Robyn Carr
http://www.robyncarr.com
Because I published my first novel at the age of
twenty-seven, it might seem as though I fulfilled a
childhood ambition, or at least pursued a career I prepared
for in college, but neither was the case. I was an average
high school student with greater interest in cheerleading
and boys than academics and for a college endeavor I chose
nursing. But then I come from the tip of the baby boomer
generation; our mothers were usually more concerned with
whether we'd get married than whether we'd have successful
careers. Many of us chose from the Big Three - nurses,
teachers, and secretaries.
Writing for me came later, but not much later.
I married my high school sweetheart four short weeks before
he left for Officer's Training School in the Air Force. It
was the peak of the Vietnam War and he had been assigned to
pilot a helicopter. As soon as I could, I followed him from
base to base where I was kept busy with wives' activities
while he either worked long hours or traveled. And this is
where it all really began for me - because of the
instability of our lives, I didn't work in nursing. But
nothing bridges the gap between loneliness and worry like a
good book. Then came the children, or maybe I should say the
pregnancies. Miserable and big as an ox, I was instructed to
stay down and keep my feet up. My neighbor brought me ten
paperbacks a week; I was reading more than one a day. With
ankles the size of a normal woman's thighs, I spent my
afternoons with Kathryn Swynford and John of Gaunt....with
Heather and Brandon Birmingham....with Elizabeth, The King's
Gray Mare. Nothing short of labor pains could snap me out of
it!
I cut my teeth on Anya Seton, Kathleen Woodiweiss, Rosemary
Hawley Jarmen. It made perfect sense that when I applied my
own imagination to the blank page, it would be in the genre
of Historical Romance. This was before the days of RWA;
there was no available training program. In fact, the first
conference I ever attended for writing contained no workshop
on romance writing and the novelist who critiqued my
manuscript boldly told me to go home and find something to
do for which I had talent. That manuscript was sold to
Little, Brown and Co. two years later, published in
hardcover and titled Chelynne.
I spent the first decade and a half of my writing career on
romance, historical and contemporary. Then, needing a
change, I wrote a suspense novel, a non-fiction, and several
brilliant but as yet unsold screenplays. I wrote articles
and even short stories, jumping all over the place, not
really aware that I was working on reinventing myself,
redesigning my craft. During the course of this transition,
which was by no means short, I had a great piece of good
luck. I went to San Diego State University to teach a novel
writing workshop and met a woman who was the editorial
director for a publisher who focused on women's fiction. The
range in this genre is remarkably broad - from pure romance
to adventure to political intrigue to girlfriend books to
small town fiction.
This was a good place for me to develop my own brand of
women's fiction, a style that most closely resembles my take
on real life. I want to laugh through a book, but I don't
want a book that's a big laugh - and that's a tall order. As
a reader I want to have a genuinely good time, but not a
joke. I want real women's issues, real humor, and real teeth
in the story. This is a genre with lots of room for growth.
In the meantime, with all this writing and reinventing going
on, I was raising a family. My son and daughter are adults
now, reading my fiction and making snide remarks about how I
have used family scenarios to my advantage.
The greatest compliment I have ever received came from one
of my readers who labeled me "a woman's woman." She told me
I wrote as knowingly about being single as being married,
about being old as young, about the happily married and
someone suffering from spousal abuse. In short - my goal
achieved according to one reader - I can cover all women's
concerns. And my women laugh as often as they cry.
I've found my new home.
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Books
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Redwood Bend
(A Virgin River Novel #18)
February 28, 2012
CAN CHANGING
A TIRE CHANGE YOUR LIFE?
Katie Malone and her twin boys’ trip along the
beautiful mountain roads to Virgin River is stopped short by
a tire as flat as her failed romance. Read more...
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Hidden Summit
(A Virgin River Novel #17)
December 27, 2011
ROMANCE UNDER CONSTRUCTION...
Sick of running into her cheery ex-husband and his new wife,
Leslie Petruso accepts a job at the Virgin River branch of
Haggerty Construction and takes the high road right Read more...
