ROBIN SCHONE
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I think everyone on the RBL Message Board knows Robin Schone by now. She is the author of THE LADY'S TUTOR, in my opinion the most genuinely erotic book ever to hit the romance genre, and a regular at the RBL Board. Her book, THE LADY'S TUTOR, and her novella, "A Lady's Pleasure" in the anthology CAPTIVATED, have created quite a stir. Every day I see postings on All About Romance from a new fan of Robin's. Many people post about how they read the book in one sitting, or how they told the family to go to McDonald's for dinner, or how much their husbands appreciated the - uh - benefits of their wives having read the book! I got THE LADY'S TUTOR the very day it hit the bookstore, raced home, and sat down to read it in one sitting. Then I had to start over and read it again! Obviously, I am not alone in my love for Robin's writing, since CAPTIVATED has hit the USA Today Best Seller list and THE LADY'S TUTOR is now going into its second printing and is, today, the #6 bestselling romance novel on Amazon!
THE LADY'S TUTOR was not Robin's first published work. She also wrote AWAKEN, MY LOVE, a time travel published in 1995. I first heard about this book from Robin on All About Romance. It took me a few months to get around to searching for it and when I did, I had to go through SIX on-line bookstores before I finally found a copy. Thank goodness I didn't wait any longer, because once THE LADY'S TUTOR hit the bookstands, AWAKEN became almost impossible to find. It's now going for up to $50 on Amazon auctions! AWAKEN was also very erotic, but what really struck me was its intelligence and the realistic way Robin portrayed life in the past, as well as the difficulties a 20th century woman would have in adjusting to the 19th century. I wrote to Robin immediately, expressing my appreciation for her talents and invited her over to the RBL Board. I knew it was a match made in heaven!
When Vic and Judy decided to do the special newsletter about erotica, it was a natural for us to ask Robin for an interview. It was my great pleasure to be given the task! Given my penchant for live interviews, I called Robin on the phone one Saturday afternoon, and, over two hours later, I had an awful lot of tapes to transcribe! What you will read below is a distillation of those two-plus hours. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed talking with Robin.
Maggie: How did you start writing? Did you study anyplace, go to school, or are you just a genius?
Robin: Oh, I'm just a genius. (Laughs!) Actually, I've always written - I wrote an anthology of ghost stories when I was eleven - but I've also always drawn and painted. I wanted to be a painter - on canvas, not painting houses - so that's what I studied in school. I was exempted from English when I entered college on the basis of an essay I wrote, so perhaps that should have clued me in.
When I got married, there wasn't room to set up an easel - aside from the fact that painting is messy, and if you do it in a three room apartment you have to clean up daily, and you have to understand, I hate CLEANING - so I drifted toward writing. A couple of years after I married, I was in the hospital for some tests. I wrote down the opening chapter of a story that had been on my mind ever since I was in high school. My husband absolutely loved it. He said I taught him what the color of cerulean blue is. A football sky.
A few years later, when I was laid off from my marketing research job, I decided to write that novel. It's a prehistoric sci-fi. Imagine Jean Auel and CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR. Only I wrote it from a sci-fi angle instead of an anthropological angle, which is what she did. Hers came out right smack in the middle of when I was writing mine. I knew, from reading the back copy and from interviews, that my book covered the same time frame and, in a roundabout way, the same evolutionary theories. The biggest mistake I ever made - I'll never make it again - was reading her book before I finished mine. I was so impressed with her writing style - and so wanted my writing to be as elegant as hers - that I tried to imitate her writing style - halfway through my book! When I finished, it was neither a Robin Schone book nor a Jean Auel book, but a hodgepodge of both writing styles. Needless to say, it will never see the light of publishing. I'm very fond of my second book; it's an erotic historical horror with a vampire hero to die for! It has a beautiful love story - it's the only book I've ever written where I cried when writing a scene - but it's not a romance. It's historically accurate and therefore very bloody and gory. And it doesn't have a happy ending. Hopefully, someday it will get published. I learned a lot about male POV when I wrote that one, as the two main characters are men.
As for my third book - you're going to laugh, I know you're going to laugh and that's okay - my heroine is a chicken. Think of ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell and WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams. But I included sex in mine!
Maggie: How did you start writing romantic erotica then? Did it just sort of happen or did you do it deliberately?
Robin: I prefer the term "erotic romance."
Maggie: Actually, I do, too. I think "erotic romance" describes what you write much better than "romantic erotica."
Robin: Thank you. I think so, too. I never describe what I write as "romantic erotica" because there is a big, big difference.
Maggie: There is a big difference, I think, because your focus is on the romance through the eroticism as opposed to the other way around.
Robin: Yes. I write erotic sex scenes but the focus is still on the relationship between a man and woman. I like my characters to grow through their sexual encounters.
Maggie: Well, they certainly do. So AWAKEN, MY LOVE, your first published work, was really your fourth book. What made you write an erotic romance?
Robin: I wanted to be published so I could take my writing as a tax write-off! (Laughs!) I spent all of that time, all of that money, and I couldn't deduct it! IRS was eating us alive!
Maggie: That's a pragmatic incentive, I guess! You thought it would be easier to get published in romance?
Robin: Absolutely. Far more romance books are published in a given year than in any other genre. Ergo, more chances of getting published. My other books all revolved around the relationship between a man and a woman - or a chicken and a grouse, if you will - so romance really was a natural progression. As for writing "erotic" romance - well, maybe it's a personal flaw, but I can't take eroticism out of sex. And since sex is an important part of a romantic relationship ... you get the idea.
