07 June, 2012

#Interview with Holly Robinson, #Author of Sleeping Tigers


Jordan O'Malley has everything she ever wanted: a job she loves, a beautiful home, and a dependable boyfriend. When her life unravels after a breast cancer scare, Jordan decides to join her wildest childhood friend in San Francisco and track down her drifter brother, Cam, who harbors secrets of his own. 
When Cam suddenly flees the country, Jordan follows, determined to bring him home. Her journey takes her to the farthest reaches of majestic Nepal, where she encounters tests—and truths—about love and family that she never could have imagined. 
Funny, heartbreaking, and suspenseful, Sleeping Tigers reminds us all that sometimes it's better to follow your heart instead of a plan.


Check out the Book




An Interview with Holly Robinson


DDS: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I have the best job in the world!  I write for magazines and newspapers, and I'm a ghost writer, too (mostly celebrity memoirs). Then, in my spare time, I write fiction.  Being a writer means that I can work out of an office in an 18th century barn behind my house, and I never have to wear high heels. My husband and I have five children, two cats, two very stubborn little dogs, and an ill-tempered hamster.  Yes, it's a full house, and a busy life.  But writing can transport me out of the chaos any time.

DDS: What got you into writing?
I never meant to be a writer.  I started out studying animal science in college because I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian.  Then I tried pre-law courses, thinking I'd work as a public defender and trial attorney.  When I couldn't shake my love of science, I chose to major in biology, thinking I'd go to medical school.  But I took a creative writing course my last semester of college and that was it:  I found my passion.  I had never found anything as absorbing as the task of putting sentences on the page, and I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. 

DDS: Tell us about your book – Sleeping Tigers
When my youngest child was in kindergarten, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.  Even though I was very lucky—I had surgery, but never had to undergo radiation or chemotherapy—coming nose-to-nose with mortality was a completely life-transforming experience.  I wanted to capture that emotional roller coaster in a novel, so I told the story of Jordan, a woman in her thirties who goes through the same sort of health scare and realizes that she has never really lived.  She sets out on a great adventure—physical, emotional, and romantic—as a result. 

DDS: What was the hardest part about writing this book?
In the novel, Jordan goes to San Francisco to track down her brother and best friend, and then she travels to Nepal when her brother flees the country and she needs to hunt for him.  One of the hardest parts of writing the book was recapturing those two settings—it had been years since I had traveled to either place, and I wanted to make both settings feel “true” in a way that would impact Jordan and the reader.

DDS: What are your writing pet peeves?
I hate cold literary novels where I can't connect with any of the main characters emotionally.

DDS: Who is your favourite author & which is your favourite book? I know it is beyond difficult, but you can name only one!! 
That's easy, actually:  It's a novel called Cry, the Beloved Country, by South African writer Alan Paton.  That book is political, smart, and emotionally wrenching in a way that stays with you forever.

DDS: One thing readers would be surprised to know about you…
My father was a Navy officer who became a gerbil farmer with over 9,000 rodents housed in barns in our back yard.  Yep.  True story.

DDS: Besides writing, what else do you enjoy?
I love doing just about anything outdoors:  hiking, biking, tennis, gardening, swimming, walking my dogs, canoeing.  Yes, get me outside, and let the wind blow the cobwebs out of my brain, please!

DDS: What’s next?
I'm finishing edits now on a new novel called The Wishing Hill, which will be published by Penguin in spring/summer 2013. 

DDS: What is the one thing that you wish the readers take away after reading from “Sleeping Tigers”?
The phrase “sleeping tigers” is a metaphor for what we all have inside us:  this great beast of death or illness or tragedy that can, at any time, decide to wake up and take us down, so we have to be mindful to make the most of every moment. 

DDS: Anything else you would like to say to your readers/fans?
Keep reading!  And, if you have children in your life, read to them.  Children learn to love reading by watching the adults around them take delight in books.  The power of knowledge is the greatest gift you can give future generations.


Visit the Author


You have a chance to win a copy of this book for free. Ms.Holly Robinson is giving away 2 print copies of her book and the giveaway is international!! Isn't that great news? Well, what are you waiting for? Go enter yourself in the "250 Follower Giveaway".


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