Ask Me Anything with Robin James

1. What inspired you to write the Mercy Gale series and Thicker Than Water? Was there a real case, a personal experience, or did this one just sneak up on you?

Character is always the starting point for me. The protagonist has to be strong enough and compelling enough to carry a series. Since I write in first person, I really “inhabit” her. So I have to want to be in her head for long periods of time. The cases come after that. 

My main character, Mercy Gale is the daughter of a famous, iconic lawyer. Tom Gale is an amalgamation of just about every “TV lawyer” cable news commentator made famous in the 90s, plus those legendary lawyers who became household names during various so-called Trials of the Century (F. Lee Bailey, Vincent Bugliosi, Johnny Cochrane etc). 

For Thicker than Water, there were actually a variety of elements I wanted to put in a book. My “what if” question came from there. What if this legal icon had a daughter who also wanted to become a lawyer? How would she navigate the pressure of that and escape her father’s shadow? Her dad had a brilliant mind. Was unbeatable in a courtroom. So what if I stripped him of that? What if her father was in mental decline? What if this was her last chance to reconnect with him before she loses him for good? All of those questions spun around in my brain and I knew I had a family dynamic that could carry a series. 

On this one, I came up with the hook…what if my famous fictional lawyer had only ever lost one trial in his life? The one that got away, so to speak. Mercy comes back to reconnect with her dad, but she’s also got a hidden motive. His client, who claims he’s wrongfully convicted, reaches out to Mercy and she realizes he knows more about her dad than she does. Then I was off to the races. 

2. If your main character had a secret Spotify playlist, what would be on it?
Murder vibes? Moody blues? Beyoncé?

Ha! That’s a really good question. I actually used a lot of background music during the editing phase of this book. There are themes of love, loss, longing, coming of age, romance, betrayal. Mercy is 29 years old at the start of the series, but she’s an old soul. She has eclectic musical tastes that are also influenced by what she grew up listening to…her elder gen-X mother’s playlists. I also needed to inhabit Tom Gale a bit so there are a couple of songs on my playlist that I just KNOW Tom would love. Rather than list everything, I'll make a page on my website where you can link to my playlist.   

An added bonus. I also created a “secret” Mercy’s Rage Room playlist. This character has a lot of angst from being a parentified daughter and growing up in a house that was dysfunctional and often chaotic. I had this idea that she would have listened to her rage music with headphones on and screaming into the void in her bedroom as a teenager. I'm happy to share links to that playlist too.

3. Is the murder weapon in this book something readers might find in their own home?
(Not that we're giving anyone ideas… 👀)

Oh man. That’s dark. The answer is yes. But you’ll have to read the book to find out. No way to reveal that without spoilers. 

4. Be honest—do you always know how the book is going to end when you start writing?  (Or do your characters hijack the plot halfway through?

I always have the broad strokes in my head before I start writing. I have to know what the major twist is. And I have to know what clever things my heroines will have to do to solve the case, win the trial, etc. That said, there have been a few times when I started a book thinking the real killer was one character, then another one emerged and kind of “demanded” he/she be the one to pull the figurative trigger. 

Oh, there was also a major story arc in the Mara Brent series that I ended up changing because of the way readers responded to the characters. 

Do you mind sharing what it was?

Hmm. Well, I guess it’s not something that really spoils any of the books. Initially, Mara was supposed to have an almost on again/off again romantic relationship with her ex-husband. He was going to be a sort of drug she couldn’t quit. Reader response was so overwhelming in terms of what they thought of Jason Brent that I changed course. Which isn’t to say that readers influence where my stories will go. That really is between me and my characters. But some of the feedback I got actually made me see that character in an entirely different light. And it was as if Mara herself knocked me over the head and told me this isn’t what she wanted either. So…Jason got a very different story arc in subsequent books. 

5. Which character would absolutely ghost you if they were real?
And which one would you grab a drink with?

Ha! See, I like to think my characters love me as much as I love them. They’d never have the nerve. But…funny enough, it would be a character from this new series. Sandra Gale would absolutely not want to have anything to do with me because I live in small-town Michigan. She’d know I’m the reason her daughter doesn’t want to move closer to her. She’ll never forgive me.

As far as who I’d want to have a drink with? That’s easy. Jeanie Mills from the Cass Leary series. Hands down. And I can tell you right now she’d have an agenda .She’d ask me when am I going to write a prequel series featuring her as the main character. (Sorry, Jeanie. I just don’t have the time in my production schedule for that right now. But never say never).  

