Dear Readers,
Robin who's turned out to be a great supporter of my books has joined us to talk about her book. Her work. I'm honoured to have her here today and to be talking to her about the adventures that she has every day. Because as authors that is what we do. We have adventures every single day.
Robin who's turned out to be a great supporter of my books has joined us to talk about her book. Her work. I'm honoured to have her here today and to be talking to her about the adventures that she has every day. Because as authors that is what we do. We have adventures every single day.
What
made you want to write the book?
I
lived something extraordinary and simply felt compelled to share what
we experienced in war from a perspective not usually heard (a young
woman’s emotional perspective).
Why
did you choose the genre that you did?
It
started out as a straight memoir, but three particular contemporary
writers turned the ‘memoir’ into a dirty word. Memoir now needs
to be vetted, and since over half the most important people in the
book are dead, that wouldn’t be possible. I decided it would be
easier to tell the story I wanted to tell by turning it into a novel.
If
you were to name a favourite scene what would it be?
My
favorite scene…wow, that is a tough one. What can be ‘favorite’
in war? I think my favorite chapter is “Green Eyes”, it is the
encapsulation of how I felt about going over there, it was all about
the boys, the soldiers. There were other moments I actually did
enjoy, being in a USO show, sharing love with two remarkable men, the
friendships, but it was war, and that was what I really wanted the
story to show, what we lived.
What
part of the book that you found the hardest to write?
“The
Broken Heart”, the chapter as I left Vietnam the last time. I am
welling up just thinking about those two days, the hardest in my
life. It changed me forever.
When
and how did you get the idea for the book.
I
have kept journals all my life, and I almost burned the four I kept
in Vietnam during my two tours. I found I couldn’t let them go.
They sat in boxes, on shelves for years, until one day I had to take
them down and put them into a form that would tell my story, our
story.
What
do you look forward to the most with this book being on sale?
I
worked for many years trying to get someone/anyone to see the value
of this book in its various forms as it morphed, and while everyone
said they loved it and thought I was a great writer, no one knew what
to do with it. It was so many genres…and not…that I finally just
gave up and posted it to my personal website so people could read it.
Too many Vietnam vets were dying every day, some who would have
deserved to read it.
Where
do you see your story going?
At
this point I would love to see a cable company or production company
pick up the film or TV rights. I think the piece is very cinematic
and would make an amazing limited-run cable series. Frankly, at the
moment I am working very hard as an editor and just don’t have the
time or the heart to take this up right now. Maybe someday…but
since I went through at least a dozen publishers, and two agents and
four editors, all of whom wanted me to change it into something I
didn’t want it to be, it’s going to take a convergence of angels
to bring about the right match. Unless/until then, it’s free for
everyone to read and share in what we all lived. I don’t think
much of traditional publishing at the moment.
Thank you for coming a long Robin and I hope that you enjoyed sharing your take with those who are reading this blog.
Kristal
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