Sandra Robbins: Following a Dream to Write

On Tuesday, Sandra Robbins dropped by to talk about making choices. Today, she shares how she's living her dream.

When I was a child, I had many ideas of what I wanted to be when I grew up. It was almost like I was planning the path my life would travel. First and foremost I wanted to be a wife and mother. Next I wanted to be a teacher. Then I wanted to write a book.  All were worthy goals.

            

The first two happened right on schedule. I married a wonderful man, we were blessed with four healthy children, and I taught in an elementary school. As my children got older, I thought now is the time to write that book I’ve always dreamed about, but another detour blocked my path. By this time I had risen through the teaching ranks and had become principal at a school. Between work and family responsibilities I had little time for pursuing anything else.

            

Time passed, but my dream didn’t die. One night in 2004 some unknown force guided me to my computer, and I began to write. I knew nothing about the craft of writing, but the words filled the pages night after night. That’s when the reality of what was happening to me set in—I had become a writer. I had never spoken to another writer. In fact I didn’t even know one. The only experience I’d had with writing was a course in writing fiction I’d taken in college. That had hardly prepared me for jumping into the publishing world.

            

By 2005 I realized if I was to write a book somebody might actually read some day, I needed help. I turned to the internet and stumbled on an organization called American Christian Romance Writers. It didn’t cost much to join, and so I did. I soaked up every post on the loop and began to get an idea of what I needed. One was to join a critique group which I did. Through ACRW (soon to become ACFW) I was randomly placed with a group of beginning writers, and we worked together over the internet. I was thrilled with my entrance into the writing world, but every morning I still went to my day job.

            

By the summer of 2006 I had gained a lot of confidence. I had attended several conferences and workshops, and my critique partners were helping me grow as a writer. Since two of them lived in Texas, we decided to meet at my daughter’s house in San Antonio for our first face to face meeting. The night before their arrival I had a heart attack while visiting the River Walk and was rushed to a hospital where an amazing cardiologist saved my life. The next day for the first time I met Janelle Mowery and Lisa Ludwig, my critique partners, when they arrived at the hospital to visit me. In the fall we attended the ACFW conference in Nashville, and I met the woman who would become my first editor.

            

I knew God had given me one more chance to follow my dream to write, and I resigned my job at the end of that year to pursue writing full time. God has blessed me greatly as I’ve followed His guiding on this wonderful journey. My books have been honored as finalists in the Daphe du Maurier Contest for excellence in writing mystery, the

Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for writing romance, the ACFW Carol Awards, and as a merit recipient in the Holt Medallion. Recently Angel of the Cove, the first book in my Smoky Mountain Dreams series won the Single Title Inspirational Category in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. This is given by the Birmingham Southern Magic Chapter of RWA in honor of multi-published author Gayle Wilson.

          

At times I still shake my head in disbelief at how everything has worked out. When I complete the three book contract I'm working on now, I will have published eighteen books. I never dreamed what was about to happen when I sat down at that computer one night and began to write some thoughts down about a story rolling around in my head. Now those ideas come all the time.

            
So when someone asks me how long I’ve wanted to be a writer, I can honestly say, “As long as I can remember.” It took a while for me to step out on faith and begin the work required to add author to my accomplishments, but I’m so glad I did. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. 

Sandra Robbins lives with her husband in Tennessee. In April 2013 Summerside released A Lady’s Choice, which chronicles the plight of suffragists who picketed the White House to gain the vote for women.

Stop by tomorrow for a chance to win a free copy!

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Research Adds Authenticity by Sandra Robbins

Every author dreams of opening a box that’s just been delivered to her house and finding the first copies of her new book inside. The joy that comes from holding the finished product of long hours of work can be overwhelming. But no one wants the nightmare of receiving an irate letter from a reader stating displeasure over the fact that something in the book is incorrect. No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes, but there is a way to cut down on the possibility of that happening. The answer lies in one little word—research.

Although research can be tedious and time consuming, taking the time to make the story authentic will be worth it in the long run. Research can take many forms. The internet gives us access to the world, and we don’t have to leave home to visit foreign settings or find out about customs in other places. Libraries contain books that are great sources of information, and librarians are always eager to help a writer. Also you’ll find individuals in your hometown with expertise in areas that you may need help. Most people are delighted to help, especially if you tell them they will be thanked in print for helping make the book possible.  

In my latest book Angel of the Cove, I have a scene where a mountain midwife is delivering a breech baby. This scene proved very emotional for me to write. Women today in childbirth have all the advantages of modern medicine to assist them. In 1894 that wasn’t true in a remote cabin in the middle of the Smoky Mountains.  Although I’d searched the internet and felt I’d described the process accurately, I ran my scene by a local obstetrician, and he informed me I was correct.  

One tool that I discovered not long ago is YouTube. Recently I was going to write a chapter that dealt with a group taking a hike up a mountain. Not being an outdoorsman, I had no desire to go hike that mountain myself. However, lots of other folks have done it in the past, and some of those nice people made videos and posted them on YouTube. I’m thankful I found this resource. 

Angel of the Cove from Harvest House Publishers is the first of three books in my Smoky Mountain Dreams series,a generational series that follows a fictional family who lived in Cades Cove, Tennessee, a remote valley in the Smoky Mountains. Approximately 2,000,000 people  visit Cades Coves each year to see the preserved cabins, churches, and barns that show what life was like before the residents were forced to sell their farms to the government for inclusion in the park. I realized the setting and the way of life there had to be accurate, and I have spent untold hours researching the area. I pray I’ve done those hardy mountain people justice.

Whether you’re researching a period in history or police procedurals, the author must make every effort to give the reader accurate facts. Not being able to find something can certainly lead to madness, but it can become a sense of accomplishment when you can prove a point because you took the time to do your research. 

Sandra Robbins is a multi-published author who lives with her husband in the small Tennessee college town where she grew up. At present she has eleven books published and six more contracted. Her books have been finalists in the Daphne du Maurier Contest for excellence in mystery writing, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for romance, the Holt Medallion, and the ACFW Carol Award. I

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