Hi Selena. Welcome to Fallen Angel Reviews. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and chat with us.

Thank you, Amanda, I look forward to sharing my writing adventure and talk about my book with you and your readers.

Your book, Sabrina’s Destiny, has been receiving excellent reviews. Can you tell us a little about this story?

Sabrina’s Destiny is a paranormal, romantic comedy -- an eclectic mixture of Touched by an Angel, X-Files, I Love Lucy and a Tom Hanks – Meg Ryan love story all rolled into one. It’s a story about dreams, goals, bereavement, guilt and two people who think they are total opposites coming together to find out they have a lot more in common than they had originally thought. The mistaken identity provided me the opportunity to inject the humor and also a bit of mystery.

In fact, Sabrina’s Destiny has been nominated for the 2005 C.A.P.A in Fantasy Romance. Congratulations! What was your reaction when you heard the news?

Thank you, Amanda. I received an email from fellow author and friend, Ellen Fisher, congratulating me on my nomination. I was surprised and of course very happy, especially since The Romance Studio was the first site that awarded me a review, and it was a 5 Star review. I think the nomination is made even sweeter, as I had no clue this was going to happen, because the author does not submit to this contest.

I love your quote on your site "If at first you don't succeed...eat chocolate...and start over." Besides this excellent philosophy, has there been any other advice you received that has been instrumental to your writing?

As you can see from my website, I love quotes and favorite sayings. I love reading them and also creating my own, like the one you quoted. The one that really sticks in my mind that has helped me when I’m writing is Somerset Maugham’s quote: “There are three rules to writing fiction. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

You have been complimented for you ability to create such wonderful characters. How does a character come to life for you?

Thank you. This could turn into a very long winded answer, because there are so many layers to the way I develop my characters.

I create characters that I myself really care about, that I would embrace in my family. People who intrigue me and arouse my curiosity. People who make me laugh; at times they may even cause me worry, just like the people in my real life. Not all my characters are people that I would want to come face to face with in real life, because villains are necessary in some of my work. I also create characters that scare me and can bring me to tears with their behavior. When they elicit emotion from me, whether it’s joy or fear, then I know I have nailed a fully dimensional character in the book.

I empathize with the characters, and get to know them from the inside, their goals and motivation, and going deep into their private world, their secret fantasies, their dark side, and get know how they view the world.

I work with my characters to discover how they’d react when life throws them a curve ball. I look deep inside them to see what they are thinking when no one is looking at them. For example: What would they do in a situation, if they knew for certain they would never get caught if they dipped their hand in the company till? In Jason’s case, how does he handle the misunderstanding, the ruse of being a handyman instead of telling Sabrina the truth? I may not agree with his decision, but knowing him the way I do, I empathize with him and his situation.

As a writer, when bringing the characters to life, I have to travel with them on their soul searching journey, which entails a journey of my own. I pull out the events in my own life that have helped shaped and influenced who I am, and then I do the same for my characters.

I write the heart wrenching scenes first, so I can get a feel for the character, understand how he feels when he’s in deep agony or delirious with happiness. I put myself in the place where that character is at the moment, even if the character is in a lot of pain, I need to feel that pain, and if tears come to my eyes, then I know I’ve captured the character. There is a scene in Sabrina, where she says lashes out at Jason and hits his most vulnerable spot and hurts him deeply. That scene brought tears to my eyes. I knew her enough to know that when things get really tough for her, and she is hurting badly, that is exactly how she would handle the situation. Even though it’s hard to write when in empathy mode, it’s necessary, and that’s when I know my character has really come to life.

I also let the characters come into their own as the story progresses. They are the story and the plot fits into their world, instead of trying to fit the characters into a plot.

Of all your characters to date, is there a certain one you would consider your favorite?

You know that’s like asking a mother who her favorite child is. Hard question, since I really do love all my main characters. However, if I have to pick one, it’s usually the book I am working on at the time is almost always my favorite, but so far Maddie Saunders, the heroine in my romantic sexy comedy, Island Sizzle has been the most fun to get to know and write.

Tempted by an Angel was released last year with wonderful reader response. This story has a distinct comedic touch. In your opinion, how are humor and romance related?