I wrote a time travel because I read an article in Romantic Times that TT was going to be the new fad in romance. But I wanted a really cool way for my heroine to travel through time, so I thought - why not have her masturbate and travel through time as a result of her orgasm? Hence my infamous masturbation opening.
Maggie: It's probably true that no one has ever done it before.
Robin: Yeah! I still haven't seen one. Maybe I'll go down in the romance Guinness Book of World Records!
Maggie: What did you think of the cover of AWAKEN? It doesn't exactly fit the book.
Robin: When I got the book cover for AWAKEN - oh, that book was a comedy of errors - Avon described it incorrectly in their catalog. They had it that it took place in Scotland. But I was thrilled because my editor was really, really excited about the book and then I get these book covers. And I was like, "What? What is this? You just killed my book!" I cried for three hours. And then I got drunk. And then I cried for another three hours.
Maggie: Did it affect the sales do you think?
Robin: Yes, it did. And I've had people say that, absolutely. Now, for example, people who have read TUTOR say that they never picked it up. It's "Where have you been all my life?" And I've actually also had people say that if my name were not on that cover, they still would not pick it up.
Maggie: What do you think of the cover of TUTOR? I absolutely LOVE it. I think it's GORGEOUS and really captures the essence of the book.
Robin: I love the cover. And yes, I absolutely agree that it captures the essence of the book. I think it's a little too dark, literally, but the longer you look at it, the sexier it gets. Truthfully, I haven't been out to a bookstore, so I haven't seen it on the shelves. Therefore, I have no idea how it contrasts with other book covers out this summer. It's amazing how the eye is drawn to Elizabeth's breasts and Ramiel's hand.
Maggie: You compared your unpublished books with other classic and mainstream books. Did you read romance books before you wrote AWAKEN? Do you read them now?
Robin: I read my first romance book when I was twelve - THESE OLD SHADES by Georgette Heyer. I still remember the poem in the beginning of it ... "Whereas with these old shades of mine, their ways and dress delight me, but should I trip by word or line, they cannot well indict me ..." Love those lines. Right after that, I read the first book in Anne McCaffrey's Dragon of Pern series. That had a wonderful, sexually charged romance in it. I was hooked.
Maggie: So why did it take you three books before you wrote a romance?
Robin: Probably because I was such a big romance reader. I read three to five romance books a week. I wanted to keep my "job" separate from my hobby. I always felt that if I didn't, it would affect my reading habits and I wouldn't be able to enjoy romance as much. I was right. It really did change it.
Maggie: So you can't read romance anymore?
Robin: I do, but it's not the same. It really, truly isn't.
Maggie: Are you editing the books while you read them or something?
Robin: Yes! But I've also lost patience. I want to see romance grow. This is the end of the 20th century. Yet romances are frequently more conservative now than they were twenty years ago. I'm tired of heroines who don't have hormones. I want to shout, "Oh, come ON! You washed down there HOW many times and you still don't know you have a clitoris???"
Maggie: So it's the SEX in the romance novels that drives you crazy!
Robin: I also don't like narrative driven books. I like more action, more dialogue, and I HATE political correctness. I don't like beta males. I hate a hero in a book who goes through the whole thing apologizing because he can stand up and pee and the heroine can't. BE A MAN! Be PROUD of being a man. I love Linda Howard's male characters. They're sexual, strong, sensitive and savvy.
Now my husband, bless his heart, has started reading romance novels so that he can have a better idea of the genre and he can judge my work. He's my coach. Did I tell you that? He is my coach and he is a very, very, very good coach. He is a demanding coach. That's what I need. My agent said, "I'll be your coach, Robin!" And I love my agent but she's too easy on me! I have to have somebody who's tough. He pushes me and he's wonderful with the grammar and everything.
Maggie: Is it true that it took you 28 submissions before Avon picked up on AWAKEN?
Robin: I queried and submitted to 28 different agents and was turned down flat. One agent wrote, "You obviously have not studied the market. You simply can't have a romance book opening up with the heroine masturbating."
Maggie: How did you manage to keep going?
Robin: You've got to be prepared for rejection. Especially when you're hunting for an agent. Now if 28 publishing houses had turned me down - well, I don't know what I would've done. There are only so many publishing houses. But with an agent - it really is finding the right agent, one you click with personally, who believes in what you do and who believes in your writing. I'm very fortunate in the fact that my agent truly loves my writing.
Maggie: So how did it feel when you finally got that call from Avon accepting AWAKEN? What was it, five days after your agent submitted it?
Robin: Yeah, five days after. Prior to that, I had gone through a really horrible time with fibroid tumors in my uterus. The doctor had injected me with Lupron - Lupron throws you instantly into menopause. I was still in menopause when I got that call. So the edge was really taken off. It was like, well, that's nice. I wanted to be happier about it but there wasn't the emotional reaction there, which I feel really badly about.
Maggie: You've got quite a story about the Lupron on your website. So you really kind of got cheated out of that moment, didn't you?
Robin: Yes, I really did. On that day I was also campaigning for my husband. He was running for a Board position with our homeowners' association. I went door to door and passed out flyers. When the call came, it was like, "Well, great! OK. This is exciting. I know it's exciting but I have 250 more houses to go!" It WAS exciting but the Lupron took away the joy. I am really sorry that I had to go through that. I did feel cheated. I had worked so long, waiting for that phone call. And I felt nothing emotionally.
Maggie: You wrote that wonderful "Rant on Sexuality" for All About Romance. You're really quite militant about women's sexual freedom. In fact, in thinking back over the three heroines, every single one of them gained some kind of emotional freedom from discovering their sexuality. Why do you feel so strongly about this? Is there a particular reason?
