Apparently, in Nightmare, I write like Stephen King.

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

And in Offworld, I write like Arthur C. Clarke.

I write like
Arthur C. Clarke

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Whodathunk?

I don’t put any stock in these results — the algorithm seems to analyze the text for certain keywords — but it’s silly fun. Who do you write like?

God does not hate fags. In fact, God isn’t in the business of hating anyone. Look it up. It’s right there in the Bible: “God is love.” It doesn’t say “God loves.” It says he is love. Love is baked right in. It’s his defining trait.

I hate stupidity and ignorance. I hate intentional obliviousness. And I’m pretty sure that God hates those things, too.

I hate that my books don’t sell more so I can support my family. And stuff like this — like the big signs being held in that picture — make me hate the people holding them. What would these people, who are picketing San Diego Comic-Con, think of me — a Christian who loves pop culture and has loved attending Comic-Con six times? Should I expect them to throw up a picket line outside my house next? (Or maybe they’ll move on from inflammatory media statements to the next logical step: guns and pipe bombs.)

I don’t want to be identified as having anything in common with people like this. Even though these people are in the very miniscule minority, they represent a way of thinking that the majority of Christians are guilty of from time to time, having been once guilty of it myself: an insular, self-serving, us-vs.-the-world mentality. This very mindset, in lesser degrees, is exactly what leads to safe, sterile stuff like “Amish fiction” — the current genre du jour in the Christian Fiction world.

Am I wasting my time publishing my books in the Christian marketplace? I know there are lots of intelligent readers there, but there are also plenty of small-minded readers who are afraid of anything that doesn’t fit within their nice little walls of safety and lukewarm beliefs. This thought that my books are in the wrong market has been the predominant thought in my head lately (and this post is probably ending in a very different place than where it started because of it). Offworld, in my opinion, deserved more attention than it got; several major Hollywood studios expressed strong interest in the concept, but they never purchased the movie rights because the book wasn’t a bestseller. It should have been in the science fiction section of your local Barnes & Noble or Borders, just like Nightmare should be on the New Releases shelf. Instead, my stuff is stuck in the back corner whereChristian Fiction books collect dust and wait to be sent back to the publisher.

I love my publisher; they’ve been nothing but great to me. And I love my readers very, very dearly. I just need more of them. And I can’t help wondering if I’ve maxed out on the number of “Christian spec fic” readers out there who are willing to go to the Christian Fiction section (or to Christian bookstores) to find the kind of thing that I do. Read this article; it sums up everything I’m pondering.

So anyway… I’m done with my soapbox for today. To restate: God does not hate fags. But I don’t think he’s crazy about people who live like this life is a fight between us and the rest of the world. And he and I both aren’t wild about readers who think authors should never dare to step a toe outside of what they consider safe and normal.

It’s the same disease, just different symptoms.

Saturday, August 14th, Triad residents have another opportunity to come out and meet me in person, and get your own autographed copy (or get your existing copy autographed) of Nightmare! I’m excited to be making my first ever appearance at Borders of Greensboro. RSVP on Facebook if you’re planning to come, and I’ll  see you there!

When
Saturday, August 14th
1:pm

Where
Borders
Greensboro, NC

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Interested in booking a signing or speaking engagement? Click here to find out how!

I’m pleased to announce that all 5 of my novels are now available in ebook format!

I get asked rather often about which of my novels are available as ebooks. Here’s a definitive answer.

Nightmare you can find now almost anywhere ebooks are sold. Barnes & Noble has it here. But if you’re in the market for all five, you’ll need to head over to Amazon.com, where they’re available for Kindle. (Even if you don’t own a Kindle device, software that makes your device able to read Kindle ebooks is available to download for free.) Also, Sony’s Reader Store has Relentless, Fearless, Merciless, and Offworld, but not Nightmare (hopefully it’s on its way).

eBooks are generally less expensive their print counterparts; mine are all listed at approximately $9.99.

The biggest holdouts are Borders, Books-A-Million, and Apple’s iBooks Store, none of which carry my books in ebook format at the time of this writing. If you’d like to request them for these stores, you can click here to request my ebooks at Borders, here for Books-A-Million, and here for Apple iBooks.

Thanks!

Sidenote: Google is launching its own ebook store in the near future called Google Editions, which some are saying could be a game-changer. Hopefully, my books will land there at some point as well.

