Robyn Carr's Blog - Posts Tagged "robyn-carr"

Good friends Robyn Carr and Kristan Higgins talk in-depth about female friendships and other themes in Robyn’s new The Life She Wants, out today. (Kristan’s On Second Thought arrives in January!)

[To see the interview in its original format from Joyce Lamb, Happy Ever After, USA Today Life, follow the link:
http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/20... ]

KH: Robyn, I loved this twist on a Cinderella story — riches to rags! A wealthy Manhattanite loses everything and finds herself working as a cleaning lady for her former best friend. But instead of Prince Charming, this is a story of two women and a friendship gone wrong. How did you come up with the initial idea?

RC: It was an afterthought, really. I was going to write about Emma, the woman who had it all until she didn’t. But then I remembered, there’s a reason I love to write “girlfriend books.” Relationships fascinate me. Not just romantic relationships, all relationships, and particularly friendships among woman. How people behave with friends defines them. These friendships are complex, fraught with emotion, tension, tenderness, a million little wires of behaviors running through the relationship. So I created Riley, gave her history, infused her character with strengths and flaws in conflict with Emma and let them loose on each other.

KH: The conflict that broke apart this lifelong friendship involved a guy — Riley sleeps with Emma’s boyfriend and ends up preggers. Both women feel betrayed by the other, both feel they were the wronged party. Did you side with either woman a little more? (I know I did!)

RC: I went back and forth. One minute I would think how cold-hearted Riley was and how perfect Emma was, then I would sympathize because no one knew how desperately Riley needed understanding, and I found Emma a little oblivious — back and forth. It was such a fun ride. It’s more fun when you don’t know quite who to root for. And when you don’t know exactly how things are going to work out.

KH: The theme of reinvention is one of your favorites. Emma has to reinvent herself, leaving behind a life of extreme wealth, but also extreme loneliness. What were some of the challenges she faced?

RC: Not only was Emma broke, her late husband orchestrated a Ponzi scheme, and even though no accusations fell on her, people still suspected her of being guilty, wondering if she had stolen money stashed away somewhere. She had to renew her old relationships, find work and, hardest of all, cleanse her conscience because she wondered if she should have known her husband was stealing tens of millions of dollars right out of retirement accounts. Starting over wasn’t a simple matter for Emma Shay but a very emotional journey.

KH: On the other hand, Riley has never left her hometown. She comes from a tight-knit family, has had to work endlessly to make a life for herself and her daughter. Seeing Emma again after all these years definitely brings up a lot for her. Tell us about that.

The Life She Wants by Robyn Carr

RC: Riley is solid. She’s good and loyal and dependable. It takes a lot to get on her bad side, but once there, she hangs on with all the tenacity of a bulldog. Emma spurned Riley, wouldn’t forgive her, expressed her hate, and when all was said and done, it appeared Emma came out on top, living the life of a princess in New York City, married to a handsome millionaire. Riley, meanwhile, was literally scrubbing toilets to make ends meet. It was a hard pill for Riley to swallow. Even Emma’s spectacular downfall didn’t really take the sting out of what Riley had gone through. And as the story progresses, we see it was far more than economic instability that challenged Riley. Losing that friendship was one of Riley’s greatest losses, and her grief gets in the way of getting on with her life. Riley, also, has a very emotional journey, begun when she sees Emma again.

KH: Women expect a lot of out their friendships, and when that friendship goes south, it always seems to come as a shock. Thousands of books have been written about breaking up with a romantic friendship … but when female friendships fall apart, the sense of betrayal can be even greater, since we expect so much from each other. What were some of the messages about friendship and forgiveness you explored in this book?

RC: So many! First, what are reasonable expectations? And what is the balance? Emma and Riley come from starkly different places — Emma was raised in financial comfort but without the love and support of family, while Riley had a loving, supportive family but she was poor. How were these young girls supposed to support each other? And what kind of pain is wrought of those important things left unsaid? Or worse, how does one deal with too much said? What’s fair? What’s forgivable and what’s unforgivable? Is there a line never to cross, or is it just a matter of love and understanding? And when is a friendship just plain not salvageable? A lot of us stay in toxic relationships because we don’t quite know how to get out — I asked myself from the first page, should Riley and Emma try to resolve their issues and renew their friendship? Or should they just move on?

KH: Adam … let’s talk about Adam! He’s Riley’s brother, but he’s had a thing for Emma for years. Even after his sister and Emma broke up, so to speak, he tried to keep in touch. I love this guy … he seemed utterly perfect, and I’ve added him to my list of second-husband candidates (you know, just in case). Can you talk about how you came up with him, and the line you tread between a perfect man and reality?