Robin: Women have always been controlled through their sexuality. Always. Until we accept our sexuality - and, I don't want to use the word "glory" but I'm going to, and GLORY in it, accept, embrace and appreciate it for what it is because it can absolutely add a depth to a relationship that nothing else can - until that is widely accepted, we will continue to be victimized.
Maggie: Why did you ignore female genital mutilation in TUTOR? It's so common in Arabic countries that most of the women in Ramiel's harem probably would have been mutilated. Of course, I realize that would have put a cramp in the story.
Robin: I angsted over this. Finally I realized that female circumcision had no bearing on the story. For those of you who are not familiar with female circumcision, don't confuse it with the more innocuous male circumcision, in which the man's prepuce is excised after birth, leaving the penis intact. In the first case, a woman's clitoris and part or all of her labia are removed. In more extreme circumstances, not only is the clitoris excised, but also the labia minora and majora. This operation (as well as the circumcision) is usually performed when the girl is prepubescent, and is chiefly done in Muslim countries. The unfortunate victim is then sewn up, leaving only a small hole for urination and one for menstruation. When the woman marries, the husband must push aside the scar tissue before he can consummate the marriage. When the woman has a baby, the doctor must open up the scars to make room for the baby's expulsion. Both female circumcision (just another word for clitoridectomy) and infibulation are mutilation, pure and simple. The butchery is not only condoned by the girl's relatives, but is often executed by the girl's mother, aunts, sisters or other female relatives. Millions of girls undergo these operations every year. They continue to be performed in some 20 nations.
Okay, now I'll get off my soapbox. Ramiel had a harem when he lived in Arabia, but women in harems were often imported from nearby Christian countries. I do not believe women who were incapable of sexual satisfaction would have been purchased for the Court of Safyre. So while Ramiel was undoubtedly familiar with the practice of female circumcision, he would not necessarily have lain with, or had in his harem, a woman who had undergone the procedure.
Maggie: You said CAPTIVATED was actually your idea. What's the story behind that?
Robin: You know I went through that horrible experience with fibroid tumors. In my search for a gynecologist skilled in removing the fibroids - a myomectomy as opposed to ripping everything out; the removal of the uterus is called a hysterectomy; removal of the ovaries is castration - I encountered a group called HERS, which stands for Hysterectomy Educational Resources and Services. Nora Coffey, the founder, is great. She referred me to doctors, lawyers, and they have a wonderful library covering every gynecological problem a woman can have.
I learned after three years of extensive research that women don't realize how traumatic a hysterectomy, especially a hysterectomy with castration, is to their bodies. And that goes back to us as women, and to society as a male dominated patriarchy. If we as women do not respect our bodies and our sexuality, neither will men and society as a whole. We are more than baby incubators. Yet the majority of doctors will tell a woman that if she doesn't want any/more children, there's no reason for her to keep her sexual organs. And we fall for it, because we can't imagine that a doctor is ruled by centuries of prejudice, and will perform an operation that can leave us sexually crippled because it only takes thirty minutes to do a hysterectomy, whereas a myomectomy and/or other preservative/restorative surgeries can take up to four hours or more.
Days after I had my myomectomy, my husband said, "My God, you're your old self, Robin!" I was driving in less than two weeks! I felt so good - and was so glad that my battle to have a myomectomy rather than a hysterectomy had proved successful - that I wanted to do something to spread the word about HERS. So I thought - what better way to commemorate this wonderful organization whose sole purpose is to preserve a woman's body, than to gather together the hottest, most erotic romance authors to write the industry's very first erotic romance anthology in celebration of women's sexuality?
Maggie: You believe that sexuality can be destroyed after a hysterectomy? Or severely damaged?
Robin: Oh yes. There's no question about that. You know, for example, if a man goes in and has prostate surgery, he stands a big chance of being permanently impotent because it does nerve damage. When a woman's uterus and/or ovaries are removed, massive, irreversible nerve damage also occurs. I've gotten several letters from women who've read about my experience on my web site. And I could just cry when I read what they've written. Because these women went along with the system and were hysterectomized. Two to five years later, they're still waiting to feel better. Like their old selves.*
Well, 2 1/2 weeks after my surgery, I got a notice in the mail that Susan Johnson was going to be in Chicago at a local RWA meeting. So I hopped in the car. Met Susan. And we talked.
I really like Susan. She didn't turn her nose up at me. When I asked her if she'd be interested in contributing to the anthology, she said "Absolutely! I don't see why not, because we all write differently."
Maggie: The stories are all very different.
Robin: And that's how our books are. We all approach erotic romance totally differently. So I thought that was very perceptive of her. Then I contacted Thea Devine and yes, she was interested. I had no way of getting ahold of Bertrice Small. Thea had talked with Bertrice in the past. She had her phone number, called her, and Bertrice agreed. So it came about! And it made the USA Today Best Seller list!
Maggie: You used THE PEARL, THE PERFUMED GARDEN, and Tantric practices in your stories. How did you discover all of these? It's such an interesting idea to use those as kind of the background for the books. Where did that idea come from?
Robin: I had pneumonia when I was 11 and made a discovery that forever changed my life: while lying abed (supposedly) upstairs, lonely and totally miserable, I discovered my mother's secret stash of "True Confessions." It spurred a lasting interest in erotica. I read my first adult erotic novel when I was 15. I read THE PEARL when I was 16. I read KAMA SUTRA around that time, too, so I was aware of THE PERFUMED GARDEN although I didn't read it until I wrote TUTOR.
In other words, I was a precocious little snot who made a point of seeking out and reading anything that even remotely smacked of the "forbidden."
