A Part of Who I Am – Guest Blog
Robin Kaye is a Romance Writer of American Golden Heart Award Winning author, and her debut, Romeo, Romeo, is being released in November by Sourcebooks Casablanca! Her novel is a riveting contemporary pairing a “Domestic God” with a woman who’d rather pay someone to clean up after her!
So many people ask me when I knew I wanted to be a writer. I guess the answer to that is never. I never wanted to be a writer, but I’ve always been a writer. Does that make sense?
The first time I remember writing with intent–I had a plan to write a story and an audience in mind—was when I was about six-years-old. My parents had just gotten a divorce, and my mother moved us to Florida 1200 miles away from our home and my father.
I took out my mother’s manual typewriter and opened its hard, tweedy-looking plastic case. I had to sit on a phone book in order to reach it, and it took several of my fingers to press hard enough for each keystroke.
When I was lonely or bored, I would read. Reading always took me to magical places or distant countries. It was my escape and I wanted to give that to my father. I wrote him stories so he wouldn’t be lonely without me. In my minds eye, I can still see the thick manila envelopes filled with paper and illustrations. I even remember one of the stories was about a boy who fell into the sea and turned into a fish. I’m sure there were many twists and turns, conflicts and motivations, but I don’t remember them clearly. What I do remember is that the boy gave classes to his fish friends on the dangers of eating bait. He also swam around the docks cutting fishing lines with his Swiss Army knife so his friends wouldn’t end up as dinner someone’s dinner table.
Writing can make people feel better, it can lift them when they’re down, bring a tear to their eyes, or make them laugh so hard they cry. Writing is always what I’ve done. It’s part of who I am. I’ve never wanted to be a writer but I am one just the same.