Featured Interview With Robin Chappell
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Although I was born in the Mid-West, I spent the majority of my life on the East Coast. Before that, I was carted around the country by my ‘gypsy’ father, and lived in ten different cities before the age of 12. (And they wondered why I didn’t ‘settle down.’)
Since 2005, I have lived in Los Angeles, having moved here because I am(was) an Actor as well as a Screenwriter. I drug myself ‘kicking and screaming’ here because I figured that this was the best place to fit into both of those roles. Little did I know that 2008 was just around the corner, and the issue of “runaway productions” meant that my acting work thinned to nothing.
Since 2020, I began to self publish novels adapted from my scripts, working to get those novels to sell as jumpstarts to getting my productions funded. (Hint: that hasn’t happened yet.) Writing is the easy part. Promoting and getting your book ‘out into the world’ is another matter.
I don’t (as most everyone else does) stick with writing one genre. My first novel was a romantic drama (as opposed to a “romance”) with themes of women’s issues and politics. My second novel is a “Horror”/Science Fiction work that I call Metaphysical Fiction. It has the standard tropes of horror (Devil worship and Dark Forces) but also has the theme of Transformation and spiritual development.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I wrote my first short story at the age of five (long since in the trashbin of my history). I began reading in earnest in elementary school and reading a number of books over several genre’s. I was introduced to the magic of Tolkien at the age of twelve, and that became my go to set of books whenever life became to difficult. By re-reading LOTR, my ‘facination’ with books was firmly cemented.
I began writing in earnest in my twenties, and wrote what I thought was my first screenplay (a treatment really) when I was 27. I finished my first script at the age of 40.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have read just about every (majority) genre there is, but Science Fiction and Fantasy were my mainstays.
I write when I feel driven to write. I’m not sure (since I’ve read so many books) who my “inspiration” might be.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
“shadows and Light” is about the nature of reality and the perils of the darker aspects of this world. It follows the journey of the protagonist, Dr. Kathryn Runyon from waking up to finding out that entire life has been a lie, into finally stepping into who she was meant to be. Along the way, Dark Forces try to kill her then subjugate her, but she finds the inner resources to escape and then triumph over her ‘intended’ story.
It is what has been recently called “Elevated Horror.” It has the tropes of horror, but is more than that.
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