Today, I have author Robin Lyn in the interview chair. We’re discussing her latest release Enchanted Ink, an LGBTQ+ contemporary romance. Don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.
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1. Hi, Robin. First off, readers have an idea of the writer you but what about the everyday you? Can you share about your personal life?
Robin: Hi! Thanks for interviewing me! Oh, gosh, I used to be so much more interesting—I have a BSN/RN and a paramedic license and for many years, I worked two full-time jobs at once in emergency medicine! Unfortunately, I got injured on the job and became disabled, which forced a life change, so I began writing full-time instead. I’m pretty deep into the Supernatural fandom, and began posting some of my work as fanfiction, which built me a sizeable fanbase.
Now, I attend fan conventions when I’m able and sell my books, which is a great intersection of worlds and has really given them a visibility boost. Day to day, I’m mostly taking care of my five-year-old son, who has quite a few medical issues that prevent him from attending daycare. Juggling his needs, taking care of my house and myself, and lately, navigating everything that comes with indie publishing! Which is a whole job in and of itself, isn’t it?!
My family also hosts a bit of a “Last Chance Ranch” for senior shih tzus with health issues, dogs who have been abandoned and are at risk for euthanasia. (Meaning, our friends in rescue send us photos they know we can’t resist, and suddenly we have another family member.) So that takes up quite a bit of time! Right now, the ranch is at capacity with five doggies; several have lost various senses, one has three legs, one has dementia—the goal is just to give them a wonderful, comfortable sunset period of life, for however long that might be. I don’t get out very much, and my dogs bring me a lot of joy!
2. I’ve been perusing your Goodreads page and see you are drawn to magic. Why this genre?
Robin: It’s definitely the potential that “magic” or a magical world innately provides. As a reader, I’m looking for escapism, and diving into a universe where you know right off the bat that the normal rules are suspended makes it really easy to drop in and immerse yourself. Plus, it’s exciting to discover those “new rules” as you go!
On the flip side, as a writer, magic as a concept removes so many built-in limitations. It creates endless narrative opportunities, plot devices and solutions, or vehicles to use as metaphors. In “Enchanted Ink,” magical solutions exist for nearly everything, but each one is only as useful as the person wielding the power has developed it to be. Therefore, magic is more of a tool and less of an instant fix. The story explores that magical infusion into the otherwise mundane through the art of tattooing, and uses the transformation of the main character’s ruined tattoo to mirror his internal healing from trauma.
Personally, I only write queer romance, and I prefer to write in “Schitt’s Creek” universes: worlds where queer happiness (rather than queer struggles and pain) sits front and center, and homophobia isn’t an angst-wrought given. Sadly, I think magical universes often help readers suspend that bit of disbelief and the urge to compare against the harshness of “the real world,” and what it’s too often like for lgbtq+ folks on a daily basis.
3. Your latest release is Enchanted Ink. Can you tell me what inspired you to create this novel?
Robin: This background is a bit silly—originally, my intent was to gift a short story to a friend, and I asked her for a few tropes or themes that she particularly enjoys reading, in lieu of direction. The wishlist she compiled was long, hilariously wild, and all over the map, with no common threads connecting one trope to another. She gave it to me with an apologetic caveat and the insistence that she absolutely knew I wouldn’t be able to include everything in one story. I took that extremely personally, refused to rest until I did just that, and here we are!
Beyond the unusual technical origins, though, I saw a seriously cool opportunity to showcase an intimate and emotional love story, as well as almost anthropomorphize trauma healing through a magical transformation, to make it fun and take some of the sting out. I wound up pouring a chunk of my own past experiences into those aspects of the story, and I’m super proud of what came out the other side.
4. Let’s talk about the main characters. What do you love most about Ashton and what makes you want to shake him?
Robin: Ashton is a truly resilient and beautiful soul who wants very badly to see the best in humanity and in others, despite the things he’s been through and the way he’s been treated. What I absolutely love about Ashton is that he’s jaded, but he’s willing to try. Ashton sees his damaged tattoo as a true extension of himself, broken by someone else’s hand. Any type of repair will require making himself vulnerable again, but even knowing that, he still has the guts to go actively searching for a fix.