Tempted by an Angel happens to be my husband’s favorite short story. I like to think it’s because of the fast paced humor and bantering, and not because the heroine, Angelica reminds him of his klutzy wife.

Romance, love, chemistry are all high emotionally charged feelings that we experience at different times in our lives. I think humor not only helps us to not go totally insane when we are in that “lust at first sight zone,” but it also eases the tension. There is nothing sexier, in my opinion, than a man who can laugh at himself and laugh with you.

Since we all understand the importance of chocolate, is there a certain form or flavor of chocolate that you can’t resist?

Chocolate covered cherries.

You recently released Pippy’s Wish, a children’s novella. What inspired you to write children’s stories?

I love angels and the honesty and humor that children naturally have without any effort. The character Lucy from Sabrina’s book intrigues me and I wanted to revisit her, but in a different capacity and in her own element, up in heaven as a leader. I wondered how she coped with having to mentor an Angel-in-Training like Pippy and from there the story took off.

Pippy’s dialogue, plot, and the secondary characters felt like characters that I already knew. I think they’ve been hiding in my head and decided to come out just before Christmas. I’m glad they did, I’ve had children and adults tell me that they can relate to Pippy.

Is the development of this type of story any different for you as when writing romance?

Pippy’s Wish just flew out of me without effort. It’s the first time I didn’t outline or plot. I knew this character as if she were my own daughter, so that was different than writing romance. Also, when writing romance, I make sure there is high tension and a lot of conflict between the hero and heroine, so they have to fight to get together. With this type of story, the struggles are within the character herself, and it’s about her journey and growth. The goals are different and the way the characters view the world around them is different, it’s about discovering who they are, more than discovering how they feel.

You have been working on a romantic suspense, Her Bodyguard's Secret, can you tell us a little about this story?

This book is different in tone from Sabrina’s Destiny, there are comedic moments to break the tension as it is high suspense drama. The other major difference is that the sensual rating is cranked up a few notches.

Here is a recap of the book.

His name is Cade Fitzpatrick, undercover cop, (a.k.a. Cade Webster, personal bodyguard) wildly handsome, arrogant, and controlling. He is everything Laura Marchetti, the daughter of a prominent Chicago family does not want in her life. When their lives intertwine, Laura is determined to resist him, since he resembles all the dominating men she’s encountered in her life. Cade ignores the desire he feels for her, especially since he is undercover to investigate her family’s connection to mob style criminal activity. Someone wants Laura dead, or is it Cade they’re after? They will both have to take a risk and trust each other, without reservation to stay alive…. But nothing is more dangerous than love.

Can you tell us a date we can stake out our favorite bookstore for a copy?

As soon as I know, I will spread the news.

Can fans expect a sequel to Sabrina’s Destiny?

I’ve had a lot of mail asking me about a sequel and who will be featured – Maggie and Trevor? Or Lucy and JP? Sabrina fans will be pleased to know that all their favorite characters will come back in the sequel -- Maggie’s book.

Maggie is now in New York enjoying her job at the Plaza and having a lot of fun with power dating, night clubbing and driving Trevor (Jason’s best friend, who is “looking out for her in the big city”) completely insane. Trevor is stressed out, dealing with stepmother number three, an ex-wife who doesn’t know the meaning of the letter X, and a job he now sees as an albatross around his neck. There’s no way anyone, not even her good friend, Trevor can get Maggie to go back to small town life, settling down and making babies. Maggie is now terminally-hip, climbing up the career ladder and has totally reinvented herself. Will divine intervention help these two obtain the same goals? Will the reappearance of someone from Maggie’s past be a blessing or the thing that sends Maggie flying to another country? Stay tuned. *S*

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

I’m proud to announce that Sabrina’s Destiny is now available at most Waldenbooks. I also welcome your readers to drop by and visit me at www.selenarobins.com Please feel free to email me at selenarobins@rogers.com and ask for a FREE copy of Pippy’s Wish, for the children in your life, and the for the child that lives in you.

Thank you again, Amanda, I enjoyed this interview.

Thank you so much for stopping by Selena. Readers if you have not had an opportunity to read some of Selena’s work, you don’t know what you are missing. Check out her site and I know you will be hooked. (http://www.selenarobins.com/)



Interviewed by: Amanda