Wow, how crazy is this: apparently, I’m big news in Turkey.

The striking cover art for Nightmare was built upon an incredible photograph by acclaimed Turkish photographer Mehmet Turgut. Today I got a very nice email from Mr. Turgut’s manager, who informed me of the headlines Nightmare is generating in Turkey due to Mr. Turgut’s involvement in the cover, and he even passed on an offer to shoot my portrait, should I ever find myself in Istanbul. Just an offer from someone of Mr. Turgut’s talent is a big deal, so I was pretty thrilled to hear about all of this.

Here are a few newspaper and/or magazine (honestly, I’m not sure which they are) articles that Mr. Turgut’s manager sent me. Unfortunately, they’re both in Turkish and I can’t translate them for you, but they look pretty cool, don’t you think?

I should interject that the entire cover artwork was put together by the incredibly talented Mr. Paul Higdon of Bethany House Publishers, who’s done the covers for all five of my novels thus far. But he certainly knew how to pick an incredible photo for this book’s cover, don’t you think?

By the way… It seems that Turkey and myself are destined to be entwined. The one and only time one of my novels has been translated into a language other than English was my first novel, Relentless, which was translated into… (you guessed it…) Turkish. Don’t know why it generated such interest there, although a significant number of scenes from the trilogy were set in the mountains of Turkey, so maybe it was a “local interest” kind of thing.

Wouldn’t it be neat if all this press Mr. Turgut is getting would generate interest in having a Turkish translation of Nightmare, too?

I’m pleased to announce that Saturday, August 7th, I’ll be appearing at Concord Mills Mall’s Books-A-Million for a special Nightmare book signing! Full details are below, and be sure to RSVP on Facebook if you’re planning to come. See you there!

When
Saturday, August 7th
2:pm

Where
Books-A-Million
Concord Mills Mall
Concord, NC

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It’s new. It’s big. It’s newly big.

Why a new website? Well, for many reasons…

1. Newness is cool. Everybody says so.
2. The old website was very limited in what I could do with it. I needed something more flexible, and more indicative of the fact that I write more than just novels. The new site is running entirely on blogging software, which allows me to do all sorts of nifty things — including incorporating lots of great social networking.
3. Appearance-wise, the old website was so 2005.

So what’s new? Loads!

1. First of all (don’t you love lists? I do!), it’s a lot easier on the eyes. It’s made to take advantage of some of the latest browsers, so if anything looks wonky, I recommend using the newest version of Firefox or Chrome.
2. There’s lots going on these days, and I want to be able to talk about it, so expect this space to be updated frequently as I write to tell you about the latest happenings, or just my random (yet entertaining) thoughts.
3. Over time I’ve gained confidence for public speaking and other in-person events, so if you’re looking for a speaker or special guest, or if you’d just like to have me for a book signing, here’s where you can find out how.
4. My two best-known journalism gigs — CMCentral.com, and INFUZEmag.com — are no more, those websites having closed their doors. But I still have all of my original content from those days, so I’d like to republish some of the best stuff here. Fans from those days will enjoy the chance to revisit those classic articles (request your favorite interview or special feature from the old days!), and newbies will find some fascinating new insights into pop culture.

And this is just the start. There’s a lot more to come, including a brand new online Store for ordering books and other merchandise.

Take a look around, be sure to follow me on your social networks of choice, as listed in the right-hand sidebar. And please, make yourself at home.

Robin is available for book or writing-related events of all kinds. He delivers a dynamic discussion on the art of writing and working in the publishing field. His educational insights on creativity are applicable to all artistic disciplines, and attendees of all ages enjoy his laid-back speaking style where there’s no bad time to ask a question.

He’s also a terrific interviewee or contributor to roundtable conversations for articles or on-air recordings. His experiences in pop culture and in the world of faith-based entertainment give him unique perspectives that add flavor and intelligence to any discussion.

Personal Appearances:

• Book Signings
• Book Readings

Speaking Engagements:
• Schools & Colleges
• Other Classes
• Clubs
• Special Events

Interviews:
• Radio Shows
• TV
• Podcasts
• Print or Internet

There is no cost involved for most bookings, only a voluntary stipend requested for locations more than 2 hours away from the Triad area of North Carolina.

Interested in booking Robin for an event in your area? Contact us today.