J.K. Coi

INTERVIEW: Robie Madison

Today I bring you Robie Madison, a 2006 Dream Realm award winner for her futuristic romance Love Partner, which has recently been released in print from Ellora’s Cave.

Oh, and you’ll all be very happy to know that I didn’t even have to bribe Robie to come on board today, she volunteered. So brave. So brave. She doesn’t know me very well.

So anyway, Robie it’s nice to have you here. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?—And I mean the real you, not the writer you. We’ll get to that later.

Thanks, J.K.! It’s great to be here—wherever here actually is.

Hum, the real me. Well, I’m passionate about traveling. I’ve visited and/or lived on 5 of the 7 continents. And polar bears—I have over half a dozen pictures and two carvings of this majestic creature in my office. Oh, and I’ve seen a polar bear roaming around near Churchill, Manitoba!

Really? I see squirrels. They reproduce every minute and like to climb into my attic. Occasionally I also see this cute little five year old with grape jelly all over his face. And if we start talking about the things running around inside my head, well then that's a whole other blog...

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a tangent there...So tell me more.

When I’m not out having an adventure, I’m at home writing about one…or thinking about writing. When I need to work through a scene (which I always do first in my head) I either: a) go to the club and work out with weights, or b) fold laundry, or c) bake—which necessitates another trip to the club to work out, and so it goes.

How did you come to be a writer?

I’m pretty sure I was born a writer—but until about twelve years ago I was too busy doing things and going places. Then I read a news article about a local murder in which one of the key witnesses had to be placed in the Witness Protection Program. That one line generated the whole concept for my first book, Keeping Faith (published by Cerridwen as R.E. Matheson), and the ideas haven’t stopped. In fact, if anything, I struggle to keep up with my story ideas.

How does your background or experiences lend itself as fodder for your writing? (This should be interesting, given your books *g*)

Well, my latest contemporary erotic romance, Gay Paris, which is currently in edits and which happens to be a sequel to Good Enough for You, takes place in—you guessed it, Paris. I’m also working on two stories at the moment set in Wales. I visited both these places last year during a two month long summer holiday. The cultural struggles faced by my hero and heroine in Love Partner grew out of my own experiences living in Asia for three years. So, you could say that I’m very geographically oriented when I write, which came in handy when I created my own post-natural-holocaust world for Desperate Alliance.

If you could travel to another planet, where would you go, what one person would you bring with you, and what one thing would you take?

Crud, you mean I can only pick one?? Assuming there was a half-decent mode of space travel, I’d choose the inter-planetary tour special. I’d go with my family, ’cause I can’t just pick one of them. And I’d take a good travel guide. Oh, and a J.K. Coi novel. Wow, that was a really good answer :)

Okay, now for the important stuff: What’s your favourite colour? Food? Television show? Place to visit?

Black—but I’ve been told it’s the absence of color and so doesn’t count. But I look so good in it with my white hair and all. (I started going prematurely white at the age of 16, so I’ve been looking good in black for a while.) LOL Otherwise I pick vibrant colors—some favs include pink, red, and blue.

As for food—anything hot and spicy, just like my books.

Television—my current favourite is the new sci-fi drama Fringe. I especially like the mad scientist Dr. Walter Bishop played by John Noble. Actually, the entire cast is very good and the premise is enough to make anyone paranoid.

Place to visit—anywhere I haven’t been yet, which leaves quite a lot of the world unexplored. LOL My main goal is to get to South America and the Antarctic sometime this century.

Reading the blurb for Good Enough For You, I notice that your hero, Brent, and heroine, Daisy, had met before, but that their relationship barely got off the ground before it ended and since then Brent has gone through a hellish experience (though I doubt it’s the same kind of hell my characters face everday, huh?). So what happened to him, and has that affected how he will approach Daisy and a relationship with her this time around?

Actually, Brent and Daisy had a whirlwind courtship after first seeing each other across a crowded ballroom. They became engaged and…bad things happened.

This is a story about the power of love. Mushy, I know, but true. So often in that first flush of love—and good old-fashioned lust—people don’t always think about what commitment really means. Good Enough for You moves between the present and the past. It juxtaposes that earlier care-free time with the wisdom of experience and tough choices.

Okay, was there anything else you wanted to tell my five readers? (What? You were thinking you’d actually get some exposure on this blog?)

Have I mentioned how much I love polar bears?

Yes you did, and now I'm starting to wonder just how healthy this obsession of yours is...

Oh, and dragons are my latest craze. I have 4 dragon figurines in my office…and a book in the back of my brain. Or that I’m a caffeine-free zone?

Dragons too? I love dragons! But you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming from my coffee maker.

Thanks so much for sharing, Robie! Why don't you let everyone know the pertinent details.

You can find out more about my books at www.robiemadison.com

You’re welcome, J.K.—thanks for inviting me!