An Interview with Author Barbara Robinson
This month I'm featuring Barbara Robinson to talk about her paranormal romance novel, A Cure for Spring Fever (The Wild Rose Press, April 24, 2024).
Barbara Robinson is an author of contemporary and historical romance set against a backdrop of magical realism. She is known for world building that features rich and immersive detail supported by meticulous research and careful observation. She finds inspiration in myths, folktales, and academic writing on a variety of subjects. Diagnosed with autism and giftedness, she also enjoys exploring themes of neurodiversity in her writing.
Barbara has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of King’s College and a Master of Arts from Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia). She has recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from Humber College (Toronto, Canada), and was awarded a Letter of Distinction.
She is a lover of nature who works out plot lines and character sketches while nurturing her garden, walking in the woods, or sitting by the shoreline watching waves. She lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, nestled between the province’s ancient mountains and rugged coastlines. These vistas shape her story settings, while providing the perfect backdrop for life with her husband, her hounds, and her dragon (Pogona Vitticeps).
Welcome to the blog, Barbara! We're glad you've come to visit with us. So, let's start with a just for fun question—Can you describe your writing space for us?
My primary writing space is a small home office with a desk, a filing cabinet and shelves for my books, but it also has a little loveseat for my basset hound to curl up on. There is a window in front of my desk that looks out over my back garden, and a little table for tea off to the side. This is where I sit down and put my ideas on paper.
My stories, though, are seldom brought to life at my desk. They emerge and the characters take shape as I’m working in my garden, walking through the woods, or puttering in my kitchen. This morning, I’ll be working out a plotline while standing over the preserving kettle, as it is harvest season and I’m spending a lot of time in the kitchen right now. My stories are polished at the writing desk, but the broad pattern of them unfolds against the fabric of everyday life.
All of your writing spaces sound lovely!
Now could you tell us a little bit about the history of the enchanted forest, the Gamekeepers—like Stan—tasked with protecting the boundaries of the forest, and the magical creatures such as the mjolkhares and others that live there?
Just as national parks, forests and game preserves provide habitat for species at risk in the everyday world, the enchanted forest provides a protected habitat for magical creatures. Just as humans have clashed with everyday creatures whenever we competed for the same resources or perceived them as a threat, my story world imagines that these creatures would not have been able to safely integrate into human civilization.
When Maywater’s settlers established the town, some kinds of magical creatures would have already been present, as they are elemental and exist throughout the natural world. Others may have been brought from the old world, either by accident or on purpose (there are stories about a holy well in the little village where I grew up, and how the original settlers brought water from holy well in Ireland, and those types of behaviors would allow for things to be transferred). In any case, it would have become apparent that any mischievous, dangerous, or disruptive creatures, as well as any whose magical properties might make them a target for poachers, would need to be protected and contained.
Enter the gamekeepers, who were charged with maintaining the enchanted forest, and warding creatures within it. As many of the inhabitants of Maywater are endowed with magical gifts, it is easy to imagine that some would have an aptitude for this type of work, and that their fellow citizens might see the value in supporting a dedicated group of magical game wardens. Over time, unique practices and traditions would have developed, but I have envisioned them very much like modern park wardens—with a magical twist.
Maywater sounds like a beautiful storyworld with the enchanted forest and magically gifted characters. Could you tell us a bit about what you learned while writing Stan and Lynnette’s story?
While writing Stan and Lynnette’s story, I learned how perfect two people who are very different can be for each other. Stan and Lynnette fall under the “opposites attract” umbrella, but they complement each other perfectly. He is grounded and practical, while she can be a little chaotic, and he is open to taking a risk, while she is guarded in her relationships, but somehow, they still make it work.
After I wrote their story, I still had a steep learning curve. As a debut author, I had never worked with a professional editor, and I knew nothing about book production and marketing. I read and re-read the marketing guidebook from my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, and I joined my local romance writers’ group to benefit from their collective knowledge and support. I launched a website, became more active on social media, and began sending out monthly newsletters to connect with readers. At times, it felt like baptism by fire, but I learned a lot in the process, and I feel better prepared to publish and promote my next book.
What special knowledge or research was required to write A Cure for Spring Fever?
Writing this book required some knowledge about specific magical traditions and divination practices like rune lore and tarot, as well as non-specific knowledge about magical creatures, pagan spiritual traditions, and elemental magic. It also required an understanding of how larger and more remote national parks operate, since I was basing the enchanted forest and the gamekeepers on a national park model.
Some things I already knew from direct personal experience, and other things I had to research using books, internet sources and field work. I made several visits to a national park as part of my research for this book, including staying in park accommodations, hiking the trails, and speaking with park staff about their operations. I also read mandates and mission statements for parks, planning documents and job descriptions for park wardens.
The enchanted forest is heavily influenced by the unique habitats and incredible scenery of the national park I visited. The wild places that are protected and preserved by the parks service are truly magical, and the staff are passionate about their work. I tried to reflect this in my descriptions of the enchanted forest, such as the waterfall where Stan and Lynnette have their picnic, but also in my characters and their commitment to their work.