RC: He’s perfect. However, if we watched Adam long enough, he would have his fallible moments. He was guilty of some things we are willing to overlook because they balance with some positive qualities. For example, he was so protective of his sister that he was completely unfair to Jock, the guy she cheated with, the father of her child. But when the woman he loved needed him, he was there and completely willing to make the hard choice between his sister and his woman. We like that kind of decisiveness in a man! Was he handsome? No one knows for sure but the woman who loves him! So what’s the fantasy and what’s the reality? The reality is, Adam is a schoolteacher, an average man who does what he can to take care of his widowed mother and his sister, an average man who becomes extraordinary under some circumstances. What makes him so lovable and perfect? His integrity, his loyalty, his bone-deep decency. We find those qualities in reality every day.

On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins

KH: Because we talk so often, I know you originally had a different plan for Riley, the self-made businesswoman and single mom. When did you decide her original love interest wasn’t going to work? Was that one of those moments when the book took a surprising turn?

RC: That happens to me in most books, and it’s the most exciting part of being a writer, seeing a missed opportunity and going after it. That’s why I love revision so much — I can go back into the story, make a few minor adjustments and voila! An entirely new story emerges. I love it when a reader (especially you!) says, “I never saw that coming!”

KH: What do you hope readers will take away from The Life She Wants?

RC: The big one — what is the true definition of wealth? As Emma’s late husband demonstrated — the love and worship of material wealth is soulless. The next question is — how will Emma and Riley ultimately define true wealth?

About The Life She Wants:

In the aftermath of her financier husband’s suicide, Emma Shay Compton’s dream life is shattered. Richard Compton stole his clients’ life savings to fund a lavish life in New York City and, although she was never involved in the business, Emma bears the burden of her husband’s crimes. She is left with nothing.

Only one friend stands by her, a friend she’s known since high school, who encourages her to come home to Sonoma County. But starting over isn’t easy, and Sonoma is full of unhappy memories, too. And people she’d rather not face, especially Riley Kerrigan.

Riley and Emma were like sisters—until Riley betrayed Emma, ending their friendship. Emma left town, planning to never look back. Now, trying to stand on her own two feet, Emma can’t escape her husband’s reputation and is forced to turn to the last person she thought she’d ever ask for help—her former best friend. It’s an uneasy reunion as both women face the mistakes they’ve made over the years. Only if they find a way to forgive each other—and themselves—can each of them find the life she wants.

About Kristan’s On Second Thought (Jan. 31):

Ainsley O’Leary is so ready to get married—she’s even found the engagement ring her boyfriend has stashed away. What she doesn’t anticipate is for Eric to blindside her with a tactless breakup he chronicles in a blog…which (of course) goes viral. Devastated and humiliated, Ainsley turns to her half sister, Kate, who’s already struggling after the sudden loss of her new husband.

Kate has always been so poised, so self-assured, but Nathan’s death shatters everything she thought she knew—including her husband—and sometimes the people who step up aren’t the ones you expect. With seven years and a murky blended-family dynamic between them, Ainsley and Kate have never been overly close, but their shared sorrow dovetails their faltering worlds into one.

Despite the lifetime of history between them, the sisters must learn to put their differences aside and open their hearts to the inevitable imperfection of family—and the possibility of one day finding love again.

Find out more about Robyn and Kristan at www.robyncarr.com and www.kristanhiggins.com.

To see the interview in its original format, please follow the link:
http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/r...

Interview: September 30, 2016

In THE LIFE SHE WANTS, #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr delivers yet another moving story that will leave readers laughing and crying, about two friends who must confront their pasts in order to move toward their futures. In this interview with The Book Report Network’s very own Rebecca Munro, Carr explains why she loves to write about women’s friendship and why women’s issues will always be at the foreground of all her novels. She also opens up about why she has moved on from historical fiction and what readers can expect from her next.

The Book Report Network: In THE LIFE SHE WANTS, you have taken the popular theme of female friendship and rivalry and examined it in a fresh and original way. What drew you to this particular theme?

Robyn Carr: Women’s friendships are so complicated and delicate, always fraught with so much emotion, and yet are the most important relationships in women’s lives, sometimes as valuable to women as their marriages. But understanding them, creating and maintaining them, is so often misinterpreted. Our conflicts with the women we love can be filled with challenge and heartache, and our successful friendships filled with great comfort and joy. I love looking at the many ways in which women relate to each other. I think how women relate to each other, how they treat and value their friendships, is defining.

TBRN: Your main character, Emma, loses everything when her financier husband’s white-collar crimes come to light, leading to his suicide. Although Emma was totally innocent, she slowly begins to accept that she was purposefully naïve, choosing to see her husband as a busy, wealthy man, rather than the conniving criminal he was. Why do you think women do this, ignoring what may be in front of them and choosing to see what they want to see?

