The Summer of Our Discontent by Robin Alexander

I was so enthralled by the story I tried to write one of my own. When I was in second grade, my teacher would read My Side of the Mountain to us at the end of the day. What propelled you to write your first novel? I admire many lesfic authors, and they’ve all influenced me in one way or another, either with their writing or their kind words of support for mine.

The first lesbian fiction book I bought was Meridio’s Daughter by LJ Maas, and now, I have a pretty decent library of lesfic books in my office. I fell in love with that story, then I started reading everything I could find. I didn’t know lesbian fiction existed until I happened to find Blayne Cooper’s Cobb Island on the Athenaeum website years ago. LOL!īefore penning your lesfic novel, were you an avid lesbian fiction reader? If yes, which lesfic authors influenced you the most? That’s something you don’t see in Connecticut. I’m pretty sure that snapper was destined for dinner. The other day while stopped at a red light in the middle of town, I watched two men pull a huge snapping turtle out of a ditch. We also have a lot of wonderful, open-minded people, and their personalities and quirks are added to the characters I create. We do have our fair share of bigots, though, just like every other part of the globe. Since we’re in the South, some assume we’re all racist, and that simply isn’t true. Most of my stories take place in Louisiana because I want to give a different view of life here for those who have probably heard negative things about my home state.

I purposely make the small towns I include in some of my stories fictional because they are a conglomeration of the things I admired most about the places I’ve visited in south Louisiana. I love anything to do with the water, so these places are particularly interesting to me, and they all have their own unique character. The towns in swampland tend to be smaller, and most are tied to the fishing and shrimping industry. Unlike the rest of the states along the Gulf, Louisiana doesn’t have a typical coast the majority of it is swamp. I’ve always enjoyed exploring my home state, especially the small towns near the Gulf of Mexico. I grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and I live in the small town of Walker, just outside of Baton Rouge.

Where did you grow up and where do you live now? How has the area influenced your writing?

Thank you for inviting me, TB! I’m thrilled with this opportunity to connect with the wonderful people who read my books. More details are below.īefore we begin, thanks so much for stopping by today for a chat. She’s giving away seven e-copies of Kellen’s Moment to seven lucky winners.

The Summer of Our Discontent by Robin Alexander