Author interview: Robin Patchen

Intro: 

Robin Patchen is still a somewhat new to me author. The first book I ran across of her, didn't appeal to me....much to my shame. And I even admitted that to her. 😀 Then I ran across Innocent Lies, the 4th book in her Nutfield Saga, and it caught my eye. It was an amazing book, and I w started reading all of her books in print at that time (May 2022). Then I realized this was an author whose books I wanted to own in paperback, so I started buying her backlist and everything new. 

She has three series out currently:
#1 The 10 book Nutfield Saga, including a Christmas book with three stories in, published this past year. 

#2. The 11 book Coventry Saga Series.

#3. The Wright Heroes of Maine. This currently has 5 books out, including a prequel, with 5 more on the way. And in my not so humble opinion, this is her best series so far. My little sister, who used to be too squeamish to read suspense, said the first one was one of the best books she ever read. (Link to buy that here.)  I just read the 5th book, Protecting You at the beginning of this month, and it was amazing. 

She has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and graciously agreed to an interview. I sent her the questions, and she answered them and sent them back.

 Without further ado, here is my interview with bestselling author, Robin Patchen. (Author bio at the end.) 

1. Robin, I just finished reading Protecting You, #5 in the Wright Heroes of Maine Series – which was awesome by the way. This is my favorite of your three series, and I would say the first book, Running to You, is my favorite book of yours.

Do you have a favorite book and series you wrote, or is it like kids – you can't pick a favorite?

It is hard to pick a favorite. I think they’re all “favorites” for different reasons. For instance, I love Generous Lies, book 3 in the Nutfield Saga, because it deals with a teenage boy who gets addicted to drugs. Our son dealt with addiction, so I feel a special connection to Garrison as he fights for his son. I love A Mountain Too Steep for a similar reason—it tells the story of a car accident my other son and my nephew were in. (Though all the other suspenseful moments in that book are completely fictional.) I looked forward to writing Legacy Redeemed for years, and when it was finished, I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment. I was very proud of that book, which had a lot of heavy themes. I love Inheritance of Secrets because of all the snow. And then there’s Running to You, a favorite not only because the story is unique compared to other storylines, but because it was so much fun to write. 

2. Tell some of your likes and how you spend time when not writing?

I love to travel. I’ve always said I want to visit every place in the world, twice. Haven’t quite done that yet, but I’ll be crossing Hong Kong and The Himalayas off my bucket list this spring when my husband and I visit my son, his wife, and our two grandsons (one of whom we haven’t met yet—he was born February 12). When I’m not traveling or writing, I help facilitate Bible study at my church, have fun with my small group friends, cook, and work puzzles. 

3. Why do you write Christian suspense, and what kind of impact do you hope your writing has on your readers, especially in terms of their spiritual lives?

I write Christian fiction because I can’t imagine anyone trying to live their lives without God. I write suspense because it’s so much fun to put people through terrible danger and see how they react. I might be a tiny bit sadistic—but only with fictional characters. 😉

4. Tell us a little about your writing process. Where do you get ideas, character names, plots?

I’m laughing because, after thirty books, I’m not sure I have a process. I get the seed of an idea, and then I just keep asking myself questions about it until it starts to grow. Then I take that tiny story-seedling to my brainstorming group, and together, we turn it into a plot. I use lots of great resources to help, like Susan May Warren’s Story Equation, John Truby’s The Anatomy of Fiction, and Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat. I use the Enneagram website to help build personalities and various name-generating and baby-name websites to figure out what to call these random people.  I do a lot of wrestling with it, a lot of praying, a lot of second-guessing myself until I’m somewhat sort of happy with it. I never know how the climax is going to play out, and no matter what I plan, it never happens that way, so I’ve given up trying to see all the way to the end. A bunch of work goes into planning a novel. And then I have to write the thing. 

5. How does your personal Christian faith influence your writing and character development?

I cannot imagine living my life without Christ, which is why most of my main characters are Christians. I believe we can and should hang onto our faith through the trials of life. I read a lot of stories where the hero and/or heroine gave up on God because something didn’t go well. I get that, and it can happen, but I like to see characters who lean into their faith when life gets hard. I love showing those examples—and trying to live that example as well. Life is hard, God is good. Both of those things are true, and when we realize God isn’t a genie who’s there to grant our every wish, the trials are easier to live with. 

6. Do you ever struggle with incorporating your faith into your writing without being preachy? How do you navigate that?

I hope my stories aren’t preachy. In Sheltering You, the heroine, Jasmine, was a very strong believer. She came from a strict household in Iraq where she had to hide her faith. All she had was a Bible—no church, no music, no internet access. Just a Bible. Her faith was based on what she read. I had a blast creating conversations between her and the hero, who grew up in an American church. I loved comparing what she’d learned from the Bible to what he’d been raised to believe—and watching them wrestle through the differences. That was probably my “preachiest” book, but I think it worked because they were talking about God, not just telling readers what to believe. 