RC: This can’t be limited to women; all humans are capable of denial --- it’s a survival instinct in many cases. In Emma’s case, she wants to protect her nest, her marriage, by not seeing the ugly side of it. Ultimately, she can’t keep her eyes closed any longer, but trusting our gut instincts is very, very hard --- we’re filled with self-doubt. She wondered if she was overreacting, if she was just jealous and petty, or were those vague suspicions on target. Denial isn’t just a female failing. Men are pretty good at it, too.

TBRN: In the aftermath of Emma’s husband’s arrest and suicide, Emma herself becomes the target of vicious gossip and tabloid rumors. Although your account of Emma’s demise is fictionalized, it certainly has that “ripped from the headlines” appeal. Why do you think we as a society are so quick to lash out at those who are peripherally related to crime, even if they are proved innocent?

RC: Sadly, I think it’s human nature for us to look for someone to blame. Some people don’t want the facts, either --- they just want someone to blame for their hurts.

TBRN: While Emma has lived through her fair share of tragedies, the life of her former best friend, Riley, was not exactly easy, either. In addition to becoming pregnant at 18, Riley was often unsupported by her child’s father and forced to endure 80-hour work weeks while raising a child and attempting to build her own business. Throughout it all, however, both women stubbornly hang on to their teenage feud even when it complicates their own lives. Why did you think it was important to look at the subject of arguments between friends that carry such weight and lingering feelings of betrayal?

RC: It’s about trust. Once betrayed, how do you turn back the clock and erase it? Is it a grudge if it’s a matter of not being able to trust that person who betrayed you? And who betrayed whom? Each of them has a very valid position. Emma lost her boyfriend and her best friend, but hadn’t she ignored them and moved on to greener pastures? And Riley took her best friend’s boyfriend, but would she have done that if her best friend had at least been in touch or acted like she cared for their friendship or for her boyfriend at all? So much had to happen in order for them to forgive each other, and I honestly didn’t know if it was possible. In fact, I wasn’t sure it was the best idea for them to try friendship again. That depended entirely on the strength of the foundation of their friendship, something only the two of them could decide.

TBRN: Although Riley and Emma share many of the same values, including a fantastic work ethic and drive to succeed, they present themselves very differently and have vastly different interests. Who would you say you resemble most? Do you have a good friend who acts as your counterpart the way Riley and Emma do for one another?

RC: I definitely resemble Riley more --- I’ve always been a hard worker, and it took years to figure out how to work smarter rather than just harder. And I’ve never possessed that kind of grace and beauty Emma had, the kind that probably made her rich husband choose her because she fit the part so ideally. I’ve had many good friends over the years, some who seem to have been around forever and some I’ve passed my time with --- or they passed their time with me! But even in the best friendships, there are ups and downs. And all friendships are not created equal. We’ve all been dumped by a girlfriend, and the pain is extraordinary! We’ve all had the experience of finding we’re not compatible with a girlfriend we love --- equally painful. And at the end of the day, the kind of loneliness of not having a close, trusted girlfriend is just awful.

TBRN: Emma and Riley’s feud, though complicated and consuming, is not the only issue in their relationship. Each woman also bears a lot of guilt and poor self-esteem. It was important for each to learn to forgive herself before she could look at the friendship. Do you have any ideas to share about how people can let go of ongoing resentments? Is there a time in life when you just let it all go?

RC: It’s a learning process; it’s maturity and eventual wisdom. There’s no question about it, some people will take their pettiness and anger to the grave. Others will keep trying until they learn how to accept others as they are, move on from past mistakes and hurts to self-acceptance and a sense of peace. That doesn’t mean all past offenses are forgotten --- there are people in my past I’d be a fool to trust again. But I’m not mad anymore. I’m just done.

In the case of Riley and Emma, we have two good, well-meaning women who never meant any harm and deserve a second chance if they can forgive and accept their own failings and those of their friend.

TBRN: There is, of course, also an element of romance in THE LIFE SHE WANTS; but, in a truly refreshing twist, the romance plots are secondary to Emma and Riley’s friendship and personal issues. How did you maintain this balance while allowing your male characters --- especially adorable Adam --- to shine?

RC: Ah, lovely Adam! Well, it was easy --- the story wasn’t about the men. Adam wasn’t part of the overwhelming conflict; Adam, and his love for Emma, weren’t the focus. The conflict was Emma reinventing herself after a devastating loss and Riley recovering after years of hurt and the disposition of their wounded friendship. One thing you can always count on with a Robyn Carr novel --- if it’s romance, there will be important women’s issues present as the romantic plot is being resolved, and if it’s women’s fiction there will always be a romance present. Women are often in charge of relationships --- in friendships, family and love. In the beginning, it was the women who kept the peace and negotiated relationships, while the men were out killing the woolly mammoth.

