Interview With Author GL Robinson
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Portsmouth, England (I’m not telling the date!) but I’ve lived in the USA for over 40 years. I’m a product of a convent boarding school in the 1950’s and early 60’s. You can probably guess I received an old-fashioned education. I was 72 when I published my first book in 2019. I began writing Regency Romances after the death of my beloved sister who was in the convent with me all those years ago. We used to read the Regency novels of Georgette Heyer (still my inspiration) under the covers with a torch after lights out. Now the words just pour out of me! I can’t stop! I’ve published 14 Regencies so far, with #15 on pre-order. I recently also made a foray into Contemporary Romance with a book called Negotiating With Mary. It will be interesting to see what happens with it!
Apart from writing I like watching foreign movies with subtitles (weird, I know!) and chatting with my grandchildren. They’ve taught me a lot – including how to make TikTok videos. Such fun!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book, Negotiating With Mary, is a new departure for me. A friend said recently “Oh, I read anything with a bookstore in it” and that inspired me to write a story centered on a bookstore. Then I saw that the Millionaire/Billionaire trope was really popular, so I thought I’d combine the two.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
No, except that I can write anywhere. I’m not one of those people who has to have everything just so. But I do need quiet. I grew up in a convent, as I said. We had no radio, no TV, no sound producing technology. I could no sooner write listening to music than fly.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
For my Regencies, Georgette Heyer. For my writing style Jane Austen and Somerset Maugham. I was a literature professor for a long time and I’m afraid I can’t slough it off! One of my readers told me she read my books with a dictionary by her side, and I’ve never known if she was serious or kidding!
What are you working on now?
A Regency Romance, as yet untitled, in which a young woman who gets on better with horses than with people and who is suffering from a broken heart goes to Ireland to buy horses for her father’s business. I don’t know Ireland at all and the resesrch I’ve had to do!! But that’s the best thing about being a writer of historical fiction, you’re learnng all the time. It will probably be published in the spring of 2024.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My best promotion is my mailing list, which I have worked hard to expand. For promo sites, I am new to Awesome Gang but I use Booksy, Robin Reads and The Fussy Librarian. Bookbub is the gold standatd, but I’ve never been successful in getting a promo. They don’t take many indie publishers and I’m in a crowded genre with a lot of well-known authors.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
WORK ON A MAILING LIST There are paid sites, but these are free ways to do it (even the website is free if you don’t pay for your own domain):
1. Make a website and offer a free something to readers who sign up. I offer a free short story.
2. Put the link to your website in your books.
3. Join Book funnel promos (free) for mailing list expansion
GET REVIEWS
In your books also always ask for reviews and supply the links.
Offer ARCS to your mailing list in return for reviews
Socia Media Sites
Use as much as you can stand to get your name out there. I don’t have much luck selling that way, but there are tremendous stories about success on TikTok.
DONT BE SUCKERED INTO PAYING FOR VANITY PRESSES.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Make your first sentence a zinger. Have cliffhangers at the end of the first few chapters. After that it doesn’t matter.
What are you reading now?
I just finished Lessons in Chemistry, which I enjoyed. I’ve begun Amor Towles’ The Lincoln Highway. He’s brilliant. I also love Kate Atkinson: the best living female writer IMO. Her Shrines of Gaiety is next up.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m making audiobooks. I record my Regencies myself, as I have a very proper English accent that goes with the genre.
I’m having my books translated into German because the market there for historical romances is, strangely, very strong.
And I’ll keep on writing!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I’d cheat and take the Deptford Trilogy by Robertsons Davies, which you can get all in one book, Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell and, of course, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Author Websites and Profiles
GL Robinson’s Social Media Links