Interview with Robyn Carr
It’s not difficult to establish an instant rapport with Robyn Carr. The moment she said ‘hello’ I knew by the tone of her voice and the enthusiasm packed into that one word that this interview was going to be enjoyable. She didn’t disappoint.
After a few minutes discussing the frustrations with physical therapy - we both agreed that progress is a bit slow for our busy lives - we got right down to the conversation about her particular sort of women’s fiction. Robyn writes with a great sense of reality. Her characters are naturally flawed, as all humans are. Her plots often lead them through the process of growth. The women in her novels are tough, often smart and courageous.
“My characters try to make good choices with an attitude of getting to a better place or a better life.”
The Virgin River series is a set of eleven books. This latest trilogy, Forbidden Falls, Angel’s Peak and Moonlight Road are being released in subsequent months, January through March. The series has received tremendous popularity. It even has its own virtual ‘Jack’s Bar’ chatroom that was started by a fan who got in touch with Robyn to ask permission. Her answer was a resounding “Yes!” with these two caveats: no politics and no nastiness. She now has hundreds of subscribers and the chat site is updated weekly.
“One of the things that draws readers to the Virgin River series is that strong sense of community, that willingness to help each other. Life off the grid is very hard and people in little towns like that depend on each other, sometimes to get through the day, sometimes for their very survival. They occasionally find themselves at odds, disagreeing. But at the end of the day it’s all for one and one for all.”
The ancillary characters in this series are well fleshed out and that’s exactly why these books have been so popular with readers.
“There’s always at least one primary romance and also ongoing characters that appear at new or different stages of their lives. It’s a really small town drama combined with a romance. The vagrants in the woods have been around since the first book. Vanni and her family have been continuing characters for many books. That combination of a romance plus an ensemble cast gives the series more depth. There are so many possibilities.”
In the book Forbidden Falls that was released earlier this month Ellie, the main character, speaks often of her grandmother. The book is peppered with wise sayings and very sage advice. I asked Robyn where she found the motivation for this character.
“Now here I can claim some personal experience – we lived with my grandmother until I was ten. She was the most wonderful woman in the world. She had a million great sayings to live by that I treasure to this day. She didn’t have a lot, but she was loving and kind and non-judgmental.”
There are many retired Marines in Virgin River. These storylines ring true as Robyn has personal experience as a military wife. Her son is also a physician in the army. His job is to provide orthopedic surgery and care to soldiers and their families, which includes soldiers who are returning from war zones with injuries. Her voice holds tremendous pride as she speaks about the difficult job he has and the respect she has for our Armed Forces.
Robyn has am enormous group of fans. Her website and newsletters are indicative of someone who is in touch with her readers and cares about what they think.
“My fans are voracious readers. Sometimes they finish a book in a day. I receive ten to twenty emails a day, some from new readers and some who have been loyal for years. I answer each email myself.”
Although I try to steer clear of the predictable interview question I couldn’t help myself when I asked Robyn who her favorite character was in Forbidden Falls.
“Of course I love Ellie and Noah – who doesn’t? But the one character that burrowed into my heart was George Davenport, Noah’s mentor. Dear George – you’ll be seeing more of him. He just wouldn’t go away quietly once his job was done!!”
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