’t write the scripts. I served more as a consultant, answering questions about the story and characters. It was fascinating to watch the story evolve to fit the new format.
TGBC: You’ve talked about research and how important it is in some of your past interviews – can you share an instance when you got something wrong and heard about from readers?
RC: There are too many to count, but they’re almost always very small. I once made a Naval Officer a second lieutenant, of which there’s no such rank in the Navy and I’m still hearing about that!
TGBC: You started your career as a nurse but soon because of travel and motherhood, it became difficult to work in healthcare, did you or do you miss nursing or was writing always your dream?
RC: I really enjoyed nursing and still love to read about or talk about medicine and my son is a doctor, but writing was an accident. I so enjoyed reading that I wondered how I’d like writing, so I tried telling myself a story on paper and I loved the process. I taught myself and it was a wonderful journey.
TGBC: What does your writing process look like? Do you map each story out from start to finish or do you begin with an idea and see where it takes you?
RC: I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants, starting on page one and going back to revise many times. I like that I, like the reader, am not always sure what will happen next.
TGBC: What makes a book great, in your opinion? What elements does a great story possess?
RC: Primarily wanting to turn the page makes a book good, then not being able to shake the story from you mind long after you’ve finished makes it great. I consider it a huge compliment when someone writes to tell me they’ve re-read a book of mine!
TGBC: What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
RC: It was probably when I heard a speech that changed my mind about something, like Martin Luther King’s speech, “I had a dream.”
TGBC: Any advice you can share with the aspiring writers within our community? RC: What advice would you give to your younger self?
RC: I would tell my younger self to remember to always write the book you want to read!