Brooke E. Wayne: Romance with a Kiss of Humor

Author Interview: Robin Woods’ New Release!

Robin Woods Has a New Release!

So you’re probably wondering where I’ve been for a while…. Let’s just say life got away from me, and familial responsibilities usurped time, and stress robbed me of talent. But I’m back! Long story short, RIP dad, mom’s loving life with us, and, yes, we have five cats now!

Without further adieu, I have an announcement to make, except I just made it a couple of times already. Three times’ a charm, though, right?! My longtime friend and colleague, Robin Woods, has a new release, and it’s a treasure! Do you like retellings? How about a fairy tale gone grown-up? Beauty and the Beast has never been so tumultuous and sultry! This new novel of Robin’s explores a Vikings spin on the classic. Yes, you heard me! Take some romantic heat, blend in some action, paint a landscape of fantastic, craggy shores, and go on this sultry journey with Brandr and Saxa in STORM AND SOLACE. In classic Q & A style, I have interviewed Robin on this new release that hit the ground running on Amazon’s Vella first. Say, what? Read on…

Author Interview

What is Amazon’s Vella, and why start there?

Kindle Vella is Amazon’s newer platform and is a way for authors to release stories in serial form (that’s one chapter at a time). It also allows writers to include commentary and polls at the end of each episode/chapter. Readers get to preview the first few episodes for free.

This platform has been wildly beneficial for some authors and is definitely something to try. I enjoyed the experience with my latest release and managed to be crowned as a top fave for over a month!

Once your novel is complete, you need to wait a month, then you can publish it as a completed work on KDP (and elsewhere). I went ahead and left my story on Kindle Vella. So, you can still check it out and read the first chapters for free.

What is your new novel about?

My new novel is called Storm and Solace: A Beauty & the Beast Retelling. It is a fairy tale retelling mashup. The beast is a woman (a cursed Norse goddess) and the beauty is a man. Everything is set in the Viking age where gods still roam the earth and anything is possible.

Official Book Description:

In this Beauty & The Beast role-swapping mashup, Saxa is stripped of her powers and cursed by her two sisters. She has twelve weeks to change her ways or lose everything—including her life.

Brandr, shipwrecked after a terrible storm, is swept into the world of gods and goddesses. When he trades his life for his brother’s, he sentences himself to a world he knows nothing about.

When their paths collide, nothing is as it seems. Who will survive this game of immortals?

What inspired you to choose Beauty and the Beast for your retelling?

I’ve always loved fairy tales and the thought of a role-reversal intrigued me. I started and stopped the project for many years. When it finally clicked, I wrote it quickly. I began posting on Kindle Vella after I had a complete outline and five completed (and professionally edited) chapters finished.

It was inspiring to have people following me as I wrote. It kept me at a two to three completed chapters per week rate. Next time, I think I will have ten completed chapters first to give me a little more time if something goes sideways.

What does a writerly day in the life of Author Robin Woods look like?

7:00 AM: Up with coffee, saying goodbye to the kids, social media maintenance

8:00 AM: Work on a writing project 

10:00 AM: Do something physical for my body and to clear my head

11:00 AM: Back to writing projects coupled with graphic design

3:00 PM:  Off to pick up the kiddos and be present for the family

8:00 PM: Finish up loose ends and write my to-do list for the next day

What is on the horizon?

I’m working on three projects currently. The first is another book for my Prompt Series.

The new workbook is specifically for kids. There will be lots of animals (as requested by many fans) and prompts that will help grow self-esteem, as well as, their writing skills. 

The second is another fairy tale retelling using the Snow Queen. I have super exciting things planned.

The third is still a secret. Mu ah ah ha. If you would like to be the first to know about new releases, get a free urban fantasy book, AND get access to my Writer’s Tool Kit, you can join my very sporadic newsletter on my website.

And That’s A Wrap!

It’s been a pleasure learning more about your latest release, Robin! Kindle Vella sounds amazing, and what an intriguing way to have access to stories in the making! If you don’t Follow Robin on Amazon, you should do that right now! It’s like being in a secret club! I see on Amazon that you have the novel in eBook, Paperback, and Hard Cover, too! What are you waiting for, peeps? Time to snag this retelling and settle in for a wild ride! Robin, I wish you all the best with this new release! Thank you all for joining me for this author interview! Until next time…

AUTHOR ROBIN WOODS:

Robin Woods is a former high school and university instructor with two and a half decades of experience teaching English, literature, and writing. She earned a BA in English and an MA in Education.

