Eva Robinson

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Welcome to Eva Robinson

Welcome to Uncaged! Your newest book, a mystery called Influenced will release on May 14th. Can you tell readers more about this book?

Influenced is a psychological thriller that explores some of the dark side of social media: looking at glamorous lifestyles that seem out of reach, or getting obsessed with toxic commentary. All the characters in this book

You also write paranormal under the name C.N. Crawford which is actually a writing team. As Eva Robinson, are you writing solo?

Eva Robinson is just me. My husband, who also writes under the pen name C.N. Crawford, is starting his own thriller series. My thrillers like Influenced are likely to continue including psychologist characters, which is the field I used to work on. And he is writing about scientists, which is his former field.

What is the most difficult scene for you to write? What is the easiest?

I love writing dialogue and that usually flows easily for me. I find endings hard because sometimes I feel reluctant to let the characters go.

What are you looking forward to doing when the pandemic is over that you haven’t been able to do?

Everything. Restaurants, seeing friends, museums. But especially—I became obsessed with a German techno marching band during the pandemic, and I’m desperate to see them play live. I got so into them that I ended up mentioning them a few times during Influenced. I’m desperate to travel again! I lived in the UK for ten years and would love to go back.

What was the first book that made you laugh and/ or cry?

It’s hard for me to remember that far back but the first book that I read multiple times was Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.

What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

We spend a lot of time by the lake in Burlington Vermont in the warmer weather, and we also kind of wander between food trucks and ice cream places. I love taking photos by the lake, and going to the movies in the winter. That’s something else I’m looking forward to when the pandemic is over. I am a popcorn addict.

If you could have one all-year season, which would it be and why?

I love summer. I can’t explain to why I live in one of the coldest parts of the country, but summer here IS amazing. Would be great if it lasted all year.

How many hours a day do you write? On average, how long does it take to write a full novel?

It usually takes me 3-4 months including editing and planning the book. Influenced took me four months.

I am about to start Verity by Colleen Hoover. I have heard amazing things about it. Usually I red on my phone, but I have been so obsessed with the news this year that it has become hard to read on my phone. So I’ve got a paperback and I’m excited to start!

What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

I love my urban fantasy readers—and I don’t have many yet in the thriller world, but I’m excited that some have followed me over to a new genre. I’m so appreciative of my readers. I can be found on facebook and goodreads, but also my C.N. Crawford Instagram profile is quite active!

Enjoy an excerpt from Influenced

Influenced Eva Robinson Psychological Suspense Releases May 14

A psychologist shouldn’t be losing her mind, but Hannah is anyway. She needs a new job and lots of sleep—fast. Desperate for a change of fortunes, she contrives a meeting with her former classmate. As a student at Harvard, Rowan became famous on Instagram by chronicling a glamorous life.

The two women soon form an obsessive friendship, and Hannah is drawn into a privileged new world. But when a garden party takes a shocking turn, Hannah and Rowan find themselves suspected of murder. The Cambridge police start closing in, uncovering their dark secrets one by one. Now, the friends are unraveling—and by the time the truth

Excerpt

A sharp blow splintered the back of her head. Pain shot through her skull.

Stunned with the blinding pain, she stared out across the garden. The knock from behind had been a pure shock to her system, robbing her of rational thought. She wondered vaguely if she was ruining the party somehow.

She opened her mouth to scream, but she wasn’t sure if she was making any sound.

Gripping the railing, she tried to make sense of the world around her. A labyrinthine garden sprawled out beneath the old wooden deck. It stretched all the way to Fresh Pond, where dark water glittered in the distance. It should be peaceful here, but pain was ripping her head open, and someone was screaming.

Only now did she realize she’d dropped her phone onto the gravel path two stories below. It lay there, shattered.

Was she screaming, or was it someone else?

She nearly lost her balance over the railing, and she gripped it tighter. The feel of the rough wood under her hands sharpened her senses, and her thoughts crystallized.

Her friend wanted to kill her.

And if she didn’t get away right now, if she didn’t flee from this old mansion, she would die.

Right here, right now, her blood on the stones. But before she could turn to run, thin fingers gripped her shoulders, so hard that they were digging into her flesh like talons. Run, run, run. “Wait—” she cried, but the word came out garbled. A sharp, angry shove pushed her forward, and she flew over the edge of the railing. Wind whipped over her, and panic exploded in her mind with the rush of the fall.

A single thought rang out.

I don’t want to die.

When she hit the path, pain rocketed through her bones, through her head. She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs were collapsing.

I don’t want to die.

She couldn’t feel her legs anymore, couldn’t move them. She felt only the shattering pain in her head, in her ribs, her arms. When she sucked in a breath, it was like a knife piercing her lungs.

On the gravel path, she tried to pull herself forward, fingers digging in between the little rocks. An agonized grunt escaped her, an inhuman noise as she inched forward. Her legs weren’t working, but her fingers, her arms could pull…

Fractured with pain, her head lolled forward.

She couldn’t do it. Her body wasn’t working properly, and the pain was too much.

Quiet. Be very quiet, and maybe they won’t find you.

Someone still screamed above, shouting her name. Warm blood dripped from her ears, her nose… What if they thought she was dead? Maybe they’d leave her here.

How could she be quiet when her breath was so loud? Quiet like a mouse. That was what her teacher had said long ago, when they’d hide behind bookshelves or under desks. The lockdown drills had scared her so

much back then. The principal would walk through the halls with the bullhorn. He’d pretend to be the killer and they’d hide from the bad man, listening only to the sound of breathing, arms wrapped around knees, eyes closed. Dark rooms and death stalking the halls. Quiet like a mouse. That was how you survived. If you couldn’t run, you hid in the dark and hoped he never found you.

But death wasn’t coming in the form of a strange man stalking the halls. It was coming from a friend. Someone on a Victorian deck surrounded by fairy lights and colored lanterns.

She lifted her head a little, her gaze catching on the little gold bracelet. The fleur-de-lis charm glinted in the moonlight, engraved with S&O, ’09. Her thoughts drifted back to the past. The day she’d gotten it in high school, she had already known she’d never take it off. All the girls in their graduating year at her chichi private school had them. It marked her out as a member of an elite tribe, a graduate of Saltonstall and Oakes. She’d been destined for great things. Anyone could see that back then. Her chest ached for that day.

The sound of screaming pulled her back to the present, to the danger.

Should she be quiet, or try to move again?

Something was wrong with both her arms. The sound of a river rushed in her ears. For a dazed moment, she thought of her mom.

No, it wasn’t her mom she wanted…

Maybe she should try to pull herself forward again. But shadows were filling her mind.

Oh, yay. I love sharing my cupcakes! I have six!

LINDA SHEEHAN & Jet

Here’s a picture of our dog Jet, a lurcher, who has the speed of a bullet train and the heart of an angel.

MAGGI ANDERSEN & Charlie

We call this one Charlie, who is very smart and very tame. He tries very hard to communicate with me. “How are you today, Charlie?” “Ellerk.” I speak cockatoo, so that’s okay.

W.L. HAWKIN & Skaha

I picked up Skaha from PADS when she was eight weeks old and raised her to be an assistance dog knowing I would have to give her up in two years. It was a bittersweet love knowing separation was coming. Then, when she was two-and-a-half and in Advanced Training as a hearing dog, the trainer called and said they were releasing her. They couldn’t get her to stop scavenging food. Did I want to adopt her?