TBRN: Growing up, Riley and her family were more welcoming and loving to Emma than her own stepfamily, who were greedy and manipulative. Similarly, Riley’s daughter, Maddie, was raised mainly by her mother, grandmother and uncle as opposed to a typical nuclear family arrangement. Why did you choose to represent these different varieties of family? Was one easier to write than the other?

RC: That’s the world we live in! There are so many variations on family there’s hardly an average one. Even the nuclear man and woman and children might look typical from the outside, but I guarantee that under the surface there are many unique challenges and issues.

TBRN: You have written both contemporary and historical fiction over the course of your career and are no stranger to research. Beyond research, what is the difference for you in writing a contemporary work such as THE LIFE SHE WANTS compared to writing one of your historical works?

RC: Simply the difference between doing historical research and studying current events and contemporary issues and practices. But I haven’t written a historical since 1990. I kind of lost my passion for them and found my contemporary voice.

TBRN: What are you working on now, and when can readers expect to see it?

RC: I just finished the second Sullivan’s Crossing book, ANY DAY NOW, which will be available in April 2017, and I’m at work on a new women’s fiction novel. It doesn’t have a title yet, but will be out in the fall of 2017.

Did you receive my latest newsletter Robyn Carr's Favorite Time of the Year? If you want to keep up-to-date on my new releases, appearances and contests, follow the link to sign up.
http://www.robyncarr.com/category/news/

Thank you readers for making THE LIFE SHE WANTS a New York Times best seller. It debuted at #15 on the print list, #10 on the e-book list, and #13 on the combined print and e-book list!

Won't you join me along with my good friends Kristan Higgins and RaeAnne Thayne for Bestsellers and Bubbles in LA on Feb. 9th? We'll talk about our latest books, the romance genre and share fun stories. A Q&A, book signing with wine and food will follow. Visit my website for more details. http://www.robyncarr.com/biography/ap...

Thursday, February 9, 2017 at 7:00pm
Location: The Ripped Bodice, 3806 Main St., Culver City, CA 90232

Facebook Event: Oct. 27 at 5:00-6:00pm PDT
Join Robyn Carr in a live Facebook Q&A Book Club discussion on Reading with Robin. Robyn Carr will discuss and answer questions about her new women's fiction novel THE LIFE SHE WANTS.
https://www.facebook.com/ReadingWithR...

This Christmas come back to Virgin River.

I'm happy to announce the re-issue of MY KIND OF CHRISTMAS (Virgin River Book #20) goes on sale today. I absolutely love the beautiful new cover. http://www.robyncarr.com/book/my-kind...

While the Riordan brothers have a reputation for being rough-and-tumble, Patrick has always been the gentle, sweet-natured one. But his easygoing manner is tested by his high-octane career as a navy pilot, and for the Riordan men, when the going gets tough…the tough find the love of a good woman.

Angie LeCroix wants to spend Christmas in Virgin River relaxing, away from her well-intentioned but hovering mother. Yet instead of freedom, she gets her uncle, Jack Sheridan. If he had his way, she’d never go out at all. And certainly not with Patrick Riordan. But Angie has her own idea of the kind of Christmas she wants—and the kind of man.

Patrick and Angie thought they wanted to be left alone this Christmas—until they met each other. Now they want to be left alone together. But the Sheridan and Riordan families have different plans for Patrick and Angie—and for Christmas, Virgin River style!

WELCOME BACK TO THE RIVER.

Originally published October 23, 2012.

Did you miss my Dec. newsletter, Robyn Carr's fond memories of 2016? You can sign up on my website, http://www.robyncarr.com/.

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Dear Readers,

We all have a summer from our youth that defines us. This fall, go back to the lake and experience that defining summer — and everything that comes after — in THE SUMMER THAT MADE US, my new women's fiction, a story about the complexities of family dynamics and the value of strong female relationships. Available now for pre-order! http://www.robyncarr.com/book/the-sum...

Mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins, they lived for summers at the lake house until a tragic accident changed everything. THE SUMMER THAT MADE US is an unforgettable story about a family learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each other again.

That was then...

For the Hempsteads, summers were idyllic. Two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, the women would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything.

This is now...

After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at best, hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth. Pre-order your copy today!

If you haven't read WHAT WE FIND and ANY DAY NOW, won't you join me in Sullivan's Crossing, high in the Colorado Rockies at a general store passed down through generations? Pull up a chair. The company's good and everyone's welcome. Order your copies today! http://www.robyncarr.com/series/sulli...

Looking for some more fun? Please visit me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and don't forget to enter my monthly contest.
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Wishing you all beautiful summer days,


Robyn Carr

The Wanderer, book #1 in the fan-favorite Thunder Point Series, is available in re-issued paperback and ebook on December 26, 2017.

Nestled on the Oregon coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land’s unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he’s been left an old friend’s entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community’s destiny in his hands.

Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.

With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

Order your copy today! http://www.robyncarr.com/book/the-wan...