Interviews With Writers

Author Interviews from Writers Around the World

  • Home
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Interview Submission
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sites in the BookGoodies Network
You are here: Home / Fiction / Interview with Author – Robin Stratton

Interview with Author – Robin Stratton

By Interviews With Writers


Author Bio:
I’m the author of four novels, including one which was a National Indie Excellence Book Award finalist (On Air, Mustang Press, 2011), two collections of poetry and short fiction, and a writing guide. A four-time Pushcart Prize nominee, I’ve been published in Word Riot, 63 Channels, Antithesis Common, Poor Richard’s Almanac(k), Blink-Ink, Pig in a Poke, Chick Flicks, Up the Staircase, Shoots and Vines, and many others. Since 2004 I’ve been Acquisitions Editor for Big Table Publishing Company, Senior Editor of Boston Literary Magazine since 2009, and I was Director of the Newton Writing and Publishing Center until I moved from Boston to San Francisco in 2018. Now I lead the popular “Six Feet of Poetry” and “Fiction by the Foot” series.

What inspires you to write?
All around me, every day, little things – snatches of conversation, an injured bird, troubling dynamics of young lovers sitting on a bench, an article in a magazine – trigger the writing response, and I’m constantly jotting down ideas on napkins, envelopes, receipts, and yeah, a few times on my hand. My brain is an industrious, focused place; sometimes chaotic, always searching for the most artful way to express an emotion or craft a scene.

Tell us about your writing process.
I like to come up with Big Picture theme first – a friendship tested, questions of morality, the necessity of redefining oneself at mid-life after a crisis – and then come up with the characters to play out the scenario. The actual plot comes last, and I never do an outline because so often characters act in ways that surprise me. They know better how they'll react than I do, so I let them do their thing. I still direct them toward my original theme, but more often than not, the ending is different from what I pictured.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I spend a lot of time hanging out with my characters, getting to know them and learning to love them. Each has a backstory that I like to hint at, and I miss them deeply once a book is done, I really do.

Who are your favorite authors?
I love John Updike for his literary brilliance, and he will always be my number one influence. But I mostly read non-fiction: medical memoirs, science books, and history.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
My first novel was published by a small press who did almost nothing in terms of promotion, and my royalty checks were in the neighborhood of $3 every couple of months. I secured an agent for my second novel, and even though she was very enthusiastic about the book and the publishers she sent it to loved the writing, no one offered a contract, and she wound up going in a different direction (hybrid publishing.) Since I had a publishing company myself, I decided I might as well publish myself, and that's what I did. Obviously I'd love to have worked with Random House or some huge place, but I do enjoy having complete control over my books.

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the Big Shift has already happened, and we're just going to keep seeing more of the same: Fewer big publishers putting out books by famous people or already-established best selling authors, and more and more indie presses publishing books by writers who have to deal with the disappointment of not making money and having to keep their day job. I think the one good thing that has come of the small press era is that writers come to truly understand that it's about writing, not selling. That's a tough truth, because we'd all like to quit working and write full time – but for those of us at the indie level, writing is about creating, not about making a living. If you're a real writer, you'll write no matter what, and the Age of Small Presses has given writers an opportunity to investigate their souls to understand WHY they write.

What genres do you write?
Literary, women's fiction, poetry, short stories, memoirs

What formats are your books in?
eBook, Print

Website(s)
Robin Stratton Home Page Link
Follow Robin Stratton On Amazon

Author’s Social Media Links
Facebook
Twitter

All information is provided by the author and is presented as it was submitted so you the reader get to hear the author’s own “voice” in their interview.

Filed Under: Fiction, Interviews Tagged With: Big Table Publishing Company, Boston Literary Magazine, Fiction by the Foot, Robin Stratton, Six Feet of Poetry

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search our Site

Featured Books

Featured Book: TOO PRETTY TO DIE by Willow Rose

About Featured Book: TOO PRETTY TO DIE by Willow Rose The book will be on sale for $1.99 from 06/02-06/06. Four women went on a weekend of fun to Miami. Four best friends who were inseparable. No one returned. The story made national headlines, and even after weeks of searching for them, they were never […]

Featured Book: The Rebirth: A Dark Noir Thriller by V.P. Evans

About Featured Book: The Rebirth: A Dark Noir Thriller by V.P. Evans Regular Price: 3.99 Discount Price: 0.99 The discount price will be from May 24 to May 29, 2023. It’s been ten years since Jason and Mark last saw each other when a murder brings them together one night. Trapped in Chicago now, they […]

