1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,759 Speaker 1: Hello and good morning, Robin. How are you doing today? 2 00:00:02,799 --> 00:00:05,320 Speaker 2: Good morning, so nice to speak with you. I'm great, 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:06,120 Thank you man. 4 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,000 Speaker 1: You've got to tell me what your secret sauce is 5 00:00:08,039 --> 00:00:10,359 in the way of being able to write a book 6 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:12,839 that is meant for ya readers, but as an adult 7 00:00:12,839 --> 00:00:14,960 time going, Oh my god, give me some more. 8 00:00:16,679 --> 00:00:18,920 Speaker 2: Well, First of all, caffeine has never heard, so that's 9 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:21,640 always a good luss for sure. I think you know 10 00:00:21,679 --> 00:00:23,839 a lot of us. I've answered that question often on 11 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:25,879 throughout my careers. How can you be an adult that 12 00:00:26,039 --> 00:00:28,960 understand kids or right about kids in a way that 13 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,600 resonates with them? Which is a huge compliment to ask 14 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,240 that question, of course to me. But I think it's 15 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,000 also regardless of our age, who are we? How do 16 00:00:37,039 --> 00:00:38,960 we relate to the world's a little bit older and 17 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,439 a little bit wiser. But I don't think the questions 18 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,119 change very much. I think it's just who are we 19 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:46,880 in that moment and what sort of tools do we 20 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:48,840 have but that are disposable to answer them. 21 00:00:49,039 --> 00:00:51,679 Speaker 1: I've put a lot of research into this thing called tweenedom, 22 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,119 and the thing that I that keeps coming up is 23 00:00:54,119 --> 00:00:56,799 the fact that it's like, it's not that we're spying 24 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:58,799 on what it's like to be a teen today. It's 25 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,240 just that our internal body, he's on the inside, still 26 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:03,719 believe we're a certain age. I still say I'm seventeen 27 00:01:03,759 --> 00:01:05,959 when people say how old are you, I'm seventeen inside 28 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:07,799 my mind, body, and soul. So and I think that's 29 00:01:07,799 --> 00:01:09,840 one of the reasons why I love these books so much. 30 00:01:10,719 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 2: Oh, I, you know it's funny. I will say to somebody, 31 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,640 we'll talk about middle school or junior high, whatever, whatever 32 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,719 you call it in your community, and it just immediately 33 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,879 everybody goes ooh, oh gosh, no school. You know, it 34 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:26,480 brings up this anxiety and terror of the being that age. 35 00:01:26,519 --> 00:01:29,480 So I think it's in some ways like a bonding experience. 36 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,799 And you know, I hope kids go through life without 37 00:01:31,879 --> 00:01:34,239 a feeling anxious or nervous about those things. But those 38 00:01:34,239 --> 00:01:37,280 are also very valid emotions about, you know, new experiences 39 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:37,719 as well. 40 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,719 Speaker 1: I'm a mobile DJ. We just did a middle school dance. Oh, 41 00:01:40,799 --> 00:01:42,319 let me tell you about that energy that was in 42 00:01:42,359 --> 00:01:43,159 that gymnasium. 43 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:50,239 Speaker 2: Oh. I have cold sweats thinking about it. 44 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: But you know what's fun about doing that is that 45 00:01:52,719 --> 00:01:55,040 when when I do get the opportunity to sit with 46 00:01:55,079 --> 00:01:56,599 them before as they're setting up the gym, or at 47 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:58,640 the end when they're cleaning things up. I'll bring up 48 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,159 authors like yourself, and it's so fat. They look at me, going, ah, 49 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,840 how do you know about Robin? What are you talking about? 50 00:02:05,159 --> 00:02:07,640 And they really do? They to me that's part of 51 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,680 the connection thing between adults and tweens. 52 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 2: Yes, it's funny. I think social media, even though hopefully 53 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,840 younger kids are not on social media yet, they're aware 54 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,000 of it. And I think the Internet exists as well. 55 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,039 Kids are aware of things in a way that like 56 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,120 maybe you and I weren't aware of growing up, our 57 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,319 world was a lot smaller. Now it's global within fifteen seconds, 58 00:02:28,319 --> 00:02:30,479 and so I think we all do share a lot 59 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,719 of knowledge. Like I have had very in depth conversations 60 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,479 about Kream with my friend's ten year old daughter, and 61 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,039 I have had Taylor Swift conversations with my friend's nine 62 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,120 year old daughters, like very serious conversations about both things. 