I did not consciously start out to include any of my erotic readings, but when I wrote AWAKEN I already knew Charles' background, that he spent 10 years in India. To be realistic - and I try very hard to be realistic in my books - Charles had to pick up some Tantrics from the East, or he would've been a total dolt. Pillow books were very prevalent also, so I think he would've had a pillow book, too, to bring home to England. Tantrics fit AWAKEN. It fit the characters and the story. I didn't just say, "Well, I'm going to use this whether the story warrants it or not." It worked out that way. Just like it worked out in TUTOR and "A Lady's Pleasure." It was very funny with the pillow book scene, though. Remember that scene?
Maggie: When she's downstairs looking at the book and he catches her in the library?
Robin: When I wrote that, I had repeated a paragraph and it went through my agent. She was so immersed in that chapter that she didn't notice. She read right over it. My editor did the very same thing. The copy editor did the very same thing! So it was like, "Wait a minute, people! We're supposed to be editing while we read!"
Maggie: They caught it didn't they?
Robin: *I* caught it.
Maggie: I was going to say, it's not in the book, is it??? Maybe I missed it, too!
Robin: No, I caught it - nobody else did. That was just so funny.
Maggie: They must have been so engrossed in what they were reading that they missed it.
Robin: That's what my agent said. I said, "Linda! Why did you miss it!?" She said, "Well, Robin! Who cares????"
I didn't know if the pillow book scene would be published or not. The hell with the masturbation. You remember that I very graphically described everything in the pillow book. I really didn't know if they would allow me to keep that or not. But they did. In fact, my editor said that was her favorite chapter in the whole book.
Maggie: It was a wonderful scene. It has a lot of emotional overtones, too, of course, as does everything in your books. That's the thing about your books. The sex is so incredibly well integrated into the story. It's not just, "Well, let's have a sex scene now." It's like you HAVE to have the sex scene because that's the STORY. Especially in TUTOR, of course, because that was the whole story. It's just wonderful! I don't know anybody else who can DO that. Not with that intensity.
Robin: Actually, it was a lot of hard work writing the lessons in TUTOR but it was also very tedious. I always had to keep referring back to what they talked about in the first lesson, second lesson, etc., because it had to be progressive. And so it was a lot of going back and forth, back and forth, trying to keep that continuity. When I got to the fourth lesson, I thought, "Oh my God! What am I doing!? My editor is going to DIE when she reads this. She's going to HATE it! Here ends my career!" Because it was so different. And I thought, "There's NOTHING like this at all! It is so different. They're going to HATE it!"
Maggie: No, no, NO! Wrong, wrong, WRONG!! You COULDN'T have been more wrong! I loved it!
Robin: I tell you though, I was really on pins and needles when I finished it.
Maggie: Most people don't "do" adultery. There was this discussion on All About Romance about, "Well, if it has adultery, *I* won't read it!" Was there backlash for you from that in TUTOR?
Robin: I'm sure there are many people who will never pick it up because of that. There was adultery in AWAKEN, too. It's the strangest thing. I know women who would not for the life of themselves pick up a book that includes "adultery" - yet they absolutely loved AWAKEN. When I asked them why, they said, "Well, it wasn't really adultery because the heroine was in a different time." Okay. Now I'm getting fan letters saying the same thing about TUTOR. That while they never read books about adultery, they tried TUTOR and, lo and behold, they liked it! I do not promote adultery in TUTOR. My heroine is sexually frustrated, but she believes in the sanctity of marriage and she really wants to find that special closeness with her husband. So she goes to Ramiel, so he can teach her how to physically please her husband. In the end, the husband leaves her no other choice but to turn to Ramiel. Is that cheating? I don't think so. Everyone is entitled to love and to be loved. The thing I think that I was bashed about most was the homosexuality.
Maggie: The negative portrayal of it?
Robin: Yes. I was accused of gay-bashing but never do I say that anyone is bad BECAUSE they are gay.
Some of the comments about my so-called gay-bashing were very hurtful. Some people seem to think that writers should have skins like rhinoceroses. Now I know that a lot of the stuff that I am writing is controversial and I know that it's not everyone's cup of tea. That's fine. However, I think some of the things were said spitefully, with malice, and in total ignorance. One of the things that really, really bothered me - and I saw purple, red and every color in between - was a posting by a reader who bashed TUTOR because of the homosexuality. The reader said that there was no way that homosexuality like that could occur in the government. And then with the pederasty, oh, it was just a total turn-off. Number one, the Uranian club actually DID exist.
Maggie: And there is a note at the end of the book that says that.
Robin: Obviously she didn't read that. Number two, a couple of years after the year TUTOR takes place, there was a major event called the Cleveland Street Scandal, which was about homosexuality and murder in the British government. But for people to say that it was just a minor thing, it wasn't. Queen Victoria's grandson was homosexual and, in fact, was a member of the One Hundred Guineas Club that I used in TUTOR. So all of that is real.
Maggie: There is not an ounce of saccharine anywhere in any of your books, and yet I find more emotion in them than in many other books. In fact, here is one of the main questions I wrote down for this interview: "Your books are so UTTERLY ROMANTIC. The hero and heroine need each other so desperately in your books, and yet there is no angst or melodrama. The pages just drip with the intensity of their need and love. How do you DO that??? Even through the conflict between Elaine and Charles in AWAKEN, you still know that they need each other so badly. He talks about being lonely." I don't know how you do that. I don't know how you get all that emotion in there.
Robin: That's funny. I have never thought of my books as being romantic. When I think of "romantic" I think, "Awwwww! Isn't that sweet!" So I really don't think of mine as being "romantic."
Maggie: But they ARE. I think it depends on your definition of what's romantic. Is it hearts and flowers, or is it two very lonely people finding love and warmth and intimacy with each other? My definition is number two, and that's what your books are all about.