6. What’s something in this book that only a legal nerd would catch?
A hidden detail, a twist of procedure, or a subtle nod?

So there are certain things those of us who write any kind of criminal procedural novels (or television shows) have to contend with. Real courtroom procedure is boring and tedious most of the time. I was actually on a panel recently where a whole group of legal thriller authors were asked this question. 

I don’t want to say I cut corners. One of the things my readers absolutely expect and demand of me is authenticity. They know I’m a lawyer. They trust me to craft a story as closely as it can be to real world scenarios. But…real criminal cases can take years between the time a suspect is charged to when they would actually stand trial. I do have to find ways to shorten that a bit. 

7. Do you outline meticulously, or are you flying blind like a detective with no flashlight? Writers want to know. (Readers might be horrified.)

See, this is the stuff I love talking to aspiring writers about. Here’s my answer in a nutshell to the question: how does one go about writing a novel. 

Any way you can. 

Truly. Every writer has to find their own path and process to get their stories out. The only wrong answer is the one that keeps you from getting words on the page. 

But for me…my process has evolved over the years. I write out a three act plot summary that tells me which story beats should go where. At what part of the story should the “shocking twists” unfold. Once I’ve got that down, I’ll write a very loose chapter by chapter outline. And I mean very loose. We’re talking sentence fragments. 

Can you give an example?

Sure. It’ll be something like this: 

Chapter Four – Cass’s direct examination of first eyewitness. He perjures himself.   

8. Was there a scene or character in Thicker Than Water that surprised you—or was the hardest to write?  The one that made you stop and say, “Oh, no. I have to go there.”

Sigh. This is a tough one. Pretty much any scene where I had to show how Tom Gale’s dementia manifests and how Mercy (the point of view character) thinks and feels about it. 

A little backstory. I actually came up with a detailed chapter by chapter outline for this book five or six years ago. It was a complete deep dive. I had all the characters sketched out. I knew their backstories. All of it. I was ready to go. 

My mother had Alzheimer’s. Some of Tom’s journey mirrored hers. In the past couple of years, my mother’s cognition declined markedly. And I mean almost overnight. To our eyes, she was functioning mostly normally, but with some forgetfulness that gradually increased. All of a sudden, she couldn’t remember how to dress herself or brush her hair. 

I finished what I thought was the final draft of this book about a year and half ago, right before Mom took that hard turn. I put the book aside and focused on her care. It wasn’t until after she passed late last year that I was able to come back and do my final edits on the book. I had to look at it with new eyes after my own experience as an adult child caring for an aging parent under those circumstances. The book is better for it. But…I think this is an important story to tell. There are sooo many people going through this or have already gone through it. I’m doing the best I can to honor my own experience and those of others. There is most definitely some catharsis involved. 

But man, those were some hard scenes to navigate. 

9. What’s the one thing you hope readers feel after finishing this book?
Beyond the obvious: do you want them breathless, furious, hopeful?

Oh that’s the same after every book of mine readers finish. I want them salivating for the next one. I want my books to provide a true escape where you can just shut out the rest of the world and spend a few hours in Cass or Mara or Mercy’s worlds. I also want them satisfied with the resolutions to the cases my characters have to solve. And I want them eager to see what these women will do next in their personal lives. 

10. Okay, okay… WHEN’S THE NEXT BOOK COMING OUT?!
(Seriously. We need to know. And we need it yesterday.)

Boy do I get that question a lot. I’m grateful every time someone asks it because it means I met the goal I just outlined in my last answer. But…it can sometimes feel a little like when you’ve just come home from the hospital after delivering a baby, and your mother-in-law asks you when you’re giving her another grandchild. LOL  

The good news. I have a LOT of new books coming down the pike. Tentatively, I’m hoping to release the next Mara Brent book in the early spring of 2026. Next summer will bring the launch of my first psychological thriller for Bookouture. I’ll be able to talk about that in a lot more detail next year. After that, the next Mercy Gale, Blacker than Midnight should come out in October 2026. Oh, and I’ll fit another Cass Leary in there somewhere too. 

And before you ask…YES!!! All my books will be available on audio too. That’s probably the second most frequently asked question I get. (And third is whether Cass Leary is ever going to get married…short answer there…she’s not planning it at the moment…she likes her life). 

