romance writer

I had the pleasure of interviewing Robynn Honeychurch. She writes beautiful and heart-warming romance novels– but that’s not all! Robynn is passionate about homeschooling and wrote a book to inform and guide parents who are considering this avenue to educate their children. We spoke about her background, her writing, and the benefits she found in homeschooling her child.

Q.  Tell me about yourself and your background.

A. I grew up in British Columbia, Canada, to hippy parents who moved around a lot. I met my husband in University and it took us a while to decide to settle down on Vancouver Island where my parents and sisters are.  When we moved into the little house we purchased in the small town of Comox it was my 64 move!  I had my daughter at 31, and, due to a lot of challenges she has faced, committed to homeschooling her.  I also worked online as a homeschool support teacher through a government funded program until last year when I decided I’d have enough of doing what I was “supposed to” do.  It was time for me to return to my dream of writing!

Q.  When did you decide you wanted to pursue writing?

A. I began writing poems in earnest in grade 5, and that’s about the time the idea of being a writer formed in my mind.  In grades 8 and 9 I wrote many short stories and had several published in anthologies and the local paper.  In grade 11, I published my first book of poetry through my aunt’s printing press.  And although the dream of being a money-making published author has stayed with me all these years, life has gotten in the way.  I did, however, publish a children’s book in 2002. Now, though, I have the time to dedicate to this dream, and I am focusing on my desire to write novels!

Q. What challenges have you encountered and overcome as you published your books?

A. As a parent, my biggest challenge right now is finding the time to write, edit and learn to market my books.  The second biggest challenge is not to get disheartened by how difficult it is to break into the writing market and actually become a recognized author, so that I can make money at this profession.

Q. What writers have influenced you?

A. Over the years I have been influenced by SO many writers and poets, that I really don’t have any favorites.  I can’t say I am a loyal fan of any particular authors, to be honest, though I do love Nora Robert’s romances and the poems of Mary Oliver.

Q. How do you come up with ideas for your novels?

A. I use experiences I have had and locations I have been to as a base for each novel.  I imagine characters with flaws and goals and create problems that they’ll have to solve to make the goal of a happy romance possible.  I never base my characters on people I actually know– I much prefer to use my imagination.

Q. What is your marketing plan? Has it evolved as you have published more books?

A. I am now paying a marketer (personal assistant) to help me so that I can focus more of my limited time on writing.  However, there still seems to be so many pieces of this task to do.  I still feel very busy! I am focusing these days on building my mailing list of supportive readers, growing the number of reviews on my books, and learning to successfully use Amazon ads and Facebook ads.  Next, I will focus on learning to use Book Bub to increase my sales as well.

Q. Are you working on a book now?

A.  Yes!  His Hometown Lady is in the editing stages… and then I have to decide what’s next!

Q. I see you also have a non-fiction book about homeschooling. Please tell me about it.

A. In my 11 years working as a teacher supporting homeschooling families, and homeschooling my own child, I learned so much about this process and wanted to offer a concise support guide to get families oriented towards this task.  The book is an overview of what parents need to know to get going with homeschooling in the least stressful way.  I have two follow-up books on learning that I want to publish as well… maybe they’ll be my next project!

Q. Please tell me briefly what you think are the benefits of homeschooling.

A. Personally, with a child with extra needs, the benefits have been that I am able to make sure she is getting the extra help she needs so that she can learn and graduate.  Students with extra needs can get lost in the shuffle, and a lack of resources can prevent public-schooled children from getting the additional support they need.  For children who are not struggling, homeschooling can still offer so many advantages, such as maintaining a closer bond with family and really absorbing a family’s values and belief system, having opportunities to travel, pursue personal passions and do schoolwork on a non-standard schedule. Homeschooling offers families and students more freedom of choice as far as what is taught, and it offers children the advantage of being able to pursue learning that is personally meaningful.  Homeschooled children usually end up with a stronger sense of self as well as knowing their own passions and having self-drive to pursue them.  Homeschooled children also have more experience functioning in the “real world” and interacting with people of all ages, as they are almost always out in their community more.  I fully believe that if a family is able and inclined, homeschooling can be a real blessing for the whole family.  I guess that wasn’t brief, LOL.  You can tell this topic is a passionate one for me.

Q. Your novel Greek Holiday: Greece captured her heart, but can he? takes place on the Greek island of Aegina. How did you conduct research for this exotic location?

A. I went there twice!  I love travelling and although I haven’t done much yet, I intend to travel more in the future and use this as my inspiration for future novels.

Q. Do you belong to a writing group?

 A. Yes, I am part of the Vancouver Island Romance Authors group!  It has been a great support for me as I launched into trying to be a money-making author. We communicate online and this works well for me.

Q. Do you attend writing conferences? If so, which one(s)?

A. At this time, I have not.  I am a real introvert and don’t enjoy large groups of people, so this hasn’t been an interest of mine.

Q. Please tell me about your newsletter.

A. Thank you for asking! I share about my writing and offer opportunities for free reads to my subscribers, on the first and fifteenth of every month.  I also love getting readers opinions on topics such as book covers, and whether I should produce audiobook versions of my books, etc. Connecting with my readers is SO fun!

Q. Is there anything more you would like to add?

A. Thank you for interviewing me!  It’s been fun! I have more ideas and creativity than I have time… so I will be busy long into the future!

Thank you, Robynn, for this interview! Robynn has worked hard to bring her engaging and informative books to the public. To learn more about her, click on her website https://robynnhoneychurch.com/ and check out her books on Amazon.

Idelle Kursman is the author of the True Mercy, a thriller focusing on autism and human trafficking, and The Book of Revelations, a story of a woman who must deal with her secret past.

True Mercy is available on Amazon and Smashwords.

The Book of Revelations is on Amazon and Draft2Digital.