Robin: Thank you. I try very hard to include those qualities, because that's what love means to me. Friendship. Intimacy. Equality. And of course, very hot, very erotic sex.
As for how do I get the emotions into my stories. My husband is my soulmate, but I think we all have a deep core of loneliness inside us. I simply draw upon that.
Maggie: Writers probably have all kinds of great stories to tell. Have you had anything funny happen to you while writing?
Robin: Well ... I don't want to shock anyone (laughs!) but something did happen when I was writing "A Lady's Pleasure." At that time, I was my husband's advocate in a federal arbitration suit. So there I was, writing this incredibly erotic scene, when the telephone rang. Still totally immersed in Abigail and Robert's lovemaking, I automatically picked up the phone. Our lawyer immediately launched into a briefing, and all I could think was, "What? ... WHAT? ... My hero has three fingers inside my heroine and you want WHAT?" Talk about fantasy and reality clashing!
Maggie: So we've gotten to the most important question in any interview with an author, and that's, "What are you writing and what's coming up next and did you really mean it when you said we were going to see Ramiel's mother again?"
Robin: Let us say that at some point in time I do intend upon doing the Countess' story as a novella.
Maggie: From the past? And hopefully wrapping things up in the future?
Robin: Well, I can't tell you that! I can't talk about what I haven't written. I find that if you talk it out, then why write it? I do absolutely plan on doing the Countess' story, though. She's one of my favorite characters. And you know, it was so funny, because I teasingly said to my mother - well, actually in all seriousness, I told her that I intend to do a novella on the Countess if the opportunity ever comes up - and Mom said, "Oh! A fifty-seven year old woman??? What's romantic about THAT?" But after my mother read TUTOR, she's all for it. I've gotten several requests for it, both because readers want the Countess to be happy and also because they want the conflict between Ramiel and his father resolved.
Maggie: Because we like him so much. We care about him and want his happiness. It would be a wonderful thing to have that conflict resolved. There are so many things in books that are left hanging that I want resolved!
Robin: One of the things that really surprised me is that some of the requests to do the Countess' story came from women in their 20s. I pushed to include Anne's age - my heroine in my upcoming book, THE LOVER - on the back copy. My editor automatically said, "No, no. We can't put that she's 36." I said, "Why not?" and she said, "Because we have to appeal to the younger market. We don't want to turn off someone who is younger from picking up this book." And I said, "Well, that's funny," because at that point TUTOR had just hit the stands and I had already gotten a fan letter from it and the very thing that the lady said was, "I love the idea that Elizabeth was 33 years old. I cannot identify with these eighteen, twenty, 21 year old women-girls." I told my editor about that letter. She said, "Yes, that's one of the things I like about your books, too, is that you do have older heroines." So I said again, "Well, why not?" And then she said, "Let me see. Let me check it out." Anne's age IS on the back copy. This took place before the letters from the women in their 20s.
Maggie: I really appreciate the fact that your heroines are older. I'm 43. What do I want to read about eighteen year olds for?
Robin: Well, I'm 44. So I'm looking forward to doing the Countess. You notice I'm working my way up. Abigail is 30. Elizabeth is 33. Anne is 36 years old. I as a woman want something to look forward to. When I was a young teenager, I read Gothic romances where the heroines were anywhere between eighteen and 25 or 26 years old. I remember thinking, "Wow! All the way up to 26! I have all these years that something really great can happen! I can get my education and great things can still happen." I liked reading that there was something waiting for me in the future. I like thinking that there are still some great times waiting for me.
Maggie: Exactly. And when you're 43 and all you're reading about is younger heroines, it's like there's no future. There's nothing left. And especially for me. I'm single. Where's my hope? I might as well do what Abigail was about to do because she was about to hit 30. Robert showed her that that was wrong, bless his heart. So, good for you!
Robin: Well, we're going to see. Who knows? It may turn off the younger readers.
Maggie: There are lots of older readers who are really going to like it.
Robin: Let's hope so.
Maggie: Can you tell us anything about THE LOVER? Pleeeeeease!!!
Robin: Well ... Michael is 40 years old. Thirty-six year old Anne Aimes is a virgin spinster. It takes place in London and Dover, England in 1886. My agent says it is my best and most erotic book to date. It has a fantasy premise that I am sure many, many women will identify with. I sure do! My husband thinks it's the darkest book I've written yet, and that I'm really pushing the boundaries on it. It has all the elements that I love writing - erotic sex and a dark mystery. But I can't tell you more because I haven't finished writing it yet! I'm sorry!!!!! I promise the moment I send it in that I will post on the RBL Board and give the juicy details! Tentatively, it will be out in April 2000.
Maggie: So is there anything you would like to say to the RBLs? Any message?
Robin: (Laughing!) Keep buying my books! Keep buying my books! Please!!! Give them as gifts! Birthday gifts, Valentine gifts, whatever! There are things happening every month, ladies, so you can go out and buy another copy! (Laughing!)
Maggie: (laughing!) Anything a little less mercenary?
Robin: Who, ME???? Mercenary?? Actually, the RBL Board is the only one I have ever posted on. I really do love the RBLs. And no, it's not just because everybody's adopted me. Well, almost everyone. The fact is, there are people there who aren't into erotica, but that's okay. Everybody can do their own thing. People are there to have a good time and to share their lives, what's happening at the moment, just to talk and communicate. I really, really like that. And I feel very much at home. I love everyone's ribald sense of humor. And I love the Bodacious Bods. The RBLers are not for the faint of heart and neither is my writing. I really feel that the RBL Board is MY place. It's my home.