7. Is there a character in your current series - or any of your books - that you found the most challenging to write? Why?

Probably Jasmine, whom I mention above. She was introduced in Rescuing You and was the heroine in Sheltering You. What do I know about growing up in Iraq? (Spoiler alert: almost nothing.) That book took a lot of research. And I had to differentiate her family from other Iraqi families, make it clear that how she lived wasn’t the norm. I needed her to not be free for the story—to be a sheltered captive of her family, but that’s not how most Iraqi women live. I had to delve into Islam, which also took massive research. I worried when those stories released that they would offend people. So far, I’ve had no complaints—as far as I know. (But I don’t read my reviews, so maybe I did and I’m just not aware.) 

8. OK, this is something I have wanted to ask an author, even if it might be a silly question: How did it feel the first time you saw one of your books come up on Amazon, or other retail websites, and has that feeling changed all of these books later when you see your books on those sites?

The first time I saw my name on a book on Amazon was so exciting. It all feels so real when there’s an actual buy link—almost surreal. And then people start buying, and it gets even weirder. (Of course, the sales come in slowly in the early days.) I think one my favorite early moments as a writer came when I saw my first two-star review. I thought—Oh, my goodness. Someone I don’t even know read my book! I mean, I hope it wasn’t a friend. 😉

9. Do you have any favorite books and authors you like to read and have read? Is Christian suspense your favorite genre' to write and also read?

I have so many favorite authors, both in Christian fiction space and not. I like to read general market suspense, and my favorite authors are Harlan Coben and Robert Crais. (If you read them, remember—they’re general market. The language isn’t always up to CF standards.) Christian authors… There are too many great ones to list. Misty Beller, Lacy Williams, Tracy Higley, Hallee Bridgeman, Susan May Warren, Sharon Srock, Charles Martin, Becky Wade… Gosh, I could do this all day. 

10. You have two more books slated in the Wright Heroes of Maine series: Capturing You in June, and Defending You in October (that is too long to wait!) Do you have anything in mind beyond that? 

As a matter of fact, yes! I’ll tell all the Wright sisters’ stories. Protecting You featured Alyssa; Capturing You will feature Brooklynn. Cici will be the star of Defending You. Then, I’ll tell Delaney’s and Kenzie’s stories—they don’t have titles yet. And there will be one more Wright Hero after that, but the main character is a secret. Altogether, there’ll be ten books in the series. (I am definitely intrigued - Mark)

11. Every author gets bad reviews. Do you pay much attention to reviews, and how do you handle negative ones you run across?

I have never been one to read all my reviews. I find it steals my time and can, if I come across a negative one, steal my joy. When my reader team leaves reviews, I want to know what they have to say. The first few reviews that come in on release day, I’ll skim. But after that, I pay them no mind. The only exception is when I have a book that isn’t selling as well as others in the same series or doesn’t have as high a rating. I’ll skim the low-star reviews to see if there was something I could have done differently to connect with readers. 

Thanks so much for agreeing to do this, Robin. I found your answers quite interesting, and am looking forward to more from the Wright family. Wishing you a lot of book sales, and hopefully there will be people who read this who have not tried your books, and do so. 😎

Author bio:
Robin Patchen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of Christian romantic suspense. She grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, the setting of her Coventry Saga books, and then headed to Boston to earn a journalism degree. Working in marketing, she discovered how much she loathed the nine-to-five ball and chain. After relocating to the Southwest, she started writing her first novel while homeschooling her three children. The novel was dreadful, but her passion for storytelling didn’t wane. Thankfully, as her children grew, so did her writing ability. Now that her kids are adults, she has more time to play with the lives of fictional heroes and heroines, wreaking havoc and working magic to give her characters happy endings. When she’s not writing, she’s editing or reading, proving that most of her life revolves around the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Visit robinpatchen.com/subscribe to receive a free book and stay informed about Robin’s latest projects. 

Interview with Terri Reed, author of the upcoming Undercover Christmas Escape

 I am on the launch team for the Love Inspired novel Undercover Christmas Escape by Terri Reed, due out November 28.

 As part of being on the launch team, I had the opportunity to do some interview questions with the author. This is not a "canned" interview. I did ask these questions, and Terri graciously took time to answer them.😎

1) Terri, Your book Undercover Christmas Escape is releasing November 28. Can you tell a little about it? 

