Friday, April 20, 2012

R is for Robin

I want you all to meet Robin, another one of my CP's. If you've been reading my other posts about my critique partners (letters E and K), you're probably starting to wonder how I can stand to be around such amazing and talented people without feeling like a total loser. Well, no one makes me feel more like a loser than Robin...and I mean this in the nicest, complimentary way.



To give you a little perspective: On October 27th, 2011, Robin gave birth to her fourth child. Natural birth. At home. Yep. AND THEN she decides to join the rest of us for NaNoWriMo. Five days later. And she kicked butt doing it AND winning. Yeah. She is a freakin' rock star.

Robin is the mom I want to be. In addition to balancing kids and writing, she is an incredible athlete. She cooks and bakes from scratch, and hosts the most creative parties on every holiday for family and friends. She sews and crafts like it's nobody's business. She'll even send us things like handmade ornaments and homemade chapstick. Who does that?

She also reads a ton and has the best insights about what's on the YA market today. I love getting critiques from her because she usually finds valid problems no one else does. Robin is so supportive of the rest of us and I am honored to have her as a friend.

This is me reading Robin's books:

"Wow. Tension. Conflict. Haha. LOVE THIS. Aww. Oh no! Adorable. Sigh. This is so good. What!? Yes, yes, yes. Ooooh. Wait. Crap. I'm supposed to be critiquing."

Then I have to turn back several pages and think of something to say. Not kidding. I get so lost in her stories, they literally transport me somewhere else. This has happened while reading a fantasy / fairytale retelling of hers, as well as her NaNo--a YA contemp / magical realism titled LOVESENSE. I decided after reading Lovesense that I could read Robin's voice-rich dialogue scenes all day long and not tire of them. And now she's writing an MG that I have no doubt will captivate me again.

Thanks, Robin, for being such an inspiration and making me feel like such a loser--in a good way. Head over to her blog and give her some love!

8 comments:

Tonja Drecker said...

Glad that you've found such wonderful a person to work with. That a very valuable asset!

G.M. said...

As someone reading this blog for awhile, it's clear why you're belong with the the other 4 CP in your group. You bring lively personality and vivd writing to the table. The short part you posted from Nine here, kept me and others reading. And, yes, Robin seems to be a wonder woman juggling so many things. Taking a look at her blog, just handling 4 kids is a full time job. Her novel about Rae seeing the future just by looking at picture is a cool idea. I can see young readers enjoying this and maybe start looking at pictures as well. I guess in two days we'll get to know the youngest CP.

Kathryn Purdie said...

Yay! What a wonderful way to wake up this morning and read about the amazing Robin Hall, one of my best friends for life. Having Ilima write a nice blog post about you (I know this from experience) is like having a second birthday. Oh, the love! :-) I adore you, Robin! (And I adore you too, Ilima. Thanks for writing about all us crazies in your CP group!) Everyone head on over to Robin's blog and spread the love. <3 <3 <3

Angela Cothran said...

Robin sounds amazing!!! You are so lucky to have great critique partners :)

Jaycee DeLorenzo said...

You're really lucky to have found such awesome critique partners! Good for you!

Robin said...

Thanks for giving me R! So glad you're my CP:)

Emily said...

I know. Robin and NaNo just about killed me. I don't know how she managed to do it with a newborn.

She's freaking amazing!

Also, I love her writing and am excited she's working on a MG. Can't wait to read it!

ilima said...

T. Drecker-I love my CP's!

Giora-Thanks.

Katie-We love Robin!

Angie-Lucky, yes.

Jaycee-Thank you!

Robin-R is for Robin Rocks!

Emily-Her MG will be fantastic!