In addition to teaching, she has published six highly-rated novels, and an award-winning creative writing workbook series, and has multiple projects in the works.

When Ms. Woods isn’t chasing her two school kids around, she’s spending time with her ever-patient husband.

https://www.robinwoodsfiction.com

ALL SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: CLICK HERE!

Brooke E. Wayne: Romance with a Kiss of Humor

Prompt Me: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition (Review)

Prompt Me: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition by Robin Woods

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Robin Woods has done it again with another fabulous Prompt Me workbook! The Sci-Fi & Fantasy prompts in this new addition to the series appeal to a niche that works well for the adventurous-minded creative writer of any age!

It’s full of lots of attractive, thought-provoking pictures, a bucket-load of writing tools, fascinating prompts in multiple points-of-view, and, as always, there is plenty of room to write all of those plot bunnies down!

Check Robin Woods out on Amazon or at https://robinwoodsfiction.com

Her website includes all kinds of writerly tools, tips, printable worksheets, and links to all of her publications. She even has exclusive ‘Extras’ for many of her novels!

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Robin Woods is the YA/NA Author of the Watchers Series, a series that weaves romance, mystery, and suspense into an urban fantasy adventure packed full of salacious vampires. She also pens workbooks for the aspiring author.

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Prompt Me and Prompt Me More, as well as her Fiction Writing Journal & Workbook, are practical workbooks that equip the eager author in anyone, young or old, with the tools necessary to bring a story idea to life. If you’re a teacher, these workbooks are filled with wonderful, thought-provoking prompts that can be used as creative writing starters and bell-work writing sprints.

Be sure to check out her latest edition, Prompt Me: Sci-Fi & Fantasy.

Brooke E. Wayne: Romance with a Kiss of Humor

The Kind of Surprise you Love!

Here I am minding my business, going about my day, nice and lazy, just the way I like my weekends, and wham, I finally get around to picking up the mail, and, wouldn’t you know, I had a surprise awaiting me.

Prompt Me More! by Robin Woods doesn’t even go on sale on Amazon until Tuesday, March 21st. Lucky me!

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I’m one of those writers who cracks open the laptop every day. Whether I’m writing, mulling over something I’ve already written, character building, plotting, or scouting out a location in a far away land I’ll never actually get to visit but damned if I don’t plan on plopping a character down in the middle of at some point in one of my rom-coms, I am always doing something writerly, no matter what. Getting a new prompt booklet to expand on my thoughts is just what I needed to keep my mind running in guided directions instead of all over the place as I’m currently plotting out a whole series. You know those little lines or even whole scenes that creep up on you out of nowhere and fit perfectly into a seamless plot inspired by a random moment in your day … I just got handed a 176-page resource that does nothing but inspires and prods at my creativity without having to hunt for it. Sweeet!

So, when my fellow author friend extraordinaire shares the wealth on her latest publication, I’m all grabby hands about it, because … FREE (but, for you, it’s an affordable $9.99!), and, let’s face it, blank pages and blinky cursors are fine and all if you’re into that sort of tabula rasa feel, but, if you like to jumpstart your writing with a prompt, my friend has what you need. Seriously. You need this. You just have to wait a couple days. Then snag one for yourself or someone you know. Just do it. Do it. Do it.

If you haven’t checked out Robin Woods yet, you’re really missing out. First, she’s a young adult author who entangles fallen angels and vampires with the mundane world to create a magical place where there are no ‘normal’ days for the characters going about their own business in her Watcher Series. Secondly, she also pens workbooks for the writers in all of us. Prompt Me More! is her second installment filled with picture prompts and various creative juice starters, such as first and third person one-liners and dialogue prompts for fiction writing, as well as, self-discovery and interest prompts that are meant to spark a non-fiction piece. Oh, the endless possibilities!

If you write and love that hand’s on feel of pen on paper, the workbook is set up to write directly into it. If you prefer to type, then have it nearby your keyboard. Also, if you’re a teacher, your daily/weekly writing prompts are taken care of as they’re all classroom friendly. So much goodness!

With graduation just around the corner, this workbook makes a perfect gift for that young man or woman who loves to journal and enjoys a challenging prompt to spin a story around. I personally like to use Robin Woods’ workbooks to keep myself accountable to writing every day. But, enough about me, how do you plan on using your Prompt Me More! booklet?