Interview with Eden Robins

• What’s your favorite thing you have written?

I’m a firm believer in second chances. Because of that, my favorite piece is my current release, Gold: Heart of a Warrior. This modern-day romantic romp into Greek mythology, the first in a series and the first book I’ve published in more than a decade, truly represents a second chance for me. The fact that the shero in this story, Dora Alexander, also embarks on her own second chance at life and love isn’t an accident.

• What’s your favorite thing that someone else has written?

Do I have to pick just one? 🙂 There are so many great works out there, so I’ll share one of my most current favorite reads. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George left me crying and laughing and wishing the story didn’t have to end. It’s about a literary apothecary who casts off his floating bookshop barge on the Siene to embark on an epic river journey that will finally bring him back to life, love, and himself.

• What are you working on writing now?

Since the release of Gold: Heart of a Warrior back in April, I’ve completed book two in the Gold series, entitled A Warrior’s Peace, and recently started the formal editing process. I’m excited to share Dora’s continuing journey with all of you! I’ve also begun work on a new story entitled A Dye So Red. It’s a contemporary romance with a sprinkling of magical realism and a spicy, dark dash of Little Red Riding Hood mixed in for fun. In addition, I’m brainstorming a nonfiction book about creativity as a lifeline. Tentatively entitled Ten Years in the Desert, it’s about my own journey with creativity as my companion and guide and what happened when I thought I lost it forever.

• Do you have a favorite food or drink that helps you write?

I drink lots of water and tea while writing. Being hydrated helps me stay focused. In the summer, I love refreshing green or lemon verbena iced teas. In the winter, I savor fragrant orange ginger or sweet apple cinnamon spiced teas or hot, frothy pumpkin spice lattes. Dark chocolate is a favorite snack that I like to keep close by. In the afternoon, when my mind may be wandering, or I’m feeling a bit distracted, the rich, intense flavor of dark chocolate melting on my tongue brings me right back to the here and now.

• What’s your favorite kind of music?

I have an eclectic taste in music. I love eighties music, current hits, classic rock, classical, light jazz, lo-fi, instrumental, blues and country. The music I listen to most is eighties music, current hits, lo-fi, and classic rock.

• Forest, country, beach, or city?

Honestly, it depends on what’s going on in my life, but if I had to pick, I’d choose forest and beach. I love the peaceful magic of the woods and savor the laid-back, indulgent relaxation of the beach.

• What movie can you watch over and over again?

Romancing the Stone. I love the movie’s laugh-out-loud humor, larger-than-life adventure, and heartwarming romance.

• What would you like people to know about being an Indie author? Like Uncle Ben tells Peter Parker in Spiderman,” With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” I feel a wonderful sense of empowerment and creative freedom as an indie author able to create stories true to my heart rather than following big pub’s expectations. Yet, there’s also a huge responsibility to promote and market my books that I wouldn’t carry so much of with a traditional publisher. Basically, this means I need to be open and willing to “wear different hats” as both a writer and my own publicist.

• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I honestly didn’t know. I rode horses when I was young and thought about doing that competitively for a while, but that didn’t pan out. I have always been creative but didn’t give that much thought beyond it being a “hobby”. I assumed I would figure out my “real job” once I took some college courses and felt something spark my interest. That’s not exactly the timeline of how things worked out, and the university degree I earned took me in a different direction for a while, but eventually, doing something (completing my first novel) did spark my passion and interest in profound ways that led to me becoming a writer.

• What does the writing process look like for you?

