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Interview with Robin Lee Hatcher

By on June 10, 2007 in Faith, Intriguing People, Writing

Robin Lee Hatcher’s Return to Me puts a twist on the parable of the prodigal by making the returning child and the sibling female and by dropping the story into contemporary times. Roxy Burke left for Nashville seven years ago determined to make it big. Now she’s returning to her family and her hometown feeling smaller than a worm. Her father receives her with open arms and celebrates her arrival.
Her sister, Elena, doesn’t really see anything worth celebrating. It’s obvious to everyone that Roxy made very poor choices with her life, right? Why should she be rewarded with a job, a place to stay, and a chance for salvation? Shouldn’t Roxy be punished for her past? Elena’s done everything right. Worked her way up in the family company. Gotten a college degree. Supported herself financially and made wise investments. Even kept herself pure for her future husband—who just happens to be Roxy’s old fiancé, Wyatt. So why the big fuss over Roxy? Is it because everyone, Wyatt included, loves Roxy more?

Read the rest of my review…Amazon review of Return to Me or CBD review of Return to Me

Robin, extremely gracious person that she is, joins us for an interview:

Robin, how did you get the idea for this novel?

I was in Illinois, awaiting a visit to a Christian television station for an interview, when Roxy Burke entered my mind with these lines:

There exists a strange moment between sleep and wakefulness when dreams cease and realism remains at bay. That was when Roxy’s heart spoke to her.

It’s time to go home.

Roxanne Burke had given Nashville seven years to discover her. She’d offered her voice, her face, her fortune—and eventually, her body—but despite her desperate grasps at the brass ring, country music and stardom didn’t want her.

Roxy was worse than a has-been. She was a never-was.

I was completely taken with the story from that moment on.

This book made me reconsider my relationship with my brother and how our family life looked from his perspective. Do you have any siblings?

I have an older brother, Rick. He lives across the country from me, so we don’t see each other very often. He talks to my mom every week, but he and I are more apt to exchange emails. The last time I saw him was for our mom’s 90th birthday bash. He and his daughters and grandkids came to Boise for that, as did all of our cousins. It was a grand time.

Which sister do you identify with the most? Elena or Roxy?

I probably identify most with Roxy and yet I have great empathy for Elena.
Did Roxy first appear to you as a character–like others you’ve created–or as the prodigal? Or was she both instantly?

I knew very early on that this was a story of the prodigal and her sister. I can’t tell you if it was that very first day I envisioned Roxy or not, but if not, it was soon thereafter.
Was it difficult to craft a unique story around such a well-known Biblical parable? After all, the majority of your audience knows where the story is heading.

No, that part wasn’t hard for me. The biblical story is well known, but it is actually very brief so there was a lot more beneath the surface to be explored. I read the parable of the prodigal in many different versions of the Bible and then just let Roxy and her family’s story play out.
All three of the younger characters—Roxy, Elena, and Wyatt—must surrender their dreams at some point during the story. Do you think this is a necessary step to finding peace?

One of my major life lessons of this past decade has been to “surrender all.” It is absolutely necessary for Christians to surrender everything to Jesus, and we must do so on a daily basis. Surrender brings great freedom and perfect peace, but there is often a great battle that occurs before we stubborn human beings drop to our knees at the foot of the cross. But if we are His and we believe He loves us and is in control, how can we fear surrendering to His will? That’s a question I ask myself whenever I’m struggling with life (life as it is and not as I would have it).

Roxy fails to succeed in Nashville for a variety of reasons. When you wrote Return to Me, were you consciously thinking of all the careers that might parallel her story? i.e., unpublished authors slaving away in obscurity for years? 😉

No, I really didn’t think of other careers that might parallel. Roxy was so real to me that I truly only thought about her and the singing career she wanted — but not enough to keep her from making so many poor choices.

A deeply spiritual experience occurs in a very unlikely place. Without giving too much away, how did this scene come about? What does this show us about the Lord and the way He works?

That scene was one of those wonderful Ah-ha moments that writers get to experience — all too infrequently, as far as I’m concerned. It simply popped into my mind, and I knew it was perfect. As for your second question, I believe those of us who have been followers of Christ for many years are often guilty of putting God in a box. We expect Him to always do things the way we expect Him to do things. But He is so much bigger than the box, and He can reach us anywhere we go. As Betsy ten Boom said, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.” God’s love is there, even in the pit.
Roxy and Elena sure have a lot of issues between them to deal with. What steps might estranged siblings take to develop a better relationship?

True reconciliation can only happen when its more important to reconcile/forgive/be forgiven than it is to be right.

Anything else you’d like to say?

Thanks for allowing me to visit your blog. I’m delighted you enjoyed Return to Me.

Thank you for writing an entertaining, applicable-to-real-life allegory…and for visiting me here at Posting With Purpose!

Make sure to stop by Robin’s website or blog and mention you came from here. 🙂

One Response to Interview with Robin Lee Hatcher

  1. Debbie M. June 13, 2007 at 7:00 pm #

    Very neat, Christina! It was fun reading your interview and the past blogs, too! Keep up the good work!