He is very shakeable at times, though. As understandable as Ashton’s reluctant approach toward romance is, his attitude towards Link verges on obnoxious. Arguably, the things that Ashton fairly readily trusts Link to handle with care (his tattoo, his career, his reputation) should’ve been protected more solidly than his heart, but trauma isn’t always rational. Ashton just happens to be exceptionally good at rationalizing his way out of any situation he’s decided he wants to dismiss.
5. The same for his love interest in the novel. What do you love most about him and what makes you want to shake him?
Robin: Link is also a pretty amazing and resilient human, and there’s a reason that he and Ashton click right off the bat. They’re similar people in a lot of ways, but Link is a bit ahead of Ashton in his recovery journey. His seeing through Ashton and recognizing there’s more to the story than just a messy tattoo is definitely related, as is the way Link both pushes Ashton while meeting him where he is. He really sets his own wants and needs to the side out of genuine care and interest, and I think it takes a pretty spectacular person to walk that delicate line.
Which is why I absolutely want to shake Link when it comes to extending that same grace and unconditional cheerleading energy inward. While Link is busy encouraging Ashton to be proud and to own every facet of his body, rabidly pumping up his skills and accomplishments, he’s completely downplaying his own! Link has a huge secret, something that objectively, he should be ridiculously proud to share, but he hides it. Very shakeable.
6. Without giving away any spoilers, what was your favourite scene to write?
Robin: Oh, it’s definitely one towards the end where Ashton displays his finished enchanted tattoo (his wings) for the first time, but under some very surprising and dramatic circumstances. There’s unexpected action and suspense at play; it’s one of those scenes where, as an author, you hope that your readers will be cheering and gasping along with every beat, feeling the emotions that the characters are experiencing at the same time. Plus, it happens in the single-chapter POV swap to Link, which naturally creates an unexpected and interesting perspective on the moment.
7. If a reader asked you why they should read Enchanted Ink, what would you tell them?
Robin: Listen, this book has it all. I know, because that wishlist I mentioned earlier had everything and its mom on it, and I was the guy who had to weave it together. The magical realism runs the gamut from gut-punch-emotional to Link trying (and failing) to refill his empty bag of chips. There’s a beautiful love story filled with mutual respect and two damaged but truly good souls supporting each other in becoming the best version of themselves. There’s art and intimacy, celebrities, secret identities, pop culture references, spicy payoff (in the adult version—there are explicit and clean options! See? Everything!), a message of hope for survivors of trauma, and a heaping dose of righteous rage and redemption.
8. What can we expect from you in the future?
Robin: So much!! I have a whole slew of finished books in the publishing pipeline, and my plans are to release one every six months for the foreseeable future. Queer love stories are the common theme, but each one is very different—there’s a beach read about a reality TV show where bad-at-love singles think they’re going to “Hook Up Island” and instead find themselves competing to develop the most meaningful relationship.
The next is a would-be one-night-stand with a deeply closeted college football coach and a man who turns out to be the professor failing all of his athletes. That one explores the emotional rollercoaster of what falling in love feels like in a world that might hate you for it, but delivers a happy, optimistic ending, not just for the boys but for our world. I also have a two-part series where a prison psychologist and a wrongly-accused sex worker fall for each other and then take on the mob cabal holding the prison hostage as a team. That one features a beachside setting, home renovations, a pet pig, complex twists and turns, the fiercest kind of love, and a whole lot of trauma processing.
The release I’m most excited for, though, is a multi-part wilderness survival story. The first installment is lovingly described by my editor friends as “gay Hatchet,” which is the highest compliment I think I could ever hope to receive.
9. I enjoy doing random questions, so humour me:
- What’s your favourite movie?
“Life as a House,” which is so obscure now in 2023, I think it’s probably an embarrassing pick. You should watch it if you enjoy having your heart ripped out of your chest, though. - What book is currently in your e-reader?
“Lose You to Find Me” by Erik J. Brown—it just came out and I haven’t had time yet, but his “All That’s Left in the World” is at the top of my gay romance rec list, so it’s next. - Who’s your favourite musical group?
Okay, that’s as unfair as “what’s your favorite book?” All of my “favorites” change based on my mood, but right now it’s Muna. Jimmy Eat World might be a candidate for all-time, though. - What song puts a smile on your face?
“Something Better” by Minke. I used to listen to it on repeat when I was writing the cathartic end of a particularly tough story.
