{"id":147880,"date":"2021-07-29T14:08:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T03:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=147880"},"modified":"2021-07-30T13:49:23","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T02:49:23","slug":"ten-terrifying-questions-with-robyn-harding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2021\/07\/29\/ten-terrifying-questions-with-robyn-harding\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Terrifying Questions with Robyn Harding!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Robyn<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Robyn Harding is the author of numerous books, including the international bestseller, The Party, and The Swap, which was an instant #1 Globe and Mail (Toronto) and #1 Toronto Star bestseller. She has also written and executive produced an independent film. She lives in Vancouver, BC, with her family.<\/em> Her latest novel is called The Perfect Family<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Robyn Harding is on the blog to answer our Ten Terrifying Questions! Read on …<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n
\"Robyn<\/a>

Robyn Harding (Photo by Tallulah).<\/p><\/div>\n

1. To begin with why don\u2019t you tell us a little bit about yourself \u2013 where were you born? Raised? Schooled?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I grew up in a small town in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. When I finished high school, I moved to Vancouver to go to uni. I have lived in Vancouver most of my adult life except for five years in Calgary and a year in Perth, Australia (my husband\u2019s hometown). My children are also Australian citizens, so I consider Australia my second country.<\/p>\n\n\n

2. What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At twelve, I wanted to be an author. I was such a bookworm! At eighteen, I thought that writing fiction for a living was unrealistic, so I wanted to be a journalist. At thirty, I wanted to be an author again. I was working in advertising and beginning to think about trying to publish something around that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What strongly held belief did you have at eighteen that you don\u2019t have now?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

That Bono was the hottest guy on earth. And that making a living as a writer was basically impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. What are three works of art \u2013 this could be a book, painting, piece of music, film, etc \u2013 that influenced your development as a writer?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Bridget Jones\u2019s Diary<\/a><\/em><\/strong>: This was the first book I read that made me feel like I might be able to publish my work. When I started out, I wrote humour, and I\u2019m grateful to Helen Fielding, Sophie Kinsella, etc \u2026 for kicking off the \u201cchick lit\u201d genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Slap<\/a><\/em><\/strong>: This is the novel that took me to the dark side as a writer. It\u2019s a polarizing book because the characters are all so odious, but I devoured it. I was visiting my in-laws in Australia when I read it, and it made me want to write about people behaving badly. That\u2019s when I started my first dramatic novel, The Party<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Handmaiden<\/em>: This is a Korean movie by director Park Chan-Wook, inspired by the novel Fingersmith<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by Sarah Waters. The twists and turns and intricate plotting in this film are the definition of jaw-dropping. I hadn\u2019t read Fingersmith <\/em>when I first watched the movie, so I was blind-sided. It really inspired me to make my novels as surprising and clever as I\u2019m able.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Considering the many artistic forms out there, what appeals to you about writing a novel?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I devoted several years to screenwriting and managed to get a film produced. It was an incredible experience, but it really made me appreciate being an author. I\u2019m quite introverted, so I\u2019m happy to spend time alone and keep to my own schedule. I also appreciate the one-on-one relationship with my editor. With screenwriting, there are a lot of people involved with a lot of agendas. My editor\u2019s only goal is to make my novel the best it can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Please tell us about your latest novel!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Perfect Family<\/em> is about the Adlers \u2013 a mom, dad, teen daughter, and college-aged son who are being harassed by a bunch of hooligans in the night. They have no idea why they\u2019re being targeted \u2026 Or so they all claim. But behind their fa\u00e7ade of perfection, each member of the family has their own dark secret that might be behind the abuse. And as it escalates, they\u2019re pressured to come clean \u2026 before it\u2019s too late<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. What do you hope people take away with them after reading your work?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I really write to entertain and offer an escape. I believe there is great value in entertainment \u2013 a point hammered home during the pandemic. Books, movies, and TV shows provided me real comfort during stressful and scary times. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when a reader tells me they got lost in one of my books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Who do you most admire in the writing world and why?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Mary Kubica is one of the most successful thriller writers around and she is also the kindest, most generous person I\u2019ve encountered. A lot of people reach her level and disconnect from the writing community, but Mary is always willing to offer other writers a hand up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I have hopes and dreams, like anyone, but I don\u2019t like to set concrete goals. It\u2019s a recipe for disappointment. I believe I can only do my best, work my hardest, and I have no control after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes! I encourage aspiring writers to finish their projects. It\u2019s so easy to get discouraged and dissuaded along the way, but finishing a manuscript teaches a writer so much: about story, structure, and what it really takes to write 300 pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you for playing!<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u2014The Perfect Family<\/a><\/em> by Robyn Harding (Simon & Schuster Australia) is out now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Crime<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hear from the author of the new thriller, The Perfect Family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":147888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6676],"tags":[9480,11541,13376,12586,5184,13377],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/RobynHarding-Social.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147880"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148067,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147880\/revisions\/148067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}