Maggie: We like you, too!
Robin: Thank you!
Maggie: Thank you, Robin!!!
Indeed, thank you very much, Robin! For the interview, for the wonderful books, and for making RBL your on-line home.
November 2006
What fun! I got to correspond with one of my favorite authors! Robin writes the HOTTEST historicals. They evoke more emotion than is healthy, I'm sure! *G* Robin is one of those authors who enjoys pushing boundries, surprising us readers. When I pick up one of her stories I'm never sure where she's going to take me. She is, also, a bigger tease than I. YES - that's possible! *G* We had fun with the interview. I hope you all enjoy ...
Beaty: The most pressing question that has been on your readers' minds is, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN???? We've been waiting and waiting ..." I'm going to let you answer that before we go any further, because until you answer that, they won't READ any further. *G*
Robin: BEEEEATY! :::giving you a big hug and grabbing one in return, cause no one gives hugs like you!::: It's so great to chat with you again. And here, at RBL, my very first net home!
I am so glad you, my readers, are still waiting for this book. It really is humbling, knowing that you have not forgotten me. Thank you!
Some of you already know, but for those of you who don't ... Kensington Publishing and I have for the last few years been involved in a legal dispute. However, I am very, very happy to announce a settlement has been reached, and I AM BACK!
As for where I have recently been ... why, on television! CBS News - complete with anchorwoman and cameraman - came to my house on April 19 searching for the secret to the "sudden" success of women's erotic fiction. The news clip aired in Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Sacramento. In fact, it aired twice in Sacramento, first on CBS 13 News, and then May 22 on the "Good Day, Sacramento" (UPN 31) show. I can't find the link, but I know it aired, because I was on the phone with hot new author Renee Bernard when all of a sudden, I heard the tease for it in the background! One anchorwoman reported "an irrate husband complained that AWAKEN, MY LOVE was the filthiest porn he'd ever read." At which point, another anchorwoman butted in and asked: "What did you say the name of the book was?" Oh, that was fun!
Beaty: THE MEN AND WOMEN'S CLUB has now become SCANDALOUS LOVERS. Can you explain the change?
Robin: THE MEN AND WOMEN'S CLUB was available for preorder back in 2002, and again, I believe, in 2004. The Kensington sales department was afraid that book buyers (buyers for Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million, etc., not us readers) would become confused and think they were buying an old book rather than one that has never before been published, which would drastically cut pre-orders, so ... They changed the title. And the cover! Originally it had a pretty green cover, which now graces an anthology.
I will always think of this book as THE MEN AND WOMEN'S CLUB. But, after discovering the other title bandied about - WHEN PASSION COMES - I'm slowly becoming reconciled with the new one. Which title do you prefer? THE MEN AND WOMEN'S CLUB or SCANDALOUS LOVERS ... or perhaps you prefer WHEN PASSION COMES?
Beaty: One of the things I notice about all of your stories is you're apt to push a new boundary. You like to shock us a bit. *G* Are you going to be doing any of that in SL?
Robin: Who? :::innocently batting my eyelashes::: Me? Like to shock readers? Why, Beaty, you know me so well! *smile*
I think there are quite a few things in SCANDALOUS LOVERS that might surprise readers. The age of the two main characters, for one: Frances Hart is forty-nine years old, James Whitcox is forty-seven. I think James - who is a criminal defense attorney [barrister] - may be a little shocking to some, in so far that he is very much a man of his time, and makes no apology for it. I certainly think some of the laws of that era may shock a few readers ... I know they did me! I honestly thought one scene in particular would be deleted - a very intimate moment between Frances and James, in an act I've never before even contemplated writing about - but it wasn't. Also, some of the discussions in the meetings between the members of the Men and Women's Club - of which there are thirteen, including Frances - are quite intense. My only regret is that the copy-editor - in trying to further pare down the manuscript (originally it was 957 typed, double-spaced pages; I trimmed it back to 748) - changed some of my wording. It will be interesting to see if readers notice.
Beaty: Are there any spoilers you'd like to give us. You know we've been waiting and waiting. *G*
Robin: What! I distinctly recall you wouldn't open a topic if it contained even a whisper of a spoiler, Beaty. So how about some teasers instead ...?
Mrs. Hart does not deny desire; why do we? She's a grandmother, but dresses like a trollop! Mr. Whitcox and Mrs. Hart have turned this club into a society encouraging sexual misconduct. How can you represent my mother when it is you, sir, who has made her a whore? You will answer the question, Mrs. Hart. This trial and its outcome affect every man and woman. Is there nothing you won't do to win, Whitcox? Murder an' may'im! Read it 'ere! Murder an' may'im! Do not tell me that she does not shock you, too.
Beaty: Let's talk a bit about your writing day. Are you able to sit down at your desk for eight hours a day and write? Or are you more mood driven?
Robin: You know, when pounding out that first book, every minute is dedicated to actual "writing." Then one can be mood driven. But once that first book is published, writing becomes a business. Emails have to be answered. Websites need to be designed/updated. Bulletin boards - and computers - crash. While one may sit down for eight hours, only five or six (if that) are actually spent "writing." In order to get in a full day of writing, I generally spend ten to twelve hours at my computer, six and seven days a week. However! ... Sometimes one simply can't write. I mean, one can, but it's not anything I'd want to read. There really does come a point when a writer must realize that they're only going through the motions, and their time would be better spent ... sleeping ... shopping ... cleaning the toilet. Anything other than writing! So sometimes one must give oneself a holiday, but I don't call that being mood driven, I call it maintaining one's sanity
Beaty: Do your characters push you in unexpected directions? Or do you make them stick to an outline?