Featured Book: Owned by the Bratva by K.C. Crowne

About Featured Book: Owned by the Bratva by K.C. Crowne “Let’s get this over with.” His voice rumbling through the chapel like thunder. No wedding bells. No blushing bride. I have no idea who this stranger before me is. Towering over me, at least a foot and a half taller… All I know about this […]

Featured Book: Playing Pretend with my Brother’s Best Friends by Kai Lesy

About Featured Book: Playing Pretend with my Brother’s Best Friends by Kai Lesy NEEDED: Three make-believe boyfriends! Must be tall, dreamy — and ready to teach me how to kiss. I’m a 29-year-old virgin. No boyfriends. ZERO second dates. I’m virtually UNDATEABLE. And with the big 3-0 approaching, I can’t keep pretending all is well. […]

Featured Book: Through The Way With God by Zsanett Nagy

About Featured Book: Through The Way With God by Zsanett Nagy Book promotional price $4.99 5-7.2023 – 6-7.2023. The Camino Santiago itself is a wonderful journey, full of sights and experiences. However, it is most wonderful when the experience extends not only physically, but also spiritually. When you walk your way in divine company, you […]

Categories

  • Action & Adventure
  • Activity Books
  • Audiobook
  • Audiobooks
  • Autobiographies
  • Bargain Books Under $3
  • Biblical Studies
  • Biographical Fiction
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Birds
  • Body/Mind/Spirit
  • Book and eReader Sleeves
  • BookGoodies Network Merch
  • Business Books
  • Buyer's Guides
  • Children and Young Adult Books
  • Children's – Education & Reference
  • Children's Activity Book
  • Children's Books
  • Children's eBooks
  • Christian Fiction
  • Christian Non-Fiction
  • Clean Romance
  • Coloring Books for Adults
  • Coloring Books for Kids
  • Comedy
  • Comic Books
  • Cowboy Romance
  • Cozy Mystery
  • Devotionals
  • Dogs
  • Drama
  • Educational/How-to
  • Erotic
  • Erotic Science Fiction
  • Erotica
  • Essays
  • Fairy Tale
  • Faith and Religion
  • Fantasy
  • Featured Book
  • Featured Books
  • Featured Free and Bargain Books
  • Features
  • Fiction
    • Romance
  • Fiction Audio Books
  • Fitness
  • Gifts for Book Lovers
  • Giveaways
  • Health & Fitness
  • Heat Level 1 – G Rated Clean Read
  • Heat Level 2 – PG
  • Heat Level 3 – PG-13
  • Heat Level 4 – R Rated
  • Heat Level 5 – NC-17
  • Historical
  • Historical Fiction
  • Historical Romance
  • Horror
  • Humor
  • Humor (Fiction)
  • Inspirational Books for You
  • Interviews
  • Journal
  • Journaling
  • Kindle Unlimited
  • Kindle Unlimited eBooks
  • Kindle Vella
  • Kindle Vella Serial
  • Limited Time Free Promotion
  • Love and Marriage
  • Magic
  • Memoir
  • Military Science Fiction
  • Music
  • Mystery
  • Mystery/Suspense
  • Mystery/Thriller
  • New Age
  • News
  • Non-fiction
  • Nonfiction Audio Books
  • Nonfiction Audiobooks
  • Paranormal
  • Paranormal Romance
  • Permafree
  • PermaFree Books
  • Personal Growth
  • Pet and Animal
  • Poetry
  • Print
  • Print Books
  • Prophecy
  • Regency Romance
  • Romance – Erotica
  • Romantic Suspense
  • Science Fiction
  • SciFi
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Thriller
  • Time Travel
  • Travel
  • Urban Fantasy
  • Western Romance
  • Women's Fiction
  • Women's Health
  • YA – Action and Adventure
  • YA – Fantasy
  • YA – Science Fiction
  • Young Adult

Podcasts with Writers

Interview with Author – Eliana Marris

Interview with Author – Ubong Ekpo

Mayhem 337: Memoir of a Combat Advisor in Afghanistan by Chad Rickard

Interview with Author – Jim Serger

Interview with Author – Brandon Jones

More Posts from this Category

Featured Books

Featured Book: BEFORE: Jared’s Story by GINA DETWILER

Featured Book: War of the Staffs by Steve Stephenson

Featured Book: Dog Days with Aggie and Pepper by Clay Reeves

FEATURED BOOK: Frederic & Cassandra Book I, The Sinister House by Kathleen Dixon

Featured Book: Pendulum of a Mother’s Love by Takia Chase-Smith

More Posts from this Category

Around the Site

  • Home
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Interview Submission
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sites in the BookGoodies Network

Copyright © 2023 · A BookGoodies Partner Site · Powered by WordPress and Genesis