Tuesday 15 July 2014

Welcoming Robin To The Blog

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.

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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