Robin: The last outline I did was in high school geography. :::shudder::: No, no, no outlines for me, thank you. When having a child, does one plan every single detail of their life? I mean, one certainly may try, but it's not going to turn out that way. Trust me, if it did, I would now be a secretary or a teacher (my mother's ambitions for me). The same with writing. My characters, like children, have a mind of their own, and like a child exploring the wonderful world outside the womb, frequently have me scrambling to keep up with them. Thank the gods! I can't imagine how boring it would be, not to be able to love and laugh and cry while writing - and yes, occasionally rage and rant and even sulk! - but always learning with and from my characters.
Beaty: Once a character has introduced himself/herself to you, how do you know what story you'll write about them? Is it the hero or the heroine that you usually get to know first?
Robin: Wow. I've never been asked this before. Thanks, Beaty! Generally the idea for a book precedes the characters (see below for an example). When writing AWAKEN, MY LOVE (my first romance novel), Elaine came to me long before Charles. I think this is because I was steeped in Gothic romance, in which oftentimes the entire book revolves around the heroine - her fears, her desires. Hence Charles was a rich, titled lord with vague references to a past, because truthfully, his past didn't really matter - aside from the sexual expertise he had gained - because he was there solely for Elaine, to aid her journey in finding home, happiness, and sexual satisfaction. The hero became a man rather than a fictional fantasy when I wrote "A Lady's Pleasure." I had to put myself in the shoes of a wounded soldier who had looked death in the eye and saw that if he didn't change his ways, he would die without ever knowing the love of a woman. In THE LADY'S TUTOR I was still struggling between fantasy and reality. And then Michael came to me ... and Connor/Muhamed ... and Gabriel. I became absorbed in the hero as a man, stories driven by his fears and his desires.
I think I finally found my niche in SCANDALOUS LOVERS. Frances and James each came to me with their own unique history and special strengths. He is a rich and powerful London widower with the best education money can buy, whose entire life has revolved around the law; she is a country-bred, comfortably-well-off widow with a basic education whose life has revolved around her husband and children.
Together they overcome the obstacles of having a "scandalous" affair: age ... family ... religion ... politics ... English law. Their need for something more than social convention and moral duty changes the lives of everyone they encounter, myself included. They really are an amazing couple.
Beaty: You have many historical tidbits that pop up in your stories that I never hear about in other books. Where do you get all of the true-to-life trivia? Do you need something for the story and then look it up or do you already have the historical knowledge and just need the spot to share it with us - the readers?
Robin: Half and half, or, as Don would say, six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. I love history, and own original copies of legal and medical texts dating back to circa 1840, in addition to various reproductions of historical encyclopedias and catalogs. I never stop researching. If my hero plunges his hands into his pockets, then I quick check men's trousers to verify that they did, indeed, possess front/back pockets in that era. Information I stumble across while researching day-to-day trivia routinely pops up in future plots. For example, Gabriel's House, a night house - not a brothel, as some describe it, but rather, a hotel where rooms may be rented by the hour - features prominently in both THE LOVER and GABRIEL'S WOMAN. While the name of the house is fictional, night houses, or maisons des rendezvous, as they were also called, actually did exist. I came across that bit of information when doing general research for THE LADY'S TUTOR. I was so intrigued that I thought, WOW, wouldn't it be cool to write about a historical gigolo and the woman who dared purchase his services? Ergo, Michael was born. Strangely enough, I ran across information regarding the Men and Women's Club at around that same time (yes, a club bearing that name actually existed), and was immediately enamored with the idea of a society that solely congregated in order to discuss sexual relations.
But I was smart enough to realize that I wasn't yet ready to write that book - I needed more writing experience underneath my belt - so after TLT, I wrote TL, which was very good experience, indeed. Researching male heterosexual prostitution in Victorian England - an elusive subject, indeed! - prepared me somewhat for the task of researching 19th century courtroom etiquette.
Beaty: This isn't really a question - more in the lines of a compliment. *G* I love the quantity of dialogue you use in your stories. It really moves a story along for me. Is it a conscious choice to use dialogue to enhance the story?
Robin: Hmmm ... I think originally it was a conscious choice - when writing AWAKEN, MY LOVE - because all the writing guides harped on the importance of dialogue. Remember, I was steeped in the old Gothic romances that were for the most part narrative driven. But I quickly learned that dialogue is more than babble. I can't begin to describe to you the thrill it is when a character speaks. In "A Lady's Pleasure," I was as surprised as Robert when Abigail burst out with: "They have fat bottoms, Colonel Coally. I simply cannot imagine those fat bottoms pistoning up and down." In THE LADY'S TUTOR, I couldn't get a grasp on Elizabeth, until suddenly she spoke up: "Cowards sleep alone, night after night. Cowards accept the fact that their husbands take their pleasure with other women. Cowards do nothing, not women."
Likewise, when James in SCANDALOUS LOVERS spoke, well, he set the tone for the entire book ... Close your eyes, Beaty, because I'm going to give you that spoiler now:
"My wife is dead."
The words ripped through the chill spring air.
She paused, head snapping upward.
James's gaze was waiting for hers. "I will never know which of my touches excited her, or which ones repulsed her. I will never know how I failed her, or even if I failed her. I will never know what she needed, because I never asked."
"Why not?"
The rejoinder was swift. The woman's body remained poised for flight.
"Because I was afraid," James said.
Feminine gasps greeted his admission: a man could do or say many things as long as he didn't admit fear.
"I am still afraid."
A masculine protest overrode the feminine gasps. "I say, there--"
James ignored the accountant's objection.
"I am forty-seven years old, and I have never experienced a woman's passion."
