Giveaway and Author Interview: Ruby Red

Welcome to Writing for Christ!
Thank you for being with us today. What an honor for me to be here today among such wonderful people. Thank you for having me.


Tell us a little about yourself!
I am a person you can pass on the street and never notice, but I put my best efforts into an ordinary life in order to accomplish something extraordinary. After serving overseas as a missionary, I chose the classroom for my next challenge. Twenty-five years later, I am still here--it's home. Presently, I am the Special Education Coordinator at Denton’s county juvenile facility for teens.

I have hundreds of articles in print, dozens of short stories in book collections, and one of them was on PAX TV. I am the author of eight novels. The first three I co-authored with Susan Wales, whose husband produced the TV series Christy. My following books I soloed.

The first of The Turtle Creek Edition series, The Christmas Edition, caught the eye of director/producer Steven Zambo of Salty Earth Pictures. Filmed in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin this past winter, the movie is now in post production. The targeted release of the movie based on my book is December 2010, Journey to Paradise. As a result, my publisher is re-leasing this book with a new ending and more scenes, so even if you have read it the first time, you will want the newer copy. Steve Zambo plans on releasing my next three books of that series The Valentine Edition and The Easter Edition.

Wildcard is my thriller/romance novel about a micro chip that is placed on voting machines to tip the results of the next presidential election.

And now my latest release, Ruby Red, a young adult historical novel written for young teens, although my mailbox is filled with letters from adults who are just as passionate about Ruby.

Sparklesoup LLC. Kailin Gow, publisher/editor at Sparklesoup says this about RUBY RED..."the writing is beautiful. This is the girl version of Huckleberry Finn and Oliver Twist. Sure to be a classic.” Sparklesoup.com

(from the book) Ruby didn’t know she sparkled with beauty like the gem whose name she carried. Her skin was like lush earth darkened by the heat of summer’s noonday sun. But it wasn’t the green of summer it was the white of winter and Ruby had no place to call home.



1: How long did you write before you were published?
I fell in love with writing in the fifth grade. I adored my writing teacher and she always read the best compositions aloud in class. The way she cradled them in her hands told me they were treasures. I worked extremely hard to please her and hear my words read aloud, but I was never chosen. A few years later, we moved to Delavan, Wisconsin. I wrote a composition for my ELA teacher and she told me there was no way I could have written that paper because it was too good. When I told her each and every word belonged to me, she sent me to the principal for lying. Actually, I was pretty happy by then because all this fuss made me realize I had written a very good paper. The principal called my mother and spoke with her. She told him that she watched me write that paper sitting at the kitchen table. I have been working on stories since the 5th grade. My first published piece was a poem about a dog named Maggie when I was in college. I received three dollars payment. I was on my way.



2: When you held that first book in your hands, what was your first thought?
Will I ever publish another book? Honest, that was my first thought. Fear. It took several days to sink in that I was actually an author that my name was on a book of the story I had carried around inside of me for years. It was official.

3: Tell us about your current book.

Ruby Red is truly a work of heart. She was conceived shortly after I read the first account of Orphan Train riders. As I paged through pictures I noted there were only white children. What happened to the non-white children who were also orphaned? As I researched, I came to realize they were kept in the city, left on the streets to fend for themselves, or put into households as servants. My two children are adopted. Matthew is Caucasian. Kim is a lovely mixture of Caucasian, Hispanic and African American. I realized if they had lived back then, Matthew would have made the train trip west to find a new family but Kim would have remained in New York City with a dim future.

Ruby Red is a fictionalized tale of a true event. Homeless children roamed the streets of New York City from the late 1800s through the 1930s. Death and disease were heaped upon poverty and overcrowding, causing thousands of children to be abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Eleven-year-old Ruby is taken in as a maid. Believing life holds more for her than washing someone s clothes, she makes a risky move by faking insanity. After being expelled from the household, Ruby sneaks onto the Orphan Train. With her best friend, a cockroach named Red, housed in a canning jar, Ruby searches for a place to call home and runs into adventure and heartbreak. Both an enigma and a young teen, she is the perfect reflection of how life once was in America. Ruby embodies goodness, and simplicity of truth; a rare gem which bespeaks her name. Softened a bit through suffering she refuses to be hardened and keeps believing that the world holds a special place for her. Written beautifully by author Robin Jansen Shope for young teens and adults, the indomitable spirit of Ruby Red triumphs and will live in your heart far beyond the pages of the book.