Bring Me Home for Christmas
(A Virgin River Novel #16)
October 25, 2011
New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr
brings you home to Virgin River in a Christmas story about
reuniting with the one person you just can’t forget...
This year, Becca Timm knows the Read more...
Harvest Moon
(A Virgin River Novel #13)
February 22, 2011
THE RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS: MAKING IT UP AS YOU GO ALONG
Rising sous-chef Kelly Matlock’s sudden collapse at
work is a wake-up call. Disillusioned and burned out,
she’s retreated to her Read more...
Wild Man Creek
(A Virgin River Novel #12)
January 25, 2011
SOMETIMES LOVE TAKES ROOT IN UNEXPECTED PLACES—IF
YOU’LL ONLY LET IT GROW
Colin Riordan came to Virgin River to recuperate from a
horrific helicopter crash, the scars of which he bears
inside and out. Read more...
Promise Canyon
(A Virgin River Novel #11)
December 28, 2010
THERE’S AN OLD SAYING:
WHENEVER ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER ONE OPENS.
THAT’S TRUER OF VIRGIN RIVER THAN ALMOST ANYWHERE ELSE
ON EARTH.
After years spent on ranches around Los Angeles, Clay Tahoma
is delighted to Read more...
Midnight Kiss
October 26, 2010
Three stories of hope, enchantment and
romance—including an exclusive Virgin River novella
from New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling
author Robyn Carr
These are New Year’s resolutions worth keeping!
Take a risk.
At Read more...
A Summer in Sonoma
June 29, 2010
They’ve been best friends since seventh grade. But
this summer, teetering on the threshold of thirty, four
women are going to need each other more than ever.
CASSIE has sworn off romance Read more...
The House on Olive Street
May 25, 2010
Elly, Sable, Barbara Ann and Beth. They have been drawn
together by the sudden death of their friend Gabby—and
the favor she has asked of them. For these four women,
whose Read more...
Virgin River
(A Virgin River Novel #1)
April 27, 2010
WANTED: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River,
population six hundred. Make a difference against a
backdrop of towering California redwoods and crystal-clear
rivers. Rent-free cabin included.
When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees Read more...
Shelter Mountain
(A Virgin River Novel #2)
April 27, 2010
For the second time in a year a woman arrives in the
small town of Virgin River trying to escape the past
John “Preacher” Middleton is about to close the
bar when a Read more...
More Than Words, Volume 6
April 1, 2010
Presenting...the sixth annual More Than Words
anthology.
Little by little, one person at a time, we can make our
world a better place. The five dedicated women selected as
this year’s recipients of Harlequin’s Read more...
Second Chance Pass
(A Virgin River Novel #5)
April 1, 2010
In the space of a few months Vanessa buried her husband,
Matt, and gave birth to their son—breaking her heart
while filling it with a whole new kind of love. But the Read more...
Moonlight Road
(A Virgin River Novel #10)
February 23, 2010
With her beloved younger siblings settled and happy, Erin
Foley has got empty nest syndrome. At age thirty-five.
So she’s hitting the pause button on her life and
holing up in a secluded Read more...
Angel's Peak
(A Virgin River Novel #8)
January 26, 2010
Four years ago, Air Force sweethearts Franci Duncan and
Sean Riordan reached an impasse. She wanted marriage and a
family, he didn’t. But a chance meeting proves that
the bitter breakup Read more...
Forbidden Falls
(A Virgin River Novel #8)
December 29, 2009
Reverend Noah Kincaid moved to Virgin River to re-open an
abandoned
church he bought on eBay. Like Noah, the place
is a little empty inside and
needs some loving care.
The young widower Read more...
That Holiday Feeling
September 29, 2009
Celebrate Christmas with three stories from your favorite
authors.
Under the Christmas Tree by Robyn Carr
When the folks of Virgin River discover a box of adorable
puppies under the town’s Christmas tree they Read more...
Paradise Valley
(A Virgin River Novel #7)
April 1, 2009
The moving story about survival, forgiveness — and
the power of love to heal a wounded spirit.
