Local author turned bed rest into a career

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 10:15 a.m.

What: Robyn Carr booksigning.

When: 7 p.m. Thursday.

Where: Borders, 1445 W. Sunset Road, Henderson.

Cost: Free.

Information: Call 870-4914.

Robyn Carr makes her success as an author sound so simple that it may cause a frustrated writer to put a foot through a computer screen.

First, she got pregnant. That, of course, is not a requirement in becoming a writer, but while she was following her doctor's orders to lay around with her feet elevated, she began reading historic romance novels -- one a day.

Although she had never thought about writing a book -- "I was never an avid reader (in school) ... I just read what I had to read" -- she decided she could write a historic romance.

"It occurred to me if that if they were that much fun to read they might be fun to write," Carr said.

It took Carr about 18 months to write her first novel, "Chelynne" (Little, Brown & Co., 1980), which took place in England between 1660-1685.

Since then she has written 14 more novels and a book about writing, "Practical Tips for Writing Popular Fiction," (Writer's Digest Books, 1992).

Carr, who lives in Green Valley Ranch, will be at the Borders Books Music & Cafe in Henderson on Thursday to sign copies of her latest book, "Deep in the Valley" (Mira Books, $5.99), released earlier this month.

The book is the first of a series Carr plans to have take place in a small Northern California town. The main character is a 37-year-old woman doctor, but the town becomes a character also, Carr says. One of the book's main issues is spousal abuse.

The back story

Carr and her husband, Jim, moved to Henderson about two years ago from Phoenix, where he had been an executive with America West Airlines. He is now vice president of operations with National Airlines.

When the writing bug bit her in the early 1970s, they were living in Florida. He was a pilot in the Air Force.

"Vietnam was just wrapping up," Carr said. "He was gone a lot. Because of his military career I wasn't doing any other kind of work, just doing the military-wife stuff and having kids (a son and a daughter, now both grown).

"I really enjoyed the historical novels that were on the market at the time. There were some pretty darn good ones."

She was a "closet" writer in the beginning.

"I started writing in longhand, in secret," Carr said. "I didn't want anybody to laugh. In college, I had nurse's training for two years. That was the first work I did. I had no ambition to be a writer."

Carr learned she had a knack for the craft and revealed her newfound ambition to her husband.

"My husband was astonished," she said. "But instead of laughing, he was impressed, and kind of shocked. He thought it was kind of amazing."

He bought her a typewriter. "When he came home in the evenings, he used to say how nice it was that I had the children ready for bed so early, because they were already in their pajamas," Carr said. "And I'm thinking, they haven't even been out of their pajamas yet."

For most writers, finding a publisher for their first book is the most difficult part of the business. Carr found one almost immediately.

"Because I belonged to a writers' guild, there was a lot of shared information -- how to put together the manuscript, how to write a query letter -- and ... the names of agents and editors," she said.

The Carrs moved to California in 1979, leaving her manuscript with an agent. Six months later the agent sold the book to Little, Brown & Co.

"I knew so little about publishing at the time, I said, 'Little who?' " Carr said.

By the time her first novel sold, she was well into her second one, "The Blue Falcon" (Little, Brown & Co., 1981).

"It was really a lot of fun. I didn't know if I would ever make a nickle, but I got caught up in writing," she said. "It took my mind off the diapers."

Carr said she caught onto the formula of the historic romances immediately.

"You can sense a pattern ... they resemble each other quite a lot," she said. "There is always a young virgin. She is always involved with an older man who seems very sinister, but as time passes he becomes warmer and more loving. He remains strong -- he is rough in the beginning and hard to reach, but by the end he is her greatest protector."

Continuing saga

Carr spent 10 years writing historic romances before burning out.

"I finally had enough of the knights, and I did a multigenerational saga that received great reviews, but it only sold three copies," she said.

She then tried writing a suspense novel about a serial killer. "Mind Tryst" (St. Martin's Press, 1992) was a hit.

Kirkus Reviews, an online review site, said at the time of its release: "A lively departure for (the) historical novelist ... who returns with a competent psycho-mystery suspense novel. (It is) a solid debut for Carr into the psycho-thriller field, to which she should attract her historical-novel following."

"It sold everywhere," Carr said. "It sold in seven countries. There were two movie options (though both have lapsed).

"I tried to write another (suspense novel) right away, but nobody wanted it. They said it was not scary. They wanted to know where was that psychological tension that I had in 'Mind Tryst.' "

She decided to quit trying to be scary and to write for fun about contemporary people and issues.

"The House on Olive Street" (Mira Books, 1999) was one of her first ventures into the women's fiction genre. It is about five women writers who are lifelong friends. One dies and the others get together to finish her work in progress.

"It's not as much about writing as it is about the four surviving friends," Carr said.

Reviewer Claudia Terrones wrote that she is not a fan of the women's fiction genre, but she said she enjoyed "The House on Olive Street."

"Much to my shock, I was very pleasantly surprised," Terrones wrote. "I liked this book -- a lot ... While fiction, rather than romance, is still my 'thing,' I will make an exception in the case of author Carr, and will definitely check out her next book."

Carr's present publisher, Mira (a division of Harlequin), focuses on mainstream women's fiction. Carr likes the genre because she can delve into a lot of serious issues, and there is room for humor.

"It's hard to sell humor, but you can couch it in drama," she said.

Carr said Harlequin, the major publisher of romance novels, has about 30 different categories that are formulaic.

"The Harlequin-style category romances are shorter in length," she said. "There are 20 or 30 lines (of plots), each with specific requirements. There is an intimate moment line, a secret romance line ... category romances are big and there are so many titles in print."

She said she plans to alternate writing books in the "Valley" series with mainstream women's fiction, such as "The House on Olive Street."

The novel she is working on now is about a middle-aged bride, her adult daughter and elderly mother.

Carr said competition is fierce, but not among novelists individually.

"We can't really compete with one another. The competition is in getting a book published. There is an unbelievable number of people who want to write. I think I heard there are 65,000 new titles per year," she said.

There is also competition for shelf space in book stores and supermarkets.

"If you don't go (to the store) and get a book on the release date, it will disappear," she said. "The distributor brings the book in and puts it on the book shelves at the store. If there are four or five copies still there, he just removes them. He might give it two or three weeks. If all the copies are gone, he will replace them with four more, but you wonder where they all are six weeks later."

The Internet is taking away the concern about the shelf life of a book.

"I think it will revolutionize book sales," she said.

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