Sandra Robbins Interview

Q: How long have you been writing and what other careers or jobs have you had?

A: I was a teacher and then a principal in the public schools for years before I decided to pursue my lifelong dream of being a writer. I love connecting with my former students, their parents, and other teachers, but I’m so happy being able to do something that had been a secret desire of mine all my life.

Q: Do you write in only one genre and if so which one and why? If not, which ones and why?

A: When I started writing, I intended to write historical romance, and that’s what my first books were. My Smoky Mountain Dreams series is one of my favorites because I loved telling the story of what happened to the people in Cades Cove. However, at the time I started writing, publishers were cutting back on historical romance, and I wrote a romantic suspense story that had been in my mind for quite a while. It sold right off to Love Inspired Suspense, and I have been writing suspense ever since. I suppose it’s all those Nancy Drew books I read growing up that led me to write that first book. Now I write romantic suspense all the time, although I still have a historical romance that I would really like to see published.

Q: How does your faith play into your writing?

A: My faith is the basis for my writing. Ever since I began to write it has been my prayer that God would take the words He gives me and send them out into the world like the seeds that blow from the dandelion. I don’t know where they’ll go, but I pray they’ll find some fertile soil in some reader’s heart.

Q: How do you choose your settings for your books?

A: All my books are set in the South. I feel comfortable doing that since I’ve lived in this part of the country all my life and have traveled throughout. I love the Smoky Mountains, so many of my books are set in the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. I’ve also set some in Memphis where I lived for a while. I wrote a series for Love Inspired Suspense a few years ago that was set on Ocracoke Island after going there on vacation. Two of the books in that series won Holt Awards from the Virginia Romance Writers of America.

Q: Do you base your characters on people you know or are they totally made up?

A: My characters are made up. However, I take characteristics I see in different people and infuse them into my characters. When doing research, I try to search out experts in whatever I’m writing about to help me understand the characters better. For instance, Hunted is the story of a former military sniper, and I was able to spend an afternoon talking with a man who’d done that in the army. He gave me an insight into how a sniper thinks and what that life is like.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release Hunted?

A: After over one hundred documented missions as Gray Feather, the elusive military sniper, Colt Hanson is trying to put his former life behind him. However, a mission he carried out in Africa against the rebel leader of The Leopard Army still haunts his dreams because the shot that ended the life of the sadistic killer also brought about the failure of his marriage. Now after five years, members of The Leopard Army have come to America seeking vengeance on Colt for killing their leader. But they also have targeted Colt’s estranged wife Sloan, and the two find themselves thrown together again as they become the prey of a vicious hunter in a cross country journey. Can they put their differences aside and work together as they try to elude those who have vowed they will not stop until Gray Feather and his woman are both dead?

Q: Where did you get your inspiration for this story?

A: This book is the second one in my Firebrand series. After reading about how the government hired special groups to support the soldiers in Iraq, I began to wonder how men who’d served in such capacities adjusted to life once they were back in the states and how it affected their families. From there the idea for this series was born.

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

A: One thing I hope readers remember is that we should never take our freedom for granted. There are many men and women who put their lives on the line every day to offer us peace and security, and we should always be mindful of that.

Q: Tell us what you like about the main characters of this book.

A: Colt Hanson is a good man who is troubled by the number of missions he’s carried out. It’s only because of his faith that he’s been able to survive that guilt and his sorrow over the loss of his wife. His estranged wife Sloan is a dedicated nurse who has a heart for helping people. Their journey back to the love they once knew is an emotional one filled with danger.

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

A: I am finishing up Betrayed, the third book in the Firebrand series, and I am working on the third book in my four book Smoky Mountains Secrets Series for Love Inspired Suspense. The first one in this series, In a Killer’s Sights, releases in July, and Stalking Season releases in December.

Q: If money were no object what vacation would you like to take and why?

A: I would like to rent a villa, or buy one, in Tuscany and stay there for months and months until I was ready to come home.

Q: What is the silliest thing you have ever done?

A: I had to think about this question. Although I have what I think is a great sense of humor, I tend not to do silly things. However, one comes to mind. I once bid on an item at an auction only to discover once I’d won it that I thought we were bidding on something else. I’m not sure if that was silly or just dumb.

Q: What is the hardest thing you have ever done?

A: The hardest thing I’ve ever done is coming to grips with the fact that both my parents have passed away. It’s a very lonely feeling to realize the people you’ve depended on most during your lifetime are no longer there. I miss talking to them so much.

Q: Where can readers find you on the internet?

A: Readers can find me on my website at http://sandrarobbins.net, connect with me on Facebook and Twitter or email me at sandra@sandrarobbins.net

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

A: Hunted is the second book in my Firebrand series. Look for the novella Igniting the Flame, Targeted (book 1), and Betrayed (book 3).