In anticipation of reaching the 10,000 views milestone after this post, I want to take the time to thank the individuals who allowed me to interview them. They could've easily declined, but chose to oblige, and I am thankful for that. Now, EA: Creatively Creative introduces teacher, author and BYU alumna, Robin King.
EA: What inspired you to create the Remembrandt series?
RK: I hated writing growing up. I hated being told what to write and how to write. That being said, I was still a good student and even went to a state writing competition because of a story I wrote in grade school. But I never really wrote anything for me. When I was about twelve, I began writing in a journal. Once a week I would write about what was going on in my life and how I felt about it. It became an emotional outlet and the beginnings of my creative writing career. After I graduated from college, I had a particular student that was a struggling reader. She was in 6th grade with a reading level closer to a 3rd-4th grader, but liked young adult books. I remember thinking it would be nice if there were more YA books that were easy and fun to read, with a bit of romance and action, but all PG rated. A few months later, I started Remembrandt.
EA: Tell us a little about the titular character, Alexandra Stewart.
RK: Alexandra is the kind of person you'd want around if you were ever in danger or needed someone to have your back. She's seventeen and has an eidetic memory - meaning she can recall everything she's seen in movie-esque. This makes for a great asset as she's attending school, but not so great when memories of a haunting event of her past plague her mind. Luckily she meets a handsome new running partner to distract her. When she solves an impossible puzzle for her Russian professor, Alex is catapulted into a life of cryptic codes and covert missions, and unexpected love.
EA: I thought the artist-related word play in the books' titles were interesting. The first being Remembrandt, followed by Van Gogh Gone, and most recently, Memory of Monet. Will there be another story for this series?
RK: I had planned on Memory of Monet being the last book in the series. But, my publisher has given me the go-ahead to write a few novellas to continue the story. I have yet to start because I'm in the process of getting a fantasy series published, but I'm hoping once I've snagged the publisher of my dreams, that I can sit down and continue the Remembrandt story.
EA: Who would you say are your biggest influences?
RK: That’s a hard question! When I was a kid, I would have said The Babysitter’s Club author, Ann M. Martin. As an adult, authors like J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyers got me back into reading after college. Now that I’ve been published and had the opportunity to meet many more, authors I’d say my biggest influences are James Dashner, Ally Carter, Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J. Maas, and Brandon Sanderson.
EA: Would you consider writing novels an easy task?
RK: Parts of writing come easily to me. I rarely find myself stuck and writing dialogue is my passion. I love to come up with new characters and stories. But finding time to write everyday can be hard. That's why every year I participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). During the month of November, you commit to writing 50,000 words of a novel. I've done this 4 times already and plan on starting my 5th next month. It's difficult to press forward and not take too much time editing and revising or getting distracted with marketing or publishing of my other books. Some nights I'll stay up until past midnight getting my words in for the day, but the accomplishment of having most of a novel written is priceless!
EA: Besides writing, I understand that you wear many other hats as well, teaching being one of them. Which is more challenging in comparison, writing or teaching?
RK: When I think of the act of writing versus the act of teaching, I would have to go with teaching being more difficult. Teaching is hard because there are so many students that you want to help, but there is only one of you. My favorite kind of teaching is when I'm tutoring one-on-one because I'm finally able to give that person the attention they need and make them successful.
EA: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
RK: Start now and don't give up. I can't tell you how much I wished I'd started writing novels when I was a teenager. I know they would have been awful, but to have that experience then would have made me so much better now. Also, being an author is a finicky profession. It's not all about skill. It's not all about who you know (though that can help). It's not all about how creative you are. I would say it comes down to persistence. Writing is like a lottery. You buy into it and just hope when all is said and done that they pull your number. You could send the same query letter to the same agent with the same manuscript and they don't choose it one year, but eat it up the next year. It's really 10% skill and the rest is just good ol' fashioned luck. BUT the more tickets you buy, the greater your chance to be chosen. So keep on writing.
EA: Finally, tell the readers why the Remembrandt series is a must read.
RK: If you've ever enjoyed a show like Alias, Covert Affairs, or White Collar – you'll for sure like Remembrandt. My favorite thing about Remembrandt is that it has something for everyone. There's espionage, art history, romance, foreign countries, friendship, and family. And Alexandra's adventures keep getting better in Van Gogh Gone (a heist at the Louvre!) and Memory of Monet (an undercover operation in Mexico!).
Epilogue
How ironic to hear a writer say he or she hated writing at one point in their life. I can relate to Robin's hatred of being told what to or how to write-- specifically, the latter. To me, a component of art, whether it be literary, performing, or otherwise is about liberating, and creative self-expression. Also, I thought that was an interesting use of metaphor when it comes to the business aspect of writing.
I would like to thank Robin for taking the time to speak with me. For more on Robin, and her novels, you can visit her website at www.authorrobinking.com. Also, for a limited time, Robin's first book, Remembrandt of the Remembrandt series, is available for only 99 cents! Offer ends November 8th.
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