"Mr. Whitcox, sir!" the suffragette sputtered over the hiss of the gas chandelier.
"I need to know that it's not too late."
The woman with the vivid red hair remained motionless, her expression arrested.
"I need to know that men and women share the same needs."
A shudder vibrated the wooden table, a door slamming below.
"I need to know that there can be honesty between men and women."
A short, urgent shout sounded from the street outside.
The solitude that dogged his every waking moment stretched out before James. "I need to know that a man and a woman can live in the same house, and lie in the same bed, and be more than two strangers."
:::psst! You can uncover your eyes now, Beaty. I'm so glad you've enjoyed my dialogue in the past, and hope you will in SL, as well. Thank you for the compliment!:::
Beaty: You're very excited about your new website! Please explain it all to the ReBeLs.
Robin: When designing my new website, I wanted the colors to reflect the gorgeous cover to SCANDALOUS LOVERS. But more than pretty colors, I wanted to make SL as real and vital to my readers as it is to me. To that end, I worked with Sheila Clover English from Circle of Seven Productions and Victoria Fraasa from Fraasa Films to produce "Everybody's Talking ... Listen to what they're saying!" Starting September 14, a new sound byte plays on my website every week for 9 weeks thru November 16. At which point, a mini book trailer (complete with the mini sound bytes quoted above) will go live. The longer quotes will still be available on the SL excerpt page.
These sound bytes are actual voice overs of dialogue as spoken by characters in SL. Each line was specially chosen to bring to life different aspects of my novel: the drama, the passion, the life-altering affect Frances and James have on each and every character. Victoria graciously solicited my input during the recording sessions. It was truly a breathtaking experience, to hear real British actors speaking with the emotions I had tried so hard to incorporate in my writing.
Five different actors were involved in this unique project (book trailers traditionally use music instead of voice overs). While I don't have website links for four of the actors, I think you will be more than pleased by Drew Broadrick. He voiced over the characters to Joseph Manning (M&WC member), David Hart (Frances's son), Jack Lodoun (prosecuting attorney) and George Addimore (M&WC member). He does such a wonderful job - speaking with four distinct personalities! - and is such an incredible person. Victoria didn't know of any English boys to do the paper boy voice over, so Drew came to the studio and coached a Californian boy in how to speak with a Cockney accent. Pierce was so adorable ... and so game! He bellowed out "Murder an' may'im! Read it 'ere!" like he had been born to it. Come to find out, Drew had been a paper boy in England, so he was indeed the perfect coach.
Other characters represented via voice overs are: Marie Hoppleworth (M&WC member); Jane Fredericks (M&WC member); James Whitcox; and the judge.
Please do check out "Everybody's Talking ... Listen to what they're saying!" as well as the mini book trailer, and let me know what you think!
Beaty: When can we expect SL to hit the shelves? What can we look forward to after SL? Does the Countess's story still figure into our futures?
Robin: SCANDALOUS LOVERS will hit book shelves in February 2007. Well, actually, probably sooner, as Kensington doesn't give street dates (well, they didn't give me one, anyway). I'll be bringing you something totally different late 2007 or early 2008, a manuscript written some years ago that I've polished up. Let me just say "political satire." WILD TURKEYS CAN FLY is a cross between WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams and ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell, with some fowl sex ala Robin Schone. I hope a publisher will be interested, but if not, I think I'll try my hand at self-publishing.
You know, I really don't know about the Countess's story. I wrote on my FAQ page that I probably would write it someday, as I, too, love her, and have her story mapped out in my mind, and that it's just a matter of getting it down on paper. But ... It's a tricky business, publishing a sequel to a past book when one moves on to a new publisher. All I can say is, time will tell.
Beaty: I always ask a character question during my interviews. I usually pick one of my favorite characters and try to expand their story. *G* Since you already KNOW my favorite character, it won't come as too big a surprise that I'd like to talk to Robert.
"Hi, Robert! I've wanted to meet you for a looooong time. I'm a very nosy reader and I want to know a bit more about Lady Pokingham's favorite toy. Did Miss Abigail enjoy it?"
Robin: Oh, my. You want to talk to Robert? Are you quite certain ... ? Well, ooookay ...
Robert: "Miss Beaty, a gentleman never kisses and tells."
Robin: :::wink::: But an author does! Are you sure you don't want to redirect that question, Beaty?
Beaty: Of course! *G* Robert's my guy! I want to know everything!
Robin: Do you know, truthfully, all teasing aside, to me Robert and Abigail's story ends when he presents her with Lady Pokingham's "other" favorite toy. I've never taken it any further in my thoughts, and when I try to do so now, Robert stubbornly draws a curtain over their lives. I do know that they take each other for who they are - she a spinster lady with a love of all things erotic, and he a colonel who has killed more men (women and children are inevitable casualties in any war) than he can remember. Abigail will never have to worry about shocking him with her desires, nor will Robert ever have to worry about her condemning him for his life as a soldier.
Thank you for a wonderful interview, Beaty. I can't wait for my readers to meet Frances and James. Germany has
purchased SCANDALOUS LOVERS for future publication, in addition to which, I just learned that it will be a Featured
Alternate Selection for both Doubleday Book Club and Rhapsody Book Club. 2007 is going to be a wonderful year!
Thanks so much Robin! I fully expect to have one of those new ARCs finding a way to my mailbox ... LOL Good luck!
*Because of her personal experience, her battle with the health care system, and her exhaustive research, Robin Schone is very knowledgeable about this subject. However, many women have different feelings and opinions about hysterectomies. The staff of the RBL Romantica Newsletter would like to urge its readers to consider all opinions and options available if/when faced with making a personal medical decision.
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