4: What are you working on now?
This summer I have to get crack’n on completing the second book in the Ruby Red series, due out before Christmas. I am also writing a woman’s fiction mystery set on an island in Lake Michigan. And am co-authoring a thriller set in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago, Illinois with John Friedman, a former Chicago defense attorney.

5: Where can readers find out more about your books?
Readers can find my books on amazon and also order them from any bookstore.

If anyone is on FaceBook, I would count it an honor to have them join Ruby Red Fan Page. We will be doing all things Ruby Red from class/group discussion questions, contests, promotions and forums. No one wants to miss all the giveaways!

Ruby Red can be ordered from Amazon or any bookstore. Amazon Kindle will have it as an eBook and so will Apple’s iPad!

Ruby Red will also be part of a new girl's social club site for girls age 13 to 19 that is coming out in June called, The Shy Girls Social Club, based on a book by the same title coming out in June. The website link is:

http://www.shygirlssocialclub.com/

What a great way for young girls and the adults who love them to spend their summer.

I would love for everyone to befriend me on Facebook, Robin Jansen Shope. Also please join Journey to Paradise Movie and Salty Earth Pictures for movie updates.

My blog is The Serial Writings of Robin Shope

http://write2robinshope.blogspot.com/



6: What message(s) do you want to be clear to your readers about the book?

Description

Ruby Red is a fictionalized tale of a true event. Homeless children roamed the streets of New York City from the late 1800s through the 1930s. Death and disease were heaped upon poverty and overcrowding, causing thousands of children to be abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Eleven-year-old Ruby is taken in as a maid. Believing life holds more for her than washing someone s clothes, she makes a risky move by faking insanity. After being expelled from the household, Ruby sneaks onto the Orphan Train. With her best friend, a cockroach named Red, housed in a canning jar, Ruby searches for a place to call home and runs into adventure and heartbreak. Both an enigma and a young teen, she is the perfect reflection of how life once was in America. Ruby embodies goodness, and simplicity of truth; a rare gem which bespeaks her name. Softened a bit through suffering she refuses to be hardened and keeps believing that the world holds a special place for her. Written beautifully by author Robin Jansen Shope for young teens and adults, the indomitable spirit of Ruby Red triumphs and will live in your heart far beyond the pages of the book.



7: What are two things that people wouldn't normally know about you as a writer and or person?

I carry a notebook or a small recorder where ever I go because there’s no telling when or where new characters will introduce themselves to me. Sometimes it’s in the middle of the night, at other times I am mid-bite of a taco when they show up to tell me their story. No, I am not schizophrenic. I am a writer. There are book people waiting to be born and they are all over the place.

Thank you for being with us today. Any final words for readers?

Thank you for hosting me today Casey. It means a lot to me for those who took time to read this interview. I especially want to thank everyone who took time to leave a comment. I also want to thank my faithful readers for purchasing my books and emailing me or writing to me. I love answering you. I really hope you will connect with me on FB. I care about you. It’s for you I write.

Readers here is your chance to enter to win this novel! Leave a comment with your email address. IF I DRAW YOUR NAME AND THERE IS NO EMAIL ADDRESS YOU WILL NOT WIN!!

For extra entries:
~be a follower
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And a NEW one:
~Follow a great giveaway blog, The Borrowed Book

Contest is only open in the U.S. and void where prohibited. Chances of winning are based on the number of entries and winner is draw from a non-biased third party- Random.org. I am not responsible for any lost or damaged items of said prize.

Thanks for coming by to enter!

Contest ends on August  7th.