My book-writing process roughly goes as follows:

• Inspiration
• Getting that inspiration on paper
• Research
• Character development
• Determining goals, motivation, and conflict
• Putting together a basic plot outline
• Begin writing
• Once the first draft is complete, step away from the book for at least a week
• Go back and review, edit, and rewrite-then do it again until I feel the story is good to go
• Send it to Beta readers for feedback
• More edits and rewrites
• Once polished, create a synopsis and blurb for the query letter and submit

During the book writing process, I try to do the following:

• Commit to writing Monday-Friday
• Don’t set limits or minimums on my writing; just write each day
• Let the creative experience be joyful, wild, and a bit playful
• Savor the process by thinking of my book as a magnificent piece of art I’m carefully and thoughtfully sculpting.
• Keep in mind that I’m making magic as I weave together people’s stories and lives
• Remember that the blank page contains the story waiting just for me to write it
• Remind myself often that I’m on a very personal artistic journey, one that will not be like another artist’s journey, nor should it be

• Do you have a blog, and what content do you post?

As the founder of A Wholehearted ME, a movement dedicated to deepening self-awareness and creative, authentic living, I developed a blog called Living the Path. It’s about my exploration of wholehearted living and the many twists and turns I find along the way. My more than twenty-year journey of creative exploration, self-development, and growing awareness led me to start an effort dedicated to coming home to the creative self and the powerful possibilities in discovering who and how one can choose to be in the world.

• Where do you get inspiration?

Great question! The simple answer is life. I get my inspiration from living day by day. Places I go, people I meet, conversations I have, movies I watch, songs I hear. These all provide constant fodder for my creativity. Meditation is also a wonderful way for me to connect with my creative self and get inspired. It’s often through emptying my mind during a mediative state that new ideas come together.

• What about writing do you enjoy the most?

I love the excitement of discovering a story to tell and the pleasure and satisfaction I feel when the pieces of the worlds and people I’ve built come together in a way that resonates. As the words I type morph into people’s lives, I fall in love with my characters and their stories and become emotionally invested in writing the best, most authentic tale I can for them. I enjoy the emotional journey this takes me on again and again.

• What is the most challenging part of writing for you?

The editing process. It’s sort of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I want my story to be the very best it can be, and I know that working collaboratively with my Beta readers and editors as we deepen and polish my story will manifest into a novel that I’m super excited for people to read. On the other hand, I still struggle sometimes with letting go of “my baby” (my book) and welcoming the input and help I need.

•  How have you grown as a writer?

I started writing back in the late 1990s and had several of my books, short stories, and articles published over the next twelve years. Due to some personal challenges, I stopped writing, and that “creative pause” lasted for about a decade. This was a difficult period of evolution and deepening for me. It was also an incredibly frightening time as I considered the possibility that I had lost my ability to create. Eventually, through a process of self-awareness, education, and growth, my creative flame returned to me, and after more than ten years of having none of my work published, my novel, Heart of A Warrior, was acquired and then released through Champagne Book Group. Through that time spent in creative limbo, I learned so much more about myself and my craft. I found a writing mentor and deepened my skills. I grew to understand that the stories I write are and will always be pieces of my heart and an integral part of me. Because of that realization, I’ve developed a commitment to creating and sharing the kind of writing that offers people moments of joy, peace, love, promise, and, of course, hope.

I hope you’ll dive into my latest novel, Gold: Heart of a Warrior, a modern-day shero’s journey into Greek mythology…

Dora Alexander never asked to be Pandora reborn. Reincarnated from the woman responsible for releasing misery and woe into the world? WTH? Dora’s goal as an empathic healer is to help people, not hurt them. Opening The Healing Garden wellness center was her plan to do just that. But as they say, when a woman plans, the Gods laugh. Boy, were they laughing.

Eden Robins believes in second chances. She’s been lucky enough to have a few in her life and knows there’s magic in seizing the moment to try again. As a mentor and founder of A Wholehearted ME, her heart’s purpose is to guide people into living at their full, innate, creative potential. As a writer, Eden’s heart leads her to inspire joy, love, and hope in her readers through her tales. Creating stories about people courageously living, loving, and experiencing life true to themselves, no matter how messy it gets, are the ones she wants to write and will keep writing for you…and for her. Connect with Eden at https://linktr.ee/edenrobins and check out her blog, Living the Path, at https://awholeheartedme.com/blog.