10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Robin: No, just thank you so much for having me!
I really hope that if you read Enchanted Ink, you enjoy it, and if not—stick around because I have a whole bunch of completely different stories coming down the pike! There will definitely be something for everyone (so long as you like boys kissing, anyway, that’s a staple and I’m not sorry about it)
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Title: Enchanted Ink
Series: N/A
Author: Robin Lynn
Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Fantasy
Tropes: Fantasy/Magic/World-building, Tattoo artists, Hurt/Comfort, Meet-Cute, Secret Identities, Celebrities, HEA, Queer romance
Themes: Self-acceptance, trauma recovery, transformation, Demisexual representation.
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Release Date: June 1, 2023
Length: 60 000 words
When it comes to transformation, magic only fixes what’s skin deep…
Blurb: In a world where an artist’s magic brings tattoos to life, ink gone wrong can spell lasting heartache for those unlucky enough to experience it. Jaded and cynical on both life and love, tattoo artist Ashton is about to find out that even the most deeply-etched scars can be transformed into something beautiful when the right person is holding the pen.
“Enchanted Ink” is a ground-breaking romance that showcases how, with a bit of ink, some love, and a whole lot of trust, even the ugliest scars can be transformed into something impossibly beautiful.
Using the art of tattooing as a metaphor for life, “Enchanted Ink” makes it a mission to show even the most cynical and scarred of us that it’s possible to heal, to find love, and that it’s never too late to start all over again.
Note: It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.
Pre-Order Links
The twelfth annual “Enchanted Ink” Tattoo Convention has been in full swing for hours, but Ashton has yet to venture inside. It’s not as if he doesn’t know what he’ll find there: a fairly standard convention space, divided using equally standard black curtains hanging from predictable portable frames creating both booths and stations offering displays that are anything but ordinary. Various tattoo artists and their work, in the flesh—the best of the best, by both fact and opinion.
In addition to the booths, there are always several centralized showcase stands, right in the middle of all the hustle and bustle. Elevated platforms where human works of art strip down to their underwear and pose, proudly displaying full-body and wildly colorful tattoos boasting some of the most intricate and beautiful imagery that probably exists in the entire inked world.
This particular convention admits artists by invitation only, and while Ashton isn’t technically here to work this year, it’s an event he’s enjoyed immensely in the past. It’s bittersweet—perhaps a touch heavy on the bitter—hovering on the outskirts, wondering whether he’ll ever find himself behind a booth and promoting his work again. While that remains to be seen, there’s plenty here to worry about in the meantime.
The thought of Whitaker working somewhere inside the building behind him crosses Ashton’s mind and makes him grimace. He can practically feel the tentative nerve he’s so painstakingly gathered, the courage to finally wander through the front door, trickling away like water through a sieve.
Again.
Good thing it’s a nice day out, today. Sixty-eight degrees and sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and Ashton brought a book. He can wait. The courage to go inside will come.
Probably.
Sighing, Ashton rubs the sleeve of his too-dressy collared shirt across the backs of his eyelids. The button on the cuff pokes his eye, and it feels like a call-out. He’s too dressed up, he looks out of place. Too covered, if nothing else. Which isn’t to say that tattooed folks can’t be modest—naturally, that’s false and would be a terribly judgemental view to hold. Either way, the whole point of a tattoo convention is to show off one’s body and as much art decorating skin as possible. It’s supposed to be a positive, empowering experience.
That’s definitely the point, and his body is aesthetically pleasant to look at, both sculpted and toned—yet here Ashton is, buttoned up solidly from head to toe. Acting like he cares more about looking the part of a corporate stooge rather than flaunting the walking canvas he is. Lame. So lame.
Lame, but necessary, he reminds himself.
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Robin Lynn is a 36-year-old queer, autistic mother of two, an unabashed fangirl sometimes known as “Wings,” and a disabled former firefighter, paramedic, and registered nurse. She writes for queer audiences with the goal of reflecting and centering the lgbtqia2s+ community in more media, because everyone deserves to see relatable, imperfect main characters who mirror themselves simply existing and getting their happy endings.
Find out more and follow Robin for additional content and future projects
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Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win one of 5 ebook copies of Fire & Ice or one of 2 signed Enchanted Ink paperbacks with related swag: temporary tattoos and stickers.
Maggie Blackbird 