Robin W. Pearson
I wrote my “debut novel”, technically, in the third grade with my best friend, Beth. My protagonist loved butter pecan ice cream (coincidentally). Early in my career, I wrote and edited for a school publisher, and then I produced articles related to parenting and homeschooling. After I had my first child, I was inspired to preserve our family history and memories, leading to my first novel, A Long Time Comin’.
I’ve loved reading books by Liane Moriarty and Bebe Moore Campbell, contemporary authors in the general market. Moriarty does an excellent job of portraying interpersonal relationships and conveying those subtle nuances that make a good story. While her settings are unfamiliar to me, she picks me up, plops me into the middle of her story, and makes me feel right at home. Yet she keeps me guessing until the end. I also invite my readers to come along on a four-hundred-page journey in my novels. They may not know where they’re going, but I try to make them comfortable, so they’ll enjoy themselves and hang on until the end.
And Campbell, is one of the first Black authors I read years ago. She was a phenomenal writer whose novels weave together the lives and backgrounds of all kinds of people. She used dialogue and lyrical writing to bring her characters to life, showing how their decisions and histories impact others. Her writing is lyrical and beautiful and blends elements of both literary and women’s fiction. I also consider my novels upmarket fiction, and my stories illustrate how our pasts can shape us and our relationships. As a faith-based writer, however, I show how God’s love transforms us and connects us to the world.
I've been asked what I look for when choosing a setting for my book. So far, I’ve set my books in fictional North Carolina towns because I enjoy writing what I know and where I know. While I try to put my characters in a type of “Anywhereville,” hoping that my readers also can see themselves there, I situate these towns near actual locations so there’s a real sense of place.
My research for my characters in Walking in Tall Weeds worked with furniture and interior design, which gave me the opportunity to explore two of my own interests. I enjoyed interviewing industry experts in Thomasville and High Point, North Carolina, and researching furniture making. A character in the book I’m currently working on is a jewelry maker, so I’m learning a lot about gemstones. I’m also talking to professionals who design and sell their own pieces to find out about their training.
Many books correlate love and romance with the young, but my latest, Walking in Tall Weeds, centers around a mature married couple who is still passionate about each other. They haven’t made their relationship a priority, nor have they addressed all the “baggage” they’re still traveling with after more than thirty years together.
I hope that when readers finish Walking in Tall Weeds, they will feel challenged to examine their heart and motivations and ask themselves hard questions such as “Have I chosen love and forgiveness over bitterness? Can others tell who and what I believe by what I say and do?” I want them to walk away feeling inspired to share this book because these characters and their story are a mirror, they can use to see themselves.
We are thrilled to have Robin W. Pearson visiting today. Her new book, Walking in Tall Weeds, will be released July 19.
Congratulations Robin on this new book. I am looking forward to reading it.
I want to ask you what you do when you are writing and you get stumped?
If I’m having trouble making progress in a story, I start over from the beginning and reread. Editing helps me write new material and if necessary, go in a different direction altogether. I compare it to driving a car with a manual transmission: sometimes when you’re on a hill, you back up and then move forward.
Did you choose your genre, or do you feel it choose you?
I suppose I chose my genre when I ate my first helping of collard greens on a Sunday afternoon. My faith and my Southern culture shape my thoughts, my relationships, my parenting—how I see the world in general—so they certainly affect my writing.
Did you feel you had to make sacrifices to be a writer?
When my seven little people were younger, I regularly sacrificed sleep. I have several full-time roles, including parenting and homeschooling, so my daylight hours were full of caring for my family, teaching, and running my peeps around to various and sundry places. Actually, not much has changed!
I am sure like most authors you have been given writing advice. What is the best writing advice you have received so far?
Write daily. It’s like drinking water and exercising regularly. When I skip days working on my book, my creativity dries up and my connection to the story weakens; I lack the stamina and the will to write. Also, I have to spend valuable time reacquainting myself with my characters rather than making progress.
What advice have you been given you thought was bad?
Quit. When it seemed to take me forever to connect with a publisher for my first novel, A Long Time Comin’, a friend suggested that perhaps it wasn’t “meant to be.” I considered that idea for a hot second and prayed about it and realized that wait doesn’t mean no.
Between plotting, character development, dialogue, and scenes, which is easiest for you, and which takes a lot of effort?
Developing characters comes more naturally to me. I write what I hear and see, and as a mama of seven who spends lots of time with extended family and friends, I hear and see a lot. Plotting takes more time to develop. I’m a pantser by nature, so I often flesh out the story as I write. I’ll discover the “why” a hundred pages in and have to edit to make sure all the dots connect.
Do you have a schedule for writing?
I keep my computer with me, and I make the most of every opportunity to write, whether it’s fifteen minutes or two hours. Is that considered a schedule?
What is the best way you found to market your book?
Since I specialize in being me, not a salesperson, I focus on building authentic relationships within the writing and reading community. By sharing about my faith and my family, readers get to know the truth behind the fiction and learn more about my day-to-day inspiration. I think they connect to the way I share about my everyday struggles—from finding gray chin hair to “parenting” adult children—and they want to read more. They connect to me and to my work.
Did you actively build a network of readers and if so, how?
The main way I grow my readership is by consistently writing stories that address real issues that people can relate to. Also, I appear on podcasts, write articles, and participate in book-related events such as attending conferences and doing signings. I try to go where the readers are, whether that’s virtually or in person. Though I’m an introvert deep, deep down, I love connecting with others and discussing our family histories, writing journeys, and our favorite books (besides mine!).
Are you on the social media highway and if so, do you schedule times to post?
You can find @robinwpearson on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and on Pinterest, for recipes. I also have a website, robinwpearson.com, where readers can subscribe to my monthly newsletter, the Robin’s Nest. This summer my more organized family members have promised to give me a tutorial on scheduling posts.
What point in your writing career did you feel like you had gone from amateur to pro?
Even after more than two decades in the publishing industry, three books under my belt, and a Christy Award on my shelf, I’m still working on that! There’s lots to learn.
What advice would you like to give new authors that would help them?
Based on my own bad habits, I advise new authors to be true to who they are and answer the call God gave them. They shouldn’t measure their success or their struggle with other authors. When I’m tempted to peek over the fence at greener grass, I remind myself, “Only I can write my story.”
Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern roots, her faith in Jesus Christ, and her love of her husband and seven children. All lend authenticity to her novels. After graduating from Wake Forest University, she has corrected grammar up and down the East Coast in her career as an editor and writer that started with Houghton Mifflin Company more than twenty-five years ago. Both her Christy Award–winning debut, A Long Time Comin’, and her second novel, ’Til I Want No More, have earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Follow her on her blog, Mommy, Concentrated, where she shares her adventures in faith, family, and freelancing.