Marine corporal Rick Sudder is home early from Iraq —
his tour ended abruptly on the Read more...
Temptation Ridge
(A Virgin River Novel #6)
February 24, 2009
Shelby MacIntyre has big plans — plans that
include finding Mr. Right. Her dream man will have a
clean-shaven jaw, creases in his pants and hopefully an
advanced degree. What she Read more...
Second Chance Pass
(A Virgin River Novel #5)
February 1, 2009
The community of Virgin River saw Vanessa Rutledge
through her darkest days — now she's looking to a
bright future.
In the space of a few months Vanessa buried her husband,
Matt, and gave Read more...
A Virgin River Christmas
(A Virgin River Novel #4)
November 1, 2008
Last Christmas, Marcie Sullivan said a final goodbye to
her husband Bobby. This Christmas she's come to Virgin
River to find the man who saved his life and gave her three
more Read more...
A Virgin River Christmas
November 1, 2008
Last Christmas, Marcie Sullivan said a final goodbye to
her husband Bobby. This Christmas she's come to Virgin
River to find the man who saved his life and gave her three
more Read more...
Just Over The Mountain
(Book 2 in the Grace Valley Trilogy)
August 1, 2008
Welcome back to Grace Valley, California, where the
best things in life never change...
Here in this peaceful community, folks look out for one
another like family, though sometimes a little too well. Read more...
Deep In The Valley
(Book 1 in the Grace Valley Trilogy)
August 1, 2008
Welcome to Grace Valley, California—where blood
runs thicker...ties are stronger...and love is all the more
sweet.
Visitors to the town often remark about the valley's peace
and beauty—both of which are plentiful. Unlocked doors,
front Read more...
Down By The River
(Book 3 in the Grace Valley Trilogy)
August 1, 2008
Return with critically acclaimed author Robyn Carr to the
fictional town of Grace Valley, California—where
neighbors are like family—and just as meddlesome, too.
When the town's single doctor becomes pregnant, the pastor
starts playing Read more...
Whispering Rock
(Virgin River #3)
June 1, 2007
The tightly knit community of virgin river has been a
safe haven for more than a few lost souls over the
years—and there's always room for one more...
A decorated U.S. Marine reservist, Read more...
Shelter Mountain
(Virgin River #2)
May 1, 2007
For the second time in a year a woman arrives in the
small town of Virgin River trying to escape the past
John "Preacher" Middleton is about to close the bar when Read more...
Virgin River
(Virgin River #1)
April 1, 2007
WANTED: Midwife/nurse practitioner in Virgin River,
population six hundred. Make a difference against a
backdrop of towering california redwoods and crystal-clear
rivers. Rent-free cabin included.
When the recently widowed Melinda Monroe sees Read more...
Never Too Late
May 1, 2006
Three seconds is all it takes to turn a whole life
around
And if anybody knows about bouncing back after disaster,
it's fortysomething Clare Wilson. She's had it with being
married to a Read more...
Runaway Mistress
May 1, 2005
Not much can go wrong when you're traveling first-class with
your fabulously wealthy boyfriend—until you find his
wife's body in your hotel suite.
Convinced she's next on Nick Noble's hit list, Jennifer
Chaise takes Read more...
Blue Skies
May 1, 2004
Nikki Burgess has survived a terrible marriage and an even
worse divorce. And she's just about given up hope of ever
finding love and happiness. But when her ex-husband
suddenly Read more...
Down By The River
(Grace Valley series #3)
June 1, 2003
June Hudson is the town's doctor, a caring, capable woman
who now has a bit of explaining to do. People are beginning
to notice the bloom in her cheeks--and the Read more...
Just Over The Mountain
August 1, 2002
Welcome back to Grace Valley, California, where the best
things in life never change...
Here in this peaceful community, folks look out for one
another like family, though sometimes a little Read more...
The Wedding Party
October 1, 2001
Deep In the Valley
September 1, 2000
Welcome to Grace Valley, California - where blood runs
thicker, ties bind stronger and love is all the more
sweet.
Visitors to the town often remark about the valley's peace Read more...
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