Ask the Author: Robin Maxwell
Answered Questions (16)
Robin Maxwell
Hi Kate. Always wonderful to hear from my beloved cousin's friends. But could you explain what it means for you to give me a "question mark" for whenever I need one? Honestly, I've been nose to the grindstone for the last 10 years finishing my new 5-book GODS OF ATLANTOS SAGA (publishing very soon!) that I've used Goodreads very rarely. Thanks for writing, and say hit to Iris for me (actually I just zoomed with her a couple of days ago).
Robin Maxwell
Wow! What a perfectly-timed question! I had stopped writing for the last 10 years since JANE: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan's publication, so that I could finish the complete 5-book GODS OF ATLANTOS Saga (2,000 pages), and I am WEEKS away from finishing, indie-publishing all 5 books at once, plus an audiobook (will be available on Audible.com) of Book I in the series, POSEIDON IN LOVE. Doing a new website (not up yet) www.RobinMaxwell-GodsOfAtlantos.com. I am beyond excited (and not a little exhausted), but I'm determined to get this "end-of-the-world" story published before the actual end of OUR world! Contact me via email (use my current website www.robinmaxwell.com, and I'll send you images of the beautiful book covers. Thanks again for your question, Deanna.
Robin Maxwell
It would have to be "Romeo and Juliet." I've loved that story (and of course his writing) since I was a girl. As an adult I rewrote the story as O, JULIET. See the answer to the question above.
Robin Maxwell
Honestly, I was not a huge Shakespeare fan, but from the time I was in Junior High I loved the story of Romeo and Juliet. I realized not long ago that in a sense he did not give their love story a full accounting. Their entire scenario took place over the period of about three days. That's why I wrote O, JULIET - so I could flesh out their romance, find out who they were as people, who their parents were, their best friends. I set it in 1444 Florence instead of Verona, as I had already done research there for SIGNORA DA VINCI. And my story plays out over three months.
Robin Maxwell
I wrote "The Wild Irish" because I found Grace O'Malley to be the most fascinating and inspiring heroine in history. Actually I'm an American and live nowhere near where Grace spent her life - Western Ireland. But there is a TV series brewing now, based on THE WILD IRISH and another of my novels, THE QUEEN'S BASTARD. You can read about it on Deadline.com (Steve Shill On Board To Direct ‘All The Queen’s Men’ Historical Series | Deadline) an article that came out just last week.
Robin Maxwell
So sorry for the delay in answering your question. No, I'm afraid there won't be any more novels set in Italy in the near future. But I love the Italian Renaissance and so I'll never say never.
Robin Maxwell
I'd have to say Jane and Tarzan - I wrote the definitive novel about their love affair (JANE: The Woman Who Loved Tarzan). While I've also written about Romeo and Juliet (O, JULIET) in novel form, I found that the wildman and his main squeeze were, together, on much less trodden ground, with no barriers other than my imagination to explore how and why a cultured young woman of the Edwardian age would fall for a man who grew up believing he was an ape.
Robin Maxwell
I'm afraid there's no sequel in the offing, but if the TV gods are willing, you might see a cable series in the future.
Robin Maxwell
If you're asking how long it takes me to do the research, the answer is between 6 months and a year. But sometimes I'm still doing research while I'm writing.
Robin Maxwell
Hi Cintia.
From what you're saying it sounds like you're totally blocked because you're paralyzed by fear. Fear of what you write being "not good enough." Believe me, every writer who has ever written has gone through that to some extent in their career.
What I would suggest is starting with journal writing, something that no one else in the world will ever see. There are several good books on that subject. Even if you write a paragraph a day - what you did that day, an emotion you felt, a wonderful meal you enjoyed, the review of a movie you watched, a dream you had. You have to get your writing muscles un-paralyzed.
Next, start an "idea file." When an interesting thought, phrase or title comes into your head, WRITE IT DOWN. Then place it in a file. You don't have to do anything else with it at the moment. Don't let the idea slip away from you. Just start collecting little slips of paper and keep the file near your bed. Ideas can come to you in the middle of the night or just as you're waking up. This is a very important file, because YOUR IDEAS ARE IMPORTANT. WHAT YOU THINK AND FEEL IS IMPORTANT. Though I didn't know it at the time, starting my own idea file was the moment I became a writer. If YOU don't believe that what you are writing is important, no one else will ever want to read it. It's a great leap of faith in yourself, but if you can't make it, then you may not be destined to be a writer.
