Robin Caroll Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.  

A. I love boxing. I love Hallmark movies. I love fishing. I love scrapbooking. I love serving as Executive and Conference Director for ACFW. My husband and I have 3 beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

A. Wow. I’ve always wrote. In journals, essays in elementary school….I guess I’d say I’d always wanted to write.

Q: Could you give us the highlights of your professional writing career including how you got your first writing break?  

A. I joined ACFW and was so hyped to find out one of my favorite authors, Colleen Coble, was a member. We began emailing and she took an interest in my writing. With her mentorship, she helped me learn about the craft, study the industry, and helped me brainstorm the story that actually ended up being my first novel published.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Strand of Deception?  I know authors aren’t supposed to have favorite books of ours, but I can’t help that I love this book.  Here’s the blurb: When Gina Ford, the daughter of a prominent Tennessee politician, goes missing from the University of Memphis a week after another girl was murdered on the same campus, police call in the FBI. Nick Hagar, married to his job as Special Agent in Charge, is assigned to the case, and when Gina’s body is found, her father demands justice.

Maddie Baxter is the forensic expert running DNA tests from the crime scene. When they come back without a match, Nick asks her to do a familial DNA run that yields a shocking result: the prime suspect is Adam Alexander, the very same guy who broke Maddie’s heart when she was in college.

But do scientific advancements tell the whole story? Strand of Deception offers romance, suspense, and a lively debate about the impact of DNA testing, for better or worse, on the United States justice system.

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for Strand of Deception?

A:  I’d actually read an article in TIME magazine regarding familial DNA and that got me curious. I began researching and in the end, my endless “what if” questions formed the plot to Strand of Deception.

Q: What is the main thing you hope readers remember from this story?

A: That things are not always what they seem, and sometimes, just sometimes, we have to look past the obvious to see the truth.

Q: What is your favorite scene/chapter from the book?

A:  LOL…end of chapter six, beginning of chapter seven. As a writer, there are just certain times that you write something specific, something not planned but grew organically from the characters, that you write and go “yeah! Like that.” End of chapter 6 and beginning of chapter 7 made me feel that way immediately as I wrote it. lol

Q: What inspires you to write?  

A. What doesn’t inspire me? LOL I get inspiration from my family, my faith, my community…but sometimes, it’s not as much fun to sit in the chair and put in the hours. Then, the story and characters have to inspire me.

Q: How has being a published novelist differed from your expectations of the profession?  

A: It’s much HARDER than I thought. I’d thought that once I actually “broke in to the industry” and got my first book published, it’d get easier. (STOP LAUGHING) lol. It’s not. It gets harder. Yet, I wouldn’t trade it for any other profession.l

Q: What advice or tips do you have for writers who are just getting started?

A: Study the craft and hone your skill. Find the process that works best for you to get your best stuff out there.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?  

A. I’m working on the first book of a series of 4 for Zonderkidz. LOVING writing mysteries remnant of Trixie Belden/Nancy Drew for the kids of this modern world.

Q: When you’re not writing what do you like to do?  

A. Read, watch movies, and scrapbook

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet? 

A. www.robincaroll.com and www.facebook.com/author.robincaroll

Q: Anything else you’d like to tell or share with us?  

A. Thank you so much for hosting me. I love dropping in to visit like this. Also, if readers would like their name entered in my drawing for a free prize, they only have to visit my webpage and sign up for my newsletters.