Robin and I came together through a blog tour.
Author Bio
Robin Gregory was born in Florida and raised in California with seven siblings, and in the company of cowboys, crawdads, and the occasional rattlesnake. When not writing magical realist novels and screenplays, she likes to hike in the wilderness, listen to difficult jazz, talk with angels, and watch Guillermo del Toro films.
Her début, young adult novel, The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman, is about a disabled, orphan boy with healing powers who befriends an otherworldly clan. It won 22 awards, including Kirkus Reviews, Indiefab, IPPY Best Books of the Year. Chinese and Turkish translations to be released Summer, 2018.
Mrs. Gregory studied Creative Writing and Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Stanford University’s Writer’s Workshop. Her professional experience includes journalist, minister, and mapmaker.
What are her favorite things? Saints with potty-mouths, children under the dinner table, the classics, and corn chips.
Presently, she lives in California with two comedians, her husband and son.
Tell us about yourself.
They tell me I came through a portal above Pensacola, Florida, where my daddy flew Navy jets. I grew up with seven brothers and sisters, building forts and romping in the foxtails of California, accompanied by real cowboys and the occasional rattlesnake. I studied Creative Writing and Literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz and Stanford Writer’s Workshop. My favorite jobs have been “mom,” lay minster, and infant massage instructor. I am a longtime student of mysticism, a blend of Eastern, Western, and Middle Eastern teachings that emanate from Love. This is what inspires me to write, and to be of service to others. The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman, my début novel, won 22 awards, and is in development for a feature length film.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
I actually wrote my first novelette in first grade. It was a picture book about an Arabian horse who didn’t have any friends. I had trouble learning to read, so the idea of writing word-stories never occurred to me till the end of high school, when I miraculously “caught up.” After reading “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, I was literally set afire, and started taking writing classes.
What genres do you like to read? Are these the same genres you write in?
I’m drawn to literary fiction, especially magical realism. I like books that speak to me on multiple levels, that make me see the world through new eyes.
Is your book for adults, young adults or children?
I wrote The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman for fluent readers of all ages. It has won awards in middle grade, young adult, and adult categories.
What is your current release or project?
I’m working with a producer on the screen adaptation of Moojie 1. It’s nearly ready to go out for pre-production reviews and contests. Meanwhile, I’ve got Moojie 2 & 3 of a trilogy drafted.
Tell us about the key characters
The key character in The Improbable Wonders of Moojie Littleman is a young, partially-disabled boy named Moojie. Despite a pretty rough beginning, he’s gifted, determined, smarter than people think, and kind-hearted.
What is your blurb or synopsis of the book?
Early 1900s, Western America. Moojie is a lonely, disabled boy with uncontrollable telekenetic powers. His adoptive father leaves him at his grandfather’s wilderness farm where he befriends otherworldly outcasts mistaken for Native Americans. Following a series of trials that challenge his mental and physical abilities, Moojie is summoned by the call to a great destiny … if only he can survive one last terrifying trial.
Share an excerpt
P R O L O G U E
Once I dreamed of being crippled and lost in the woods. Using umbrellas for crutches, I circled back to a giant oak tree three times, fell to the ground, and burst into tears. The leaves of the tree rustled, and I looked up and asked, “Which way from here?”
“Depends on where you’re going,” said the tree.
“I want to go home.”
“You are home.”
“But I want to find my real home.”
“You don’t have to go anywhere,” the tree said.
I cried all the more.
The tree continued, “All right, go on a journey, if you must. Just get up and walk.”
“But that would take a miracle.”
“A miracle, you say?”
“I don’t believe in miracles.”
“Why, you’re talking to a tree, aren’t you?”
—M.L.
Do you have a favorite scene?
I think it would be the end. Though circumstances have been difficult, unpredictable, and sometimes infuriating, Moojie sees that everything happened as it should–and for the better.
What advice would you give a beginner?
First and foremost: Don’t be in a hurry to publish! Nine out of ten books are published before they have had time to ripen or undergo sufficient revision and editing. It’s one thing if you’re writing a book for friends and family. But you don’t need to publish on Amazon to do that. It’s a whole other game if you want to be a recognized author. Your work, more than ever, must distinguish itself through professional review or it will disappear into cyberspace, never to be read.
Social media links:
Facebook facebook.com/RobinGregoryAuthor
Twitter @tweety_robin
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26075634-the-improbable-wonders-of-moojie-littleman
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/11robingregory11
Blog link:https://robingregory.net/blog/
Purchasing links:
BARNES & NOBLE http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-improbable-wonders-of-moojie-littleman-robin-gregory/1122692771?ean=9781942545002
AMAZON US
AMAZON UK
SMASHWORDS https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/840456
