Background

Robyn Carr was born in 1951 in the state of Minnesota, United States.

Education

Initially, Robyn Carr once thought she wanted to be a nurse and studied the profession in college.

Career

Robyn never intentionally wanted to pursue a career in writing. She wished to become a nurse therefore she attended a nursing college. As she had to follow her husband from base to base she could not work as a nurse. She was prescribed bed-rest by the doctors during her pregnancy. So to kill time she would vigorously read novels brought by her neighbors. Sometimes she would devour more than one book a day even in her labor pain. Since she was reading books by Rosemary Hawley Jarmen and Anya Seton she developed a taste for historical romance novels.

Carr has published dozens of historical and contemporary romantic novels starting from 1980. Soon Robyn decided to pursue fiction writing. Her keen interest in romance genre inspired her to write in the same genre. However, there were no official training courses available for romance writing. She attended writers’ conference in 1976, where a novelist criticized her work. The third manuscript that was brashly criticized, by a strange twist of fate was published two years later in hardcover, titled Chelynne. The second manuscript was also published the following years but the first one never saw the light of the day according to its author’s wish.

Majority of Robyn Carr’s fiction works portray strong-willed female protagonist regardless of the time the novels are set in. The first fifteen years of her writing career she invested in historical romance. Later she diversified her writings into contemporary fiction. She tried to shift her interest from romance to thriller but after first attempt she gave up as it turned out to be a creepy exercise. She also penned some non-fiction works, articles and short stories, though they failed to gain as much popularity as her novels.

Robyn’s fiction work addresses the serious issues faced nowadays by women in particular. She intended her books to be lighthearted but not so much that they become a joke. Her instant success in romance was also because of the fact that her novels were published when small-town romance was trending among readers. Her Virgin River series gained popularity overnight for its picturesque and adventurous setting and its balanced blend of women’s fiction and romance. The first book, Virgin River, illustrates the story of widowed Mel Munroe, who makes a drastic change in her life moving from Los Angeles to a dinky little town. During her stay as a midwife, unexpected events occur, which renews her hope for a second chance in love.

Another series, Thunder Point, belongs to the same genre as Virgin River. It also deals with the subject matter of sensitive issues faced by women while keeping the readers entertained. Some of such predicaments addressed in Robyn’s novels include health risks, domestic violence and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or anything that costs a woman’s happiness or put her in a comprising position.

Although Robyn wrote prolifically, it took thirty years for her work to appear on The New York Times bestseller List. The 16th installment, Bring Me Home for Christmas, in Virgin River series topped the bestseller list. Robyn Carr’s other successful works include By Right of Arms (1986), Informed Risk (1989) and Grace Valley series (2001) among others.

Readers discovered some of the same - but a lot more - in Robyn’s April 2016 novel, What We Find, her debut hardcover for MIRA Books. In this launch of her new Sullivan’s Crossing series, set in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, What We Find explores the healing powers of rural Colorado in a story of fresh starts, budding relationships and one woman’s journey to finding the happiness she’s long been missing. Next up for Robyn: The Life She Wants, out in October 2016, finds a woman humbly cleaning up after herself, paying her dues and rediscovering herself after poor decisions she made earlier in life.

Currently being a resident of Las Vegas, she also interviews the book world's biggest stars in her Carr Chat series for the Henderson Public Library.

Achievements

• 

  The story of a prominent novelist Robyn Carr is unique in its nature because she never wanted to become a writer only to become number 1 New York Times bestselling author with almost fifty novels. One of her big and critically acclaimed works is the Virgin River novels. After being published for the first time in 1978, it took Robyn Carr 30 years to become an "overnight" success. In the years between the publication of Chelynne and the 2007 release of Virgin River, Robyn wrote a number of contemporary, historical, and women’s fiction novels, including the RITA Award - winning By Right of Arms. In the eight years since Robyn’s A Virgin River Christmas scored her first New York Times success in 2008, the Las Vegas author’s novels have spent 231 weeks on that prestigious list. Amazingly, sales of her books in digital and print have risen with each successive novel. Her 20-book Virgin River series alone has netted more than 13 million copies. That series’ sixteenth title, Bring Me Home for Christmas, scored the #1 slot not only on the New York Times list but on two others as well - Publishers Weekly and Barnes and Noble.
  
  Robyn Carr is also managed to achieve fame not only in the United States but also all over the globe. Proof of Robyn’s international popularity is also in the numbers. Over the past 17 years, 41 Robyn Carr titles, with collectively 27 million copies in print, have been translated into 19 languages in 30 countries. As a sign of the significant contributions Robyn has made to the genre, the Romance Writers of America, the trade association representing 10,200 members who write romance and live in 35 countries, has announced Robyn as the winner of the 2016 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award.
  
  Carr is also a dedicated advocate of libraries - for several years, she hosted a series of author chats on behalf of Henderson Libraries - and is one of the wittiest and least-tortured writers you’ll ever meet.

Works

More photos

• book

  • What We Find

    (Look for Robyn’s new book, The Best of Us, a story about ...)

    2016
  • Whispering Rock

    (Welcome back to Virgin River with the books that started ...)