63 00:02:43,439 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: The conversations you're having with these soon to be teens 64 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,439 or tweens, do you feel that that's what shows up 65 00:02:48,439 --> 00:02:50,759 inside your books, Because I mean, you've got some lessons 66 00:02:50,759 --> 00:02:53,560 in here about forgiveness, that if I walked up to 67 00:02:53,599 --> 00:02:55,599 somebody and talked about forgiveness, said go, I get out 68 00:02:55,599 --> 00:02:57,479 of here. But yet they find it in a book 69 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:58,759 and they're going to be listening to it. 70 00:02:59,159 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 2: You don't have to be putting yourself out there per se, right, 71 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,560 you can just read about it. And I also think, 72 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,240 and I remember this so vividly as a teenager, and 73 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:08,759 I see it a lot now when I write for 74 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,199 older kids, older teenagers, the way you talk to your 75 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,240 friends is very different than the way you talk to 76 00:03:14,759 --> 00:03:17,080 your mom, to your dad, to your family, and it's 77 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:19,520 very different than how you feel on the inside and 78 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,719 the way your brain talks to yourself. And I think 79 00:03:22,719 --> 00:03:24,840 it's always really important to keep that in mind, that 80 00:03:24,879 --> 00:03:28,560 what a kid says is sometimes very very different than 81 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,039 what they actually feel. And my job when I'm writing 82 00:03:32,199 --> 00:03:34,719 is to remember that, to keep in mind the point 83 00:03:34,759 --> 00:03:35,800 of view of my character. 84 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:38,159 Speaker 1: One of the things that I'm seeing a lot of 85 00:03:38,199 --> 00:03:40,360 these days is I'm seeing a lot of twins as 86 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:42,360 well as triplets. I mean, I would love to see 87 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,360 the numbers of people that are going to read your 88 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,360 books and get back in touch with you. 89 00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:50,759 Speaker 2: There are definitely more twins there's definitely a lot of 90 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,639 twins in my family as well. Where the idea came from. 91 00:03:53,639 --> 00:03:55,919 And one of the reasons I wanted the main characters 92 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,319 to be twins, and they're both the dual narrators of 93 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,439 the book. They go back and forth chapter two chapter. 94 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:02,319 But I wanted to see what it looks like when 95 00:04:02,319 --> 00:04:04,599 you grow up your whole life looking like somebody else, 96 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,240 sharing the same thing, acting, you know, not the same way, 97 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,120 but living the same life. And then once you hit 98 00:04:11,159 --> 00:04:13,479 that age where you start to differ and you start 99 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,919 to have different interests. You know, Jack starts to have 100 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,120 a crush on a neighborhood boy and Aggie doesn't feel 101 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,560 that way yet. And who gets their period first? You know, 102 00:04:22,639 --> 00:04:25,959 all of those different things. For their birthday, their dads 103 00:04:25,959 --> 00:04:27,879 take them to a restaurant and they take them to 104 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,879 a store, and that's like their big birthday celebration. And 105 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:32,920 this is the first time where Aggie wants to go 106 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,199 to cheesecake factory and build a bear and Jack wants 107 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:40,519 to go to sushi and Sephora, and both of those 108 00:04:40,519 --> 00:04:44,040 are valid. Both of those are totally fine, but it's okay, 109 00:04:44,079 --> 00:04:47,079 how do you maintain that friendship and that relationship with 110 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,319 your twin when you're changing so quickly and there's really 111 00:04:51,399 --> 00:04:53,800 not an answer to that. It's something that they'll probably 112 00:04:53,879 --> 00:04:55,399 navigate for the rest of their lives. 113 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,319 Speaker 1: You just opened up a huge door, not necessarily with twins. 114 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,399 But I'm looked exactly like my brother, and I chose 115 00:05:02,439 --> 00:05:04,720 different things so I wouldn't be compared to my brother 116 00:05:04,879 --> 00:05:07,439 and became a radio person because my brother wanted nothing 117 00:05:07,480 --> 00:05:09,439 to do with something like that. I wonder how many 118 00:05:09,439 --> 00:05:12,199 adults we'll pick up this book and go I looked 119 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:15,480 exactly like my sibling, and I too went a completely 120 00:05:15,519 --> 00:05:16,199 different direction. 