Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty-two years, her three beautiful daughters, two precious grandsons, and their three character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else?
She gives back to the writing community by serving as Conference Director for ACFW. Her books have finaled/placed in such contests as RT Reviewer's Choice, Bookseller's Best, and Carol Award. Deliver Us from Evil earned the Holt Medallion in 2011 and was nominated for the RT Readers’ Choice Award. An avid reader herself, Robin loves hearing from and chatting with other readers. Although her favorite genre to read is mystery/suspense, of course, she’ll read just about any good story. Except historicals!
Visit Robin Caroll online
Injustice for All
A federal judge lies bleeding on his office floor, betrayed by a most unlikely source—people who helped him bring criminals to justice. Now, why would someone working for the FBI need to disappear after witnessing this crime? When Remington Wyatt sees her godfather’s murder, she recognizes the killers and knows it’s only a matter of time before they come to silence her. She must do the only thing possible to stay alive . . . run. FBI agent Rafe Baxter is serious about his career, and solving a cold case involving a federal judge’s death puts him in line for the promotion he so desires. But the case leads him to the small town of Hopewell, Louisiana, where some secrets seem inextricably hidden deep within the bayou. Injustice for All explores what happens when everything a person believes in is utterly destroyed. Who can you trust?
- ISBN: 143367212X
- Publisher: B & H Publishing Group
Interview with Robin Caroll
A reader recently recommended Robin Caroll’s January release, Injustice for All, by stating, “This story has danger, FBI, murder, trust, betrayal, faith, secrets, the Louisiana bayou, a cold case, injustices, manipulating the justice system, and love.” As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also steady action by memorable characters in this first release in Robin’s new series, The Justice Seekers. Robin’s many fans as well as new readers are bound to enjoy Injustice for All.
Robin, it’s clear in Injustice for All, as well as some of your other suspense novels, that you are very knowledgeable about the legal system. Do you have a legal background yourself? If not, how have you prepared yourself to write about it so successfully?
Funny thing about that…I went to college to be a paralegal. Upon completion, I actually worked for two full weeks at a law office before I realized the legal system and the justice system are not one and the same. I had been delusional in believing they were. So, I quit my job and never looked back at the paralegal field.
As far as my writing, I believe in ample research. That might mean calling people in the field and asking the questions, or in the case of Injustice for All, sitting in a courtroom for multiple trials to get the nuances right.
The question of trust appears to be a major issue in your exciting new release. Is there a particular reason that you chose to make trust a focus in Injustice for All? Will it be a theme of this series?
Trust is one of the major themes in Injustice for All, because it fit the story. The series will revolve around injustices in one form or another. Naturally if there’s injustice, there’s not a whole lot of trust following. lol
You write about the South specifically, Robin, and you live there yourself. How do your Southern roots impact your writing? What aspects of the South’s culture appear in your books?
I find it extremely difficult when I have to write a Northern character, because I don’t have that mindset. Each region of the US has a uniqueness—a dialect, spices, certain foods, perception. I simply tap into what I know and have always known. Some of the South’s culture that appears in my writing are the bayou setting (I can close my eyes and smell, hear, and “see” the bayou in my mind), the spices and delectable foods of the south, and often, I use the dialect and traditions of the old South.
The second book in The Justice Seekers series will be released in September and a third the following February. Do you find tight deadlines like these help you focus or add greater pressure to your writing days?
Surprisingly, I find I write best under deadline. Sometimes, life interferes and the deadlines get REALLY tight and I’m a bear to live with for a few weeks while I’m racing to the deadline and finishing up. My family is so supportive that I can do this.
Our readers on the ACFW website range from multi-published authors to writers who are just beginning their careers. One topic that interests both groups is, how do you structure your writing time? How do you keep other aspects of life from interfering with your writing?
I’m blessed that writing and being the ACFW Conference Director are my full-time jobs, so I don’t have to work outside the home. The biggest help to me is organization. I am a FREAK when it comes to being organized. What’s amusing is that while I’m so organized with timelines and to-do lists and deadlines, I am NOT a plotter in my writing. I prefer to do in-depth character interviews and outlines, a very basic plot synopsis, and then I just write.
Why did you choose to write Christian fiction in particular?
Honestly? The only Christian fiction I knew existed were prairie romances, and everyone who knows me, knows I don’t enjoy reading anything historical. My older sister (who is an avid reader as well) and I used to exchange books we’d read and enjoyed. In one batch, she sent me a Dee Henderson book. The first in the O’Malley series. I read it in two hours, then went to the bookstore to get the others. I was hooked. I remember thinking that THESE were the types of books I wanted to write. And that’s what I set out to do.
What do you think are some of the changes we will see in Christian fiction over the next five years?
Wow, the industry is constantly changing and growing. There are more opportunities to get our faith-based books out to the world today than ever before. I’m not real sure what changes we’ll see, but I can’t wait, that’s for sure.
You’ve been very involved with ACFW, serving as President in 2007 and 2008, and as the Conference Director since 2009. Obviously, these are very time consuming commitments in the life of a busy author. What makes the involvement worth it for you? Why do you promote ACFW to others?