Once you've started collecting your ideas in a file and writing a little each day, pick a subject that you're wildly interested in - maybe one from your idea file - and write a paragraph about it. Hopefully you will be inspired to write a little more and a little more after that. Perhaps that idea will only inspire a few paragraphs or a page. Put it away. When the spirit moves you choose another idea and write a little about that. Don't show anyone anything. This is still very personal.
One day an idea will take hold of you and hopefully by then your "writing muscles" will be in good enough shape that you'll allow yourself to do something longer. I am a great believer in story outlines. I've done that with every novel and screenplay I've ever written.
Also, for inspiration read Stephen King's non-fiction book called ON WRITING.
Hope this helps.
All best,
Robin
From what you're saying it sounds like you're totally blocked because you're paralyzed by fear. Fear of what you write being "not good enough." Believe me, every writer who has ever written has gone through that to some extent in their career.
What I would suggest is starting with journal writing, something that no one else in the world will ever see. There are several good books on that subject. Even if you write a paragraph a day - what you did that day, an emotion you felt, a wonderful meal you enjoyed, the review of a movie you watched, a dream you had. You have to get your writing muscles un-paralyzed.
Next, start an "idea file." When an interesting thought, phrase or title comes into your head, WRITE IT DOWN. Then place it in a file. You don't have to do anything else with it at the moment. Don't let the idea slip away from you. Just start collecting little slips of paper and keep the file near your bed. Ideas can come to you in the middle of the night or just as you're waking up. This is a very important file, because YOUR IDEAS ARE IMPORTANT. WHAT YOU THINK AND FEEL IS IMPORTANT. Though I didn't know it at the time, starting my own idea file was the moment I became a writer. If YOU don't believe that what you are writing is important, no one else will ever want to read it. It's a great leap of faith in yourself, but if you can't make it, then you may not be destined to be a writer.
Once you've started collecting your ideas in a file and writing a little each day, pick a subject that you're wildly interested in - maybe one from your idea file - and write a paragraph about it. Hopefully you will be inspired to write a little more and a little more after that. Perhaps that idea will only inspire a few paragraphs or a page. Put it away. When the spirit moves you choose another idea and write a little about that. Don't show anyone anything. This is still very personal.
One day an idea will take hold of you and hopefully by then your "writing muscles" will be in good enough shape that you'll allow yourself to do something longer. I am a great believer in story outlines. I've done that with every novel and screenplay I've ever written.
Also, for inspiration read Stephen King's non-fiction book called ON WRITING.
Hope this helps.
All best,
Robin
Robin Maxwell
This one is simple. Instead of writing what I feel I SHOULD be writing (chapters in chronological order) I skip to what I'm excited about writing, even if it's out of order. Even if it's another book or a proposal or a comedy screenplay. Go with the flow of your passion.
Robin Maxwell
Being able to make a living from what you most love doing. Having entrée into the lives of spectacularly interesting people and situations. In the case of ATLANTOS, adding to the mythology begun by Plato. In the case of my Tudor books, and SIGNORA DA VINCI, showing readers another, contradictory side of characters they thought they knew well (i.e. a sympathetic Anne Boleyn, or an Elizabeth I who has became as mad as her father Henry VIII).
Robin Maxwell
Find a way to overcome your fears of not being good enough. Keep writing. Most importantly, keep RE-WRITING. Leave time between drafts, as you will see things more clearly after a rest. When you're writing dialogue, speak it out loud, to make sure that it's really the way people talk.
Robin Maxwell
ATLANTOS is Book I of the Early Erthe Chronicles, which follows the origins and rise of the great civilization. Now I'm working on CHILDREN OF RA, which is Book II of the series, which will illuminate the fall of Atlantos.
Robin Maxwell
I read non-fiction in the areas that fascinate me, and biographies of historical figures that have most changed the course of human history. Then I read more and more and develop an idea of how those people would really have moved through their lives - their loves, their fears, their dreams, their follies. Finally I pick up a pen (yes, a pen!) and write my first draft on yellow pads.
Robin Maxwell
I have been studying ancient civilizations lost in the great deluge for many years, as well as the evolution of human consciousness on Earth. When I had an opportunity to read Plato's dialogues - Timaeus and Critias - I realized that he was dead serious about Atlantis really existing 9 THOUSAND years before his time in ancient Greece. With ATLANTOS I had an opportunity to write about all my favorite "mysteries of the universe."
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May 04, 2022 01:17AM