 This is the third book in my US Marshal’s series. In the first two books, which came out last year, we were introduced to Deputy US Marshal Sera Morales. When I decided to write Sera’s story, I was taking a screenwriting class and brainstorming ideas for a holiday rom-com script. But I was also thinking about this book and how to incorporate Christmas into an action-adventure story for Sera. I thought it would be fun if she had to go undercover as a Christmas elf.  However, the more I played with the idea and the story evolved, I decided to have her go undercover as Mrs. Claus. Of course, that meant there had to be a Santa. I always try to pair my characters with someone who’s going to challenge them in some way. Enter DEA agent Duncan O’Brien. Charming, by-the-book and very protective, Duncan was a good foil for the more guarded, sometimes reckless, and driven Sera. For the purposes of the story, Sera had to color outside the law enforcement lines to achieve her goal and Duncan wasn’t about to let her go alone, which meant risking both of their careers. Both were competitive but also determined to seek justice. And in the end, they discovered they were stronger together. 

2) a) Would you mind giving a short bio? Terri Reed’s awarding winning romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publishers Weekly top 5 Romance Bestsellers and Publishers Weekly top 5 Religion Fiction Bestsellers, Publishers Weekly top 5 Mass Market Paperback Bestsellers, Nielsen’s Bookscan top 25 Bestsellers and featured in USA Today and have been #1 Amazon Bestsellers, as well as Fresh Picks at Fresh Fiction.com. Her novel A Family Under the Christmas Tree was adapted into a Hallmark movie and retitled Picture a Perfect Christmas. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and agility training with her dog. Contact Terri @ terrireed@sterling.net or P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97224 and online @ https://www.terrireed.com

b) How many published books does this make for you, and do you have a favorite of all the books that you have written?  In total, I’ve written 63 books. As for a favorite, that’s tough. Each book has its own unique set of challenges and joys. But if I have to choose it would be my second Love Inspired book, A Sheltering Love. I was so scared I wouldn’t be able to write another book after the first one but I did and I learned so much through the process, including finding my author voice. 

 c) How long have you been writing as a published author, and what was your first book that was published, etc? My first ever published story was a novella that was included in the 2001 Romance on the Rails collection for Barbour Books. I sold my first book to Love Inspired in 2003, titled Love Comes Home.  

3) Approximately how long did it take you to write Undercover Christmas Escape, and can you tell about writing process? It took me three and half months to write Undercover Christmas Escape. I always start with a germ of an idea and start building my characters and also playing with scene ideas. Then I write the synopsis before I start the chapters.  I dictate my first rough draft and then clean it up on the computer, before sending the pages to my critique partner who reads it and provides feedback. 

4) You have written a lot of Love Inspired Suspense novels - and I am guessing you are one of their authors who has written the most. Have you written many books that are not Love Inspired Suspense? I know of at least one: I read A Family Under the Christmas Tree, and loved it. And as usual the book was better than the movie, in my opinion.😊

I’m so glad you enjoyed A Family Under the Christmas Tree. That was a labor of love.  I really needed to try my hand at something a bit different and was very happy to be presented with the opportunity to write this book. And it was a huge blessing to have the book turned into a Hallmark movie, Picture a Perfect Christmas.

Yes, most of my books are Love Inspired Suspense novels. I’ve also written three novellas that were not a part of the Love Inspired franchise. One of which I’m sharing with my newsletter subscribers. I also wrote a story for Tule Publishing Group titled, Home for Good, as part of their Montana Homecoming collection. I loved writing that story, as well. It had some good tropes—cowboys, reunion-ish, childhood rivalry, frenemies to lovers. 

5) You write mostly, or all Christian fiction. Would you mind sharing why you write Christian fiction as opposed to secular?  I do write mostly Christian fiction because when I tried writing without faith as an element, the stories fell flat and didn’t ring true. When I added faith, not preachiness but characters who have faith and live out their lives with faith, my stories became more authentic and resonated with readers. 

6) I am sure you have done a lot of interviews over the years. Is there any question, or questions, that you wish were asked, but rarely or never get asked?  This is a tough one, but I guess I would say “What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned while writing your books?”  I think the answer is I didn’t expect there to be so much personal introspection in order to craft realistic and fully formed characters. I use a variety of personality typing methods and had to do the work for myself in order to understand theories to be able to apply them to my writing. Becoming self-aware has been a bonus and a pitfall but very enlightening. 

Thanks, Terri, for taking the time to answer my questions, and for giving a glimpse into your life and writing. I have not read every one of your books, but I have read several, and am definitely going to check out your first two books. Those are two I missed.

Congratulations on your upcoming release, which I am about to start reading. I am definitely looking forward to it. God bless you for writing quality Christian fiction. 