I know that I would not be where I am today had it not been for ACFW and several of the members. Serving as president was my way of giving back to the organization that gave me so much. I love serving as Conference Director. Maybe it’s the organizational-control-freak part of me, but I LOVE the weeks after conference when people share stories of how the conference did something for them…they learned something that has pushed their writing over the top, they got to meet their CPs in person and now they’re buddies for life, they connected with someone and a new friendship has been formed, they’ve made a connection with an agent, they get spiritually renewed…to know that all the hard work of the entire team and boards paid off in people being blessed, THAT’s what makes everything worth it.
I couldn’t help noticing that your heroine in Injustice for All shares a name with your second daughter, Remington. Have any other family members had characters named after them?
lol….Actually, all THREE of my daughters’ names were used in Injustice for All: Emily, Remington, and Isabella
Thanks for sharing with us, Robin!
Thanks! This has been a lot of fun.
Robin, it’s clear in Injustice for All, as well as some of your other suspense novels, that you are very knowledgeable about the legal system. Do you have a legal background yourself? If not, how have you prepared yourself to write about it so successfully?
Funny thing about that…I went to college to be a paralegal. Upon completion, I actually worked for two full weeks at a law office before I realized the legal system and the justice system are not one and the same. I had been delusional in believing they were. So, I quit my job and never looked back at the paralegal field.
As far as my writing, I believe in ample research. That might mean calling people in the field and asking the questions, or in the case of Injustice for All, sitting in a courtroom for multiple trials to get the nuances right.
The question of trust appears to be a major issue in your exciting new release. Is there a particular reason that you chose to make trust a focus in Injustice for All? Will it be a theme of this series?
Trust is one of the major themes in Injustice for All, because it fit the story. The series will revolve around injustices in one form or another. Naturally if there’s injustice, there’s not a whole lot of trust following. lol
You write about the South specifically, Robin, and you live there yourself. How do your Southern roots impact your writing? What aspects of the South’s culture appear in your books?
I find it extremely difficult when I have to write a Northern character, because I don’t have that mindset. Each region of the US has a uniqueness—a dialect, spices, certain foods, perception. I simply tap into what I know and have always known. Some of the South’s culture that appears in my writing are the bayou setting (I can close my eyes and smell, hear, and “see” the bayou in my mind), the spices and delectable foods of the south, and often, I use the dialect and traditions of the old South.
The second book in The Justice Seekers series will be released in September and a third the following February. Do you find tight deadlines like these help you focus or add greater pressure to your writing days?
Surprisingly, I find I write best under deadline. Sometimes, life interferes and the deadlines get REALLY tight and I’m a bear to live with for a few weeks while I’m racing to the deadline and finishing up. My family is so supportive that I can do this.
Our readers on the ACFW website range from multi-published authors to writers who are just beginning their careers. One topic that interests both groups is, how do you structure your writing time? How do you keep other aspects of life from interfering with your writing?
I’m blessed that writing and being the ACFW Conference Director are my full-time jobs, so I don’t have to work outside the home. The biggest help to me is organization. I am a FREAK when it comes to being organized. What’s amusing is that while I’m so organized with timelines and to-do lists and deadlines, I am NOT a plotter in my writing. I prefer to do in-depth character interviews and outlines, a very basic plot synopsis, and then I just write.
Why did you choose to write Christian fiction in particular?
Honestly? The only Christian fiction I knew existed were prairie romances, and everyone who knows me, knows I don’t enjoy reading anything historical. My older sister (who is an avid reader as well) and I used to exchange books we’d read and enjoyed. In one batch, she sent me a Dee Henderson book. The first in the O’Malley series. I read it in two hours, then went to the bookstore to get the others. I was hooked. I remember thinking that THESE were the types of books I wanted to write. And that’s what I set out to do.
What do you think are some of the changes we will see in Christian fiction over the next five years?
Wow, the industry is constantly changing and growing. There are more opportunities to get our faith-based books out to the world today than ever before. I’m not real sure what changes we’ll see, but I can’t wait, that’s for sure.
You’ve been very involved with ACFW, serving as President in 2007 and 2008, and as the Conference Director since 2009. Obviously, these are very time consuming commitments in the life of a busy author. What makes the involvement worth it for you? Why do you promote ACFW to others?
I know that I would not be where I am today had it not been for ACFW and several of the members. Serving as president was my way of giving back to the organization that gave me so much. I love serving as Conference Director. Maybe it’s the organizational-control-freak part of me, but I LOVE the weeks after conference when people share stories of how the conference did something for them…they learned something that has pushed their writing over the top, they got to meet their CPs in person and now they’re buddies for life, they connected with someone and a new friendship has been formed, they’ve made a connection with an agent, they get spiritually renewed…to know that all the hard work of the entire team and boards paid off in people being blessed, THAT’s what makes everything worth it.
I couldn’t help noticing that your heroine in Injustice for All shares a name with your second daughter, Remington. Have any other family members had characters named after them?
lol….Actually, all THREE of my daughters’ names were used in Injustice for All: Emily, Remington, and Isabella
Thanks for sharing with us, Robin!
Thanks! This has been a lot of fun.
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