    2013
  • Bring Me Home for Christmas

    (Look for Robyn’s new book, The Best of Us, a story about ...)

    2018
  • The Summer That Made Us: A Novel

    (Look for Robyn’s new book, The Best of Us, a story about ...)

    2017
  • The Life She Wants

    (#1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr creates a...)

    2019
  • Four Friends

    (From #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr come...)

    2014
  • My Kind of Christmas

    (Look for Robyn’s new book, The Best of Us, a story about ...)

    2018
  • Sheltering Hearts

    (New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr takes reader...)

    2010
  • Never Too Late: A Novel

    (#1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr examines ...)

    2016
  • The Best of Us

    (In Sullivan’s Crossing, #1 New York Times bestselling aut...)

    2019
  • Harvest Moon

    (Return to Virgin River with the books that started it all...)

    2015
  • A Summer in Sonoma

    (Look for Robyn’s new book, The Best of Us, a story about ...)

    2018
  • The Family Gathering

    (An exceptional storyteller, #1 New York Times bestselling...)

    2018
  • Shelter Mountain: Book 2 of Virgin River series

    (Welcome back to Virgin River with the books that started ...)

    2013
  • The View from Alameda Island

    (A poignant and powerful story about how one woman’s best ...)

    2019
  • The Wanderer

    (Welcome back to Thunder Point! Return to where it all beg...)

    2019
  • Redwood Bend

    (Katie Malone and her twin boys' trip along the beautiful ...)

    2016
  • Any Day Now: A Novel

    (The highly anticipated sequel to #1 New York Times bestse...)

    2017
  • A New Hope

    (Starting over is never easy, but in Thunder Point, where ...)

    2015
  • Swept Away

    (The emotional story of a young woman's journey as she lea...)

    2016
  • Virgin River

    (Welcome back to Virgin River with the books that started ...)

    2012
  • Temptation Ridge

    (Welcome back to Virgin River with the books that started ...)

    2013
  • Deep in the Valley

    (Revisit Grace Valley, California, in book 1 of this fan-f...)

    2017
  • Sunrise Point

    (Return to Virgin River with the books that started it all...)

    2016
  • Moonlight Road

    (With her beloved younger siblings settled and happy, Erin...)

    2014
  • Informed Risk

    (Playing with Fire Mike Cavanaugh was a firefighter; it wa...)

    2017
  • The House on Olive Street

    (Elly, Sable, Barbara Ann and Beth. They have been drawn t...)

    2014
  • Hidden Summit 2016
  • Promise Canyon 2015

Views

Carr brings to her work stylish writing, interesting characters facing real-life problems and plotting that meets the dynamic readers love while still being twisty enough to hold their attention book after book after book.

Those who try to explain Robyn’s “sudden” success might say it was because she was on the leading edge of a trend toward small-town romances. The truth is, Robyn’s Virgin River and Thunder Point series, like her earlier Grace Valley books, are a blend of romance and women’s fiction—books that not only entertain but also address sensitive issues such as domestic violence, health risks, and post-traumatic stress disorder, anything that can compromise a woman’s happiness because she’s female. And there’s no denying that Robyn has a way with words. Her voice is unique and takes her readers into the hearts and minds of the brave men and women who have served in the military, into the families left behind, and into those who confront challenges head-on in their search for love and fulfillment.

Quotations: "My husband was an Air Force pilot man years ago and recently an Air Force wife thanked me for my service! I laughed and said, 'No, I wasn't in the Air Force, my husband was!' And she smiled and said, 'If he served, you served. And thank you."

“I was trained as a nurse, but found it impossible to get work because my husband was constantly being transferred," Carr said in a recent interview. "At the time, I was reading a lot of genre fiction for the sheer entertainment value and I thought to myself, ‘I can write this!’ ”

“I’m frequently asked what it is about my stories that make them so popular," Carr said. "I think it’s the sense of community and that combination of romance and women’s fiction. I’m naturally drawn to strong, capable female characters, and when I begin a story I ask myself, ‘What is she up against?’ It’s very empowering to read about women like ourselves as the characters resolve the issues that threaten their happiness and peace of mind. It’s also empowering to watch smart women choosing and falling in love with men of honor and integrity.”

"I've found my new home—my own brand of women’s fiction. Come away with me!"

Personality

As Robyn Carr stated herself: "I write everyday, read every evening, and when there's time, I find myself catching up on errands and chores. I also enjoy community service and, of course, being a grandmother."

Interests

• travelling

Connections

During Vietnam War, she married her high school friend, Jim, four weeks prior to his attending Air Force Officer’s Training School. Robyn and her now-retired husband Jim enjoy traveling, often taking research trips together. Their children are grown - her son is an Army surgeon; her daughter, a police detective/hostage negotiator. Robyn says that, in addition to reading her novels and making snide remarks about how she’s used family scenarios to her advantage, they have made her a happy grandmother.

husband:

Jim Carr

Son:

Brian Carr

Daughter:

Jamie Carr

Friend:

Kristan Higgins

Robyn Carr and Kristan Higgins have a strong and supportive friendship.

Friend:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Friend:

Jill Shalvis

References

• Author Robin Carr`s Official Website