I mentioned the movie that was made from Terri's Christmas novel, A Family Under the Christmas Tree. The trailer for that movie, Picture a Perfect Christmas, is below:

Interview with author Stepenia H McGee

 

As part of the book launch for The Swinder's Daughter by Stephenia H McGee, I signed up to do an interview with the author. My review of the book is in the previous blog post.

Me: Question #1. Why do you write Christian fiction instead of secular fiction?

Stephenia: I never intended to write fiction at all. I’d decided to be a veterinarian and horse trainer, but it turned out that God had other plans. I had always been an avid reader and came up with story ideas all of the time. One day my husband insisted I start writing these ideas down. It took a lot of time and work, but I knew that writing books was what God had designed for my work life. My relationship with Jesus is very important to me, so I can’t imagine using this gifting and calling he has given to me to do anything other than to write stories that aim to bring the glory back to Him. 

Me: Question #2. What do you hope to get across to your readers as they read the words you have written?

Stephenia: My newest book, The Swindler’s Daughter, has a theme I’ve noticed shows up in several of my books. “What do I do when God’s plan isn’t what I thought I wanted?” As you can probably gather from my previous answer, this theme hits home with me. In the story, Lillian and Jonah both have to learn what it means to trust God with their futures. I hope my readers will see a little of their own lives and trials through the story and it will encourage them to deepen that trust as well. 

Me: Question #3. You are an author who writes more than one genre'. From what I have read and seen, mostly historical and time travel books. Do you have a favorite genre' to write......and is there a genre' you have not written, but would like to some day?

Stephenia: I don’t know that I can say I have a favorite, though one did come from the other. I enjoy history and so I first became a historical writer. Then I kept thinking, what would it be like to actually get to visit those times that I’m always researching? That’s when the time travel stories began. I love them because they are just so much fun. I love imagining what it would be like to be a modern person suddenly dropped in a very different era—and all the comical challenges that brings.

I have also written a contemporary Southern women’s fiction book, and I hope to write one or two more set in that same town someday.

I’ve never attempted to write fantasy, but I’d love to try. I think the freedom of creating an entire world from scratch (and not having to make sure all of my historical details are accurate!) would be a ton of fun. 

Me: Question #4. As a reader, what is your favorite genre', or genre's? Who are authors that are on your must read stack?

Stephenia: Oh goodness, well, my shelves are packed with everything from historical romance to fantasy to suspense. I love them all. I went to Baker Book House and filled up an entire shopping cart. I don’t really have a favorite so much as “what am I in the mood for.” Sometimes that’s light and airy like a romantic comedy, and sometimes I’m looking for “edge-of-my-seat can I figure out the killer” kind of books. 

My go-to authors who I read everything from (no need to even read the back of the book) are Jocelyn Green, Laura Frantz, Joanna Davidson Politano, Patricia Bradley, Brandon Sanderson, Morgan L. Busse, Bethany Turner, Pepper Basham, and honestly probably at least a dozen others I’m not thinking of off the top of my head. 

Me: Question #5. Can you tell your readers a little about you and your family...kids? How long you have been married?

Stephenia: I’d love to. I have been married to the most wonderful man God could have ever picked for me for 20 years this coming August. We got married at 19 (after three months dating, three months engaged) and have been happily building our romance ever since. We have two awesome boys, ages 15 and 13. They are polar opposites and keep us on our toes, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. I also have an honorary fur baby. If you’ve connected with me on social media, you’ve probably seen Spinnie. She’s my writing buddy and spoiled princess dog. 

Me: Question #6 Do you have anything in the works after The Swindler's Daughter?

Stephenia: After The Swindler’s Daughter, I have book five in my Back Inn Time series, A Gilded Age Getaway, releasing in July. Then we start off a new historical romance series (The River Romances) with The River Queen, releasing in October. I’ve just finished up edits on A Gilded Age Getaway, and am currently starting to plot out book six in the Back Inn Time Series, A Taste of the Twenties, which will come out this December. 

Me: Question #7. Is there anything you would like your readers to know about you and your books?

Stephenia: I hope my books will transport you to another world where skirts are a bit longer, hats a bit bigger, and hometown goodness and the value of family tugs your heartstrings. But really, beyond any of the settings or characters of the books I write, I hope you close the final page filled with hope. I want you to know how much God loves you and that your life has great purpose and meaning. I love books, and so for as long as God keeps giving me the ability, I hope to keep bringing them to you. Together, we get to share a special kind of friendship through the power of story.

  Thanks to Stephenia for the interview, and for writing quality Christian fiction. I highly recommend her books.

Definitely check out her newest book: The Swindler's Daughter.

Check out some of her other books: 

                                              The Back In Time Series

               Ironwood Plantation Family Saga

The Accidental Spy Trilogy