What is your process for creating the magical worlds in your books?
I always begin with research, and when I have a solid understanding of the magical traditions and belief systems the story world draws upon, I will begin asking myself how the broad strokes of my plot would be impacted by these parameters and how they might shape my characters’ motivations.
For example, if my story world draws upon elemental magic and animistic beliefs, then nature has agency. My characters would recognize that they can draw energy from natural elements, but that all things in nature are imbued with spirit and can choose to help or hinder them in their pursuits. This kind of belief system would impact how they interact with the natural world, and how they go about pursuing their goals. This might look very different from a magical world where power is rooted in arcane knowledge and vested in the practitioner as they gain knowledge and develop their art (manifesting power from within rather than drawing power from an elemental source).
Inspire us: If you sit to write and you’re feeling uninspired, what do you do to get your creativity flowing?
I usually run into this when I have the broad strokes of the plot worked out in my head already, and I sit down to write a scene. I sometimes struggle with committing the ideas I have to paper. It’s not so much an issue with creativity as it is with discipline, with the process of taking that creative spark and translating it into something concrete.
What has worked for me is to set a kitchen timer and commit to writing for 20 or 30 minutes. I will spend the allotted time working on the scene, and sometimes it will be challenging at first, but once the words start to flow it gets easier and easier. Before I know it, the timer will go off, and at that point I’m usually well on my way to transferring the ideas inside my head to words on the page. If I didn’t have ways of enforcing discipline on my creativity, the story would just stay in my head.
So tell us—were you a young writer, a late bloomer, or something in between? What advice would you give to others who took up writing at a similar life phase?
Something in between. I started writing poems and stories in elementary school, and I was a member of my high school’s “Writer’s Workshop” and newspaper staff. Then I grew up, got married, had a couple of children, and pursued a demanding and time-consuming career. For a long time, there didn’t seem to be any space in my life for writing. I started writing again in my mid-forties, after suffering an injury at work. I had the time and space to pursue my creativity, and to see where it took me. It was always there, under the surface, and once I made room in my life for writing, all those creative sparks started firing again.
My advice to aspiring writers is to make a sincere effort to carve out time for your writing, even if you feel that this time is in direct competition with other priorities and commitments. Make your writing time a priority but also be forgiving and be flexible. Ask for help, and let others know that your writing time is an important piece of who you are as a person. If I had everything to do over again, I would not have locked that part of myself away for so many years.
Before we go, can you give us a sneak peek into what you’re working on next, and what readers can expect from your future books?
I’m currently working on a late Viking age historical ‘romantasy’ that tells the story of a gifted seer and the warrior who is sworn to protect her. The initial book is a completed draft, and I am now in research mode for the second book in the series.
About A Cure for Spring Fever
For centuries, Gamekeepers have used their magical abilities to create a buffer between the creatures who dwell in the enchanted forest and the sleepy coastal town that sits in its shadow. When Gamekeeper Stan Ross’s magic begins to fail, he must find out what went wrong, then fix it before the two worlds collide. His hit or miss magic has already led to a few close calls so he journeys to the Sacred Isle searching for answers and advice.
Finding a cure proves elusive—until Stan encounters a kitchen witch who captivates him body and soul. Lynnette Peters is healing from her own wounds, however, and it isn’t clear whether she’s ready to open herself to the possibility—or the peril—of love.
Excerpt
“I honestly just came in for some coffee,” he answered. “It’s my turn to pick up coffee and doughnuts for the crew back at the base. I can’t pretend that I was on some kind of mission to find you again, but I might have been if I’d had anything to go on. Now that our paths have crossed again, though, I don’t mind telling you I’m glad they did.”
She appeared to consider this, studying him with an intensity that made him fidget. “I see,” she said, apparently satisfied. “In that case, what can I get you?”
The friendly, impersonal voice caught him off guard. They’d gone from an emotionally charged, private moment to an everyday exchange without any warning, and it left him feeling a bit at sea. He was playing catch up, unable to read what was going on behind her eyes, but he could play it cool—for now.
“I’d like a half dozen black coffees with cream and sugar on the side, and a dozen assorted doughnuts. But make one of them a Boston Cream, and keep it out of the box—I’ll have it with my coffee on the way in.”
“Excellent choice,” she said, her voice light and friendly, until their fingers brushed as she handed him his doughnut. At his touch, the illusion of friendly indifference slipped away. Her face flushed and she pulled her hand back, but it was too late. She was unmasked.
To find out more about Barbara and her books, please visit her website at https://www.barbararobinsonauthor.ca/.
Thank you for joining us, Barbara, and for sharing your magical storyworld, and the wonderful advice on both committing to writing and carving out the time to do it!
Until next time,
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About the Author
Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including ghosts. She loves to write a good ghost story—especially when it includes a touch of romance.