But back to audio. I am hoping by the time we post this interview, I’ll be able to confirm that Thicker than Water will come out for audio simultaneous with the ebook/print release on October 23rd. As soon as I can, I’ve got a bunch of exciting news to share on that production.

As for the rest of my catalog, audio usually follows within two months of the ebook release. Since I get asked about this a lot, I wouldn’t mind taking the time to explain why. I publish quickly. As soon as I’m done writing the book, I’m able to publish the print and ebook versions roughly six weeks later once the copy editors, proofreaders, and formatters have their way with it. However, I only work with professional, SAG-AFTRA member voice actors for the audiobooks. Teri Clark-Linden and Vivienne Leheny are true artists and I am so lucky to partner with them in bringing these stories and characters to your ears. It takes time to do these things right. I hope everyone can agree they are worth the wait. And I am sooo grateful for my listeners’ patience.  

Last question. Any advice for aspiring novelists out there?

Oh boy. I'll give you a lawyer's favorite answer. It depends. I could really create a whole course on this (but won't…there are plenty out there already if you Google). But let me start with the “why.” If you're writing for the simple joy of it, that's just heaven in and of itself. Just keep doing it and let your creativity fly.

Now…if you're writing because you want it to be your job…that's a more complicated answer and it really depends on where someone is on their particular path to publication. If you've never written a book but have what you think is an amazing idea, go back to my advice above on writing for the pure joy of it. Let your imagination fly. Just work on creating a consistent writing routine. Write every single day, even if it's only a paragraph or two. Even if it's only for fifteen minutes at a time while you're sitting in a school parking lot waiting for your kid to finish marching band practice and you're typing on your phone! Keep going! Find peer groups with other writers at your stage. Maybe take a creative writing class at your local community college. Or go to an author talk at your library. But write that book. And here's the hard part. Finish it!

If you're serious about writing a book with a mind toward selling it (either independently or to pitch to agents/publishers), I'll say this. You have to really want it. And I mean really want it, more than anything in terms of a career. I say that, because at every stage of it, there will be something trying to knock you off your path. Whether it's a stack of rejection letters from agents, some small discouraging but well-meaning comment from a critique partner, real life stuff that draws your focus away from writing, or just your own self-doubt…the universe will always try to pull you back to the well-traveled road and abandon the whole thing. And it is soooo easy to just give up. You have bills to pay, after all.

But…if you are one of the rarest of writers, willing to persist no matter what, then you've got a shot. You have to learn the market. Know what kind of book it is you wrote or are about to write in terms of market placement. Is it a romance? Great. What kind? Time travel? Military? Paranormal shape-shifters? It's a murder mystery? Terrific! What kind? Cozy? Hard-boiled? Does it take place in a big city? Small-town? You really have to drill down and understand where your book would fit on a physical shelf in a book store or a digital category list on Amazon. If you can't answer that question in one word or one phrase, your book will be very difficult to sell. Full stop.

I'll stop there. Like I said, I could talk for hours on this topic. And all I'd probably accomplish is overwhelming my listener and becoming another one of those forces that inadvertently pulls them off their path to publication because it all sounds too hard. It IS hard. But absolutely possible if you're stubborn, not afraid to learn new things, and have a thick skin. My bottom line advice if you want to write and sell a book…persist.

Okay. How about last last question? Would you ever consider reading something an aspiring author sends to you for feedback?

Short, blunt answer…no. I actually won't even open unsolicited emails with attachments.

Longer answer. I am flattered when something I've done resonates with someone enough that they value my opinion. I mean that…it's really an incredible compliment and I acknowledge that. But from a practical standpoint, I just do not have the time to take on something like that. I barely have time to read books for pleasure anymore. Most of my reading is research for whatever book of my own I'm currently writing. Additionally and most importantly, its best to solicit critiques and feedback from other writers that are at roughly the same point as you (royal you) on the path to publication.

There are plenty of places where you can find your tribe. It's not like it was when I finished my very first novel twenty-five years ago (a novel that deservedly, never saw the light of day and racked up about 100 rejection letters…but that's a story for another time…when I say persistence is key…I speak from experience). Back then, you mostly had to find in-person, local writing groups. There were literary forums online, but maybe a handful. Now, they're everywhere online. Join one! Just make sure to do your due diligence. If anyone's asking you to pay money to read your novel (or publish it), run far away screaming.

Thank you so much for your time! Looking forward to October 23, 2025 for the release of Thicker than Water!

Me too! And it has been my pleasure.