Q1. Hello, can you please introduce yourself? Readers would love to know more about you.
Hi! My name is Robin Michaels and I’m excited to be featured today. I’m originally from Connecticut but have lived in Atlanta for the last 12 years. I love to travel, read, and visit local coffee shops in search of the best lavender latter there is. I work full-time in addition to being a writer, having spent years in the sports and event marketing industry. Writing has become a new passion of mine and I look forward to the journey it will take me on!
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your book “The Bonds We Break”?
Being a new author, I often felt out of my element, comparing myself to my favorite authors. Writer’s block got the best of me more times than I felt I should have, but I had to have grace with myself since this is a brand new endeavor. The comparison trap is real in so many facets, but it was a mental challenge to build myself up and believe that I’m just as talented and have a voice like everyone else.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I love to read other thrillers. Riley Sager, Lucy Foley, and Lisa Jewel are all at the top of my list of authors I ran out and got their new book. Alice Feeney’s “Rock, Paper, Scisors” is hands down one of my favorites that I’ve read in the last few years. I didn’t see that twist coming at all and thoroughly enjoyed diving into that one.
Q4. What’s your favourite spot to visit in your own country? And what makes it so special to you?
My favorite place is Cape Cod, Mass. I grew up vacationing there, so it brings back so many fond childhood memories. There’s something about the seawater air on a crisp summer night, that rejuvenates me. Living in Atlanta now, I don’t get back there much but still love to visit when given the opportunity.
Q5. What inspired you to write the book ‘The Bonds We Break’?
A couple of years ago my father passed away after a long health battle and after taking that first year to grieve and give myself grace to mourn in any fashion I needed to, I found that I had this pent-up energy that I needed to put towards something creative. I had always felt like I would have grand ideas but no follow-through, so I was looking for an outlet that would allow me to continue the healing journey while also challenging me. I thought I would explore writing, as my dad dabbled in it for a while too. One day I got an email from an alumni group at my undergrad university and it sparked the idea of the plot, and here we are now, with my first published book!
Q6. How long did it take you to write your book ‘The Bonds We Break’?
I started it in April of 2022, finished the first draft by December, then went into editing. Overall from start to publication day, it was 15 months.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy your books?
Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Apple Books. They can also request it from any independent bookstore as well.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and the title ‘The Bonds We Break’?
Since the events of the book take place at an alumni reunion and a general theme is centered on friendships and broken friendships, I wanted the title to reflect those two elements. There’s a line in the book that is almost like a mantra for the alumni, that comes from their alma mater – “Bonds Strong ‘Til The End” and the book explores if those bonds we make in college are truly unbreakable. What would you do for your best friends? That was also reflected on the cover – the shattering of glass and falling to the floor, the dropping of a champagne bottle, all symbolizing something so fragile being broken.
Q9. When writing a book how do you keep things fresh, for both your readers and also yourself?
For myself, I try to mix up where I’m writing. I had a favorite spot – Pop’s Coffee, to do most of my writing, but sometimes I would need to mix up the scenery. I also made sure that I gave myself time away from writing so that I could experience life around me and get inspired by conversations that my friends and I had or nuances that I wanted to build into a character. For the readers, I think the changing of perspectives in my book keeps the story moving. You travel back in time as well, so there’s a lot of back and forth that helps to build the story without being confusing.
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
Not everyone is going to like the story, and that’s ok. There are plenty of times that I’ve started to read something and I just can’t get into it, but that doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t love it. I’m creating something for myself in the end, and my hope is the masses will like it, but at the end of the day, I did this for me and that’s good enough!
Buy The Bonds We Break on Amazon
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