Interview Robert J Allison

by Gail R Delaney

1) You’ve been interviewed before, so I’ll try to avoid repeating some of the questions.  J  We know you are married, with grown children.  What does your family think of your pursuit of writing?

My son likes the idea. He reads all of my first drafts and gives me his opinion as to content. My daughter is ambivalent. I don’t think she has ever read one of my books, but then she only reads when she has to read, and then only textbooks. My wife seems to like the idea, but since she is my in-home proofreader and chief kibitzer, it is a lot of work for her, too.

2) ‘Romance’ is usually considered a woman’s genre, but more and more we are seeing men writing in it.  Were you naturally drawn to including that touch of romance in your stories?

Yes, I have always preferred a story with a touch of romance. As I said recently on a TV interview: In my opinion you just can’t have a well rounded story without a little romance involved; romance makes the world go ‘round.

3) How much real life experience do you put into your books?

Actually I put quite a bit of my life experiences into my books, but it is so highly fictionalized you’d never recognize it. Still, it is easier to write, and I think you write better, if you are writing from firsthand experience.

4) Tell us about your creative process.  How does an idea start for you?  Is it a large picture, or just the grain of an idea?  How do you expand on it?

Usually it is just a grain of an idea and I work it around in my head for a while until I have it plotted out. Once I have a general idea of where I want to start and finish I sit down at my computer and fill in the blanks. Often times the story takes off on its own without any urging from me and I find myself writing things I hadn’t originally contemplated.

5) Tell us about the very first time you received your contract from Wings.  How did it feel?  What were you thinking?

I was thinking that after fourteen years of submitting manuscripts to everyone under the sun that I might have finally succeeded in getting someone’s attention. 

6) Did that feeling change with subsequent books you’ve sold? 

Yes, to a certain extent. I now realize how much editing and marketing work a new contract represents.

7) Do you write every day?  Or do you at least try to?

In the winter I write every day, but in the summer not so much. I live in the country and have too many outside chores to do in the summer so my writing suffers. I am more likely to edit and polish in the summer months as opposed to beginning a new work.

8) Do you have any writing rituals?  Music you listen to?  Or do you need silence and solitude?

I prefer solitude, but I since I use a laptop and sit in my recliner, I don’t always get that. When my wife’s TV watching bothers me I just put on my noise-canceling headset and pop in a music CD. That way I can’t hear the TV, but then for some reason I never really hear the music, either.

9) Are you working on anything right now?  If so, tell us about it.

Nothing new right now, just editing and polishing some things I’ve written previously.

10) People have asked you who your favorite authors are, but how about movies?  Your books are suspense and mysteries.  What kinds of movies do you enjoy?

I like romantic comedy or light romance such as: “You’ve Got Mail”, “Two Weeks Notice” and “Dave”. I hated the ending of “Message in a Bottle” but overall I liked the plot and character development.