121 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's wild how things like that that are so 122 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:23,240 formative in your childhood can shape you as an adult, 123 00:05:23,519 --> 00:05:26,360 which was what makes writing books like this so much fun. 124 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: Speaking of your writing, what is your discipline each day? 125 00:05:29,079 --> 00:05:30,279 I mean, the first thing I have to do every 126 00:05:30,319 --> 00:05:32,480 single morning is got I've got to write? That is 127 00:05:32,519 --> 00:05:34,079 my discipline. What is your discipline? 128 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 2: That is absolutely not my discipline, and I rich it was, 129 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,759 to be honest, that would probably be more productive. I 130 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,600 am definitely the kind of person who takes a lot 131 00:05:45,639 --> 00:05:48,040 of time to will gather. I think a lot about 132 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:51,240 the book, and I'm driving, going for walks with the dog. 133 00:05:51,639 --> 00:05:54,439 When I'm doing the dishes, I picture it over and 134 00:05:54,519 --> 00:05:56,839 over and over in my head, and then once I 135 00:05:56,879 --> 00:05:58,759 can see it almost like a TV show or a 136 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,079 movie that when I sit down and I write, and 137 00:06:02,199 --> 00:06:04,319 I can write pretty big chunks of the book at 138 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:06,839 one time, and then I step back and I do 139 00:06:07,319 --> 00:06:10,079 more days of thinking about it, not thinking about it, 140 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,800 taking a step back, and then diving back in again. 141 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:16,000 So I don't really have a discipline. I have tried 142 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,079 that several times. I have tried to sit down at 143 00:06:18,079 --> 00:06:21,360 the same time every day train that brain muscle. I've 144 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,240 used spreadsheets to track my word counts, and all it's 145 00:06:24,319 --> 00:06:27,160 led to is some really, really bad starts of books. 146 00:06:27,519 --> 00:06:30,480 So I just sort of embraced how it works, because 147 00:06:30,519 --> 00:06:32,439 the truth is it does work. This is my ninth book, 148 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,000 so I feel like whatever I'm doing, I'm just going 149 00:06:35,079 --> 00:06:37,120 to keep doing that until it doesn't work anymore. 150 00:06:37,199 --> 00:06:39,079 Speaker 1: The reason why bring that up is because I know 151 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,759 inside my heart that someone's going to be reading your books, 152 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:43,600 and they too are going to become an author, but 153 00:06:43,639 --> 00:06:45,120 they're going to run away from it in the very 154 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,000 beginning because they don't understand that we can do exactly 155 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:49,079 what you just talked about. 156 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 2: Yes, you know, when I do school visits, kids always 157 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:54,839 say local, how did you become a writer? Or what's 158 00:06:54,879 --> 00:06:57,360 your day like as a writer, And I really try 159 00:06:57,360 --> 00:06:59,560 to impress upon them if you ask that question of 160 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:01,639 every or you meet, you're going to get a completely 161 00:07:01,639 --> 00:07:05,120 different answer every single time. And there's really no wrong 162 00:07:05,199 --> 00:07:07,439 way to do this job. There isn't a playbook, there 163 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,600 isn't a guide book. Whatever works for you to make 164 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,920 you a creative person that can still perpetuate that creativity 165 00:07:14,959 --> 00:07:17,600 where you don't burn yourself out, where you don't feel 166 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,399 like you've worked yourself into a hole or you've overworked yourself. 167 00:07:20,759 --> 00:07:23,759 That's the way to do it. And I will obviously 168 00:07:23,839 --> 00:07:26,759 offer writing advice if kids ask, but I always, you know, 169 00:07:26,879 --> 00:07:29,160 present it with the idea of this is what works 170 00:07:29,199 --> 00:07:31,000 for me. It doesn't have to work for you. And 171 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,120 I think that is one of the hardest and the 172 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,920 best parts of the job. There isn't a plan, But 173 00:07:36,959 --> 00:07:38,759 if you're a person who doesn't always work well with 174 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:40,720 a plan, then this could really work for you. Yeah. 175 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,279 Speaker 1: I always sit down with them and go go get 176 00:07:42,319 --> 00:07:45,199 a writing instrument, call it your own, give it a name, 177 00:07:45,439 --> 00:07:47,759 and after you've done writing your story, never use that 178 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,040 writing instrument again, because it belongs to that book. And 179 00:07:51,079 --> 00:07:51,439 that's the way. 180 00:07:51,439 --> 00:07:52,639 Speaker 2: I don't get it for your friends. 181 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:54,879 Speaker 1: And I do it that way with my mom blogs, 182 00:07:54,879 --> 00:07:56,279 I mean my last book. I mean, I have not 183 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:57,839 used that writing instrument ever since. 184 00:07:59,439 --> 00:08:02,079 Speaker 2: I feel like that way with locations. Like I wrote 185 00:08:02,319 --> 00:08:04,240 a book far from the Tree in the coffee house, 186 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,560 and after I finished the book, I never went back 187 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:08,240 to that coffee house. I just couldn't do it. I 188 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,800 felt like I had done it already. And then I 189 00:08:10,839 --> 00:08:13,439 wrote this book in my home office, which is a 190 00:08:13,439 --> 00:08:16,199 problem because I need to nextly somewhere else that live 191 00:08:16,199 --> 00:08:16,639 be't in my. 192 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: House though, yep, yeah, because it's too easy to walk 193 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:21,240 away it is. 194 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 2: It's oh, oh, the dog needs to go out of it. 195 00:08:24,439 --> 00:08:26,480 Oh there there's a spoon in this thing. I can't 196 00:08:26,519 --> 00:08:28,759 work with these kind of conditions, you know. And the 197 00:08:28,759 --> 00:08:31,600 next thing you know, you're organizing the spicetrawer and nothing 198 00:08:31,639 --> 00:08:32,120 gets done. 199 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:34,279 Speaker 1: So how did you get a softball team involved in 200 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:36,039 this storyline? When did that hit you? Was it in 201 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:36,759 the middle of the night. 202 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 2: No, I really wanted to write about this idea of 203 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:46,399 girls coming together under the under the guys they just 204 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,279 have this that a disorganized football team, but it's a 205 00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,559 way to keep them coming back together again and again 206 00:08:52,639 --> 00:08:56,519 outside of school. And a lot of it was based 207 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:58,879 on the idea of my mom. When she was growing 208 00:08:58,919 --> 00:09:01,759 up in the fifties. She was extremely athletic. She loved 209 00:09:01,799 --> 00:09:04,600 to play sports, and she couldn't because at that time, 210 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,320 in the nineteen fifties, girls weren't allowed to play sports. 211 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,000 There wasn't soccer teams, there wasn't volleyball for you know, 212 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,960 it didn't exist like that, and so she wasn't able 213 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,720 to play. And I always thought, like, she's had a 214 00:09:15,759 --> 00:09:18,600 wonderful life, and obviously she's had me. So I'm very 215 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,120 happy with the way things went. But you know, you 216 00:09:21,519 --> 00:09:23,960 can't help but think, well, what other opportunities could have 217 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,200 presented themselves. Scholarships called scholarships, you know, anything like that, 218 00:09:28,279 --> 00:09:30,879 the way that they were available to boys at that time. 219 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,720 And I just wanted to see girls, to be honest, 220 00:09:34,799 --> 00:09:37,840 not only playing and having the ability to play, but 221 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:40,759 not realizing how special that is or how rare that 222 00:09:40,799 --> 00:09:44,519 could be, No, not understanding that not everybody had that. 223 00:09:45,639 --> 00:09:49,039 Speaker 1: Wow, the Girls of Skylark Lane. That in itself should 224 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,559 inspire people to write stories about their own neighborhoods and communities. 225 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:56,559 Speaker 2: I would hope. So I think the more the better. 226 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,039 Speaker 1: Yeah, where can people go to find out more about 227 00:09:59,039 --> 00:10:00,519 all of your writing? Because I I want these middle 228 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,440 schoolers and adults to find your writing and give you some. 229 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,039 Speaker 2: So I the book comes out this week. You can 230 00:10:08,039 --> 00:10:10,840 find it at your local independent bookstore. Always a big 231 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,320 fan of my local indies. You can also find it 232 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,200 online wherever books are sold. Have you. 233 00:10:16,159 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: I'm probably going over the time limit here, but I 234 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,480 love going into those independent bookstores just to people watch. 235 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:26,720 It is the greatest experience because they're discovering things. Yeah, 236 00:10:26,759 --> 00:10:27,120 I love it. 237 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,799 Speaker 2: My local bookstore has a huge staff picks wall, and 238 00:10:31,879 --> 00:10:34,080 I'm always going in to read, like what is the 239 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:36,120 staff reading? Because I know it's going to be good. 240 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: You got to come back to this show anytime in 241 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:40,320 the future, Robin. The door is always going to be 242 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:40,879 open for you. 243 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,279 Speaker 2: Oh, thank you very very much. This has been a 244 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,159 wonderful conversation. I really appreciate it. 245 00:10:45,159 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: Will you be brilliant today? Okay, I will do my best. 246 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,080 Speaker 2: I make no promises, but I will do my best. 247 00:10:53,039 --> 00:10:54,279 Thank you, have a great day.