Q & A with Robin W. Pearson
Interviewed by Robin W. Pearson
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern roots, where she learned to sing “Jesus Loves Me,” how to make corn bread taste like pound cake, and the all-purpose uses of Vaseline. Her family’s faith, life lessons, and life’s longings inspired her to write about God’s love for us and how His love affects all our relationships. This homeschooling mama of seven is the author of five novels, including the Christy Award–winner A Long Time Comin’, ’Til I Want No More, Walking in Tall Weeds, Dysfunction Junction, and her latest, The Stories We Carry.

  1. What inspired this story? When my peeps and I read The Count of Monte Cristo, I became fascinated with the idea of righteous vengeance. Here was this character, Edmond Dantès, tragically and falsely imprisoned, who finally acquires the means to right decades of wrong. Would he, and most important, should he? We had lots of fun discussing the question, Does the Count act with godly authority? I bandied about this idea long after we finished that book, and a different face supplanted his—the image of my own character, Adelle Simonette, a young, widowed mother. But, if she’s the hero, who is the villain, at least in Adelle’s mind? That’s where Glory and Eli Pryor and their bookstore come in. In my novel, Glory and Adelle tell themselves different versions of the same story: One says God failed her. The other believes God will avenge her. Yet, they’re both wrong. That’s because life doesn’t work the way a narrative unfolds in the classics; often, there’s no obvious good guy or bad guy or reasonable motive. And this leads to what I show in The Stories We Carry: we have to trust God to use all our stories for good and not harm.

  2. What messages or themes do you focus on in this book? The overarching message in The Stories We Carry is that God is the source and the foundation of all that’s good and true—from what we believe to what we read. This novel also reflects the beauty and the strength of community, and it’s filled with characters who prove that family is what we make it.

  3. How does faith play a role in this story? One of the biblical passages I drew from to write The Stories We Carry comes from Hosea 6:1: “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.” In my novel, Glory Pryor thinks she’s run far enough and long enough from God that He’ll never find her. But it turns out that He’s never left her. Adelle Simonette wields her faith like a weapon instead of using it to soothe her own wounded heart. For both women, the LORD wastes no effort—or painful memory and experience—to reveal His great love and save them from themselves.

  4. What about this book excited you while writing it, and what do you hope readers will learn? I loved creating scripture-inspired, original poetry and showing how our Creator reveals Himself through His Word and our words, even in places and within pages where you wouldn’t expect to find Him. Isn’t that how He works in our everyday lives? Also, as a wife of thirty years and a mama of many, I enjoyed the challenge of portraying a mature, yet newly married couple whose only children were their books; their closest family members were “found” or created within their small community. I hope this novel shows readers that our hearts are big enough—and our world is small enough—to connect with others by providing a meal, holding a hand, or starting a conversation. We never know when we could be inviting Jesus to the table, as in Matthew 25:37-40.

  5. What are your passions and how do they impact your writing? Caring for my family is my greatest blessing. They’re why I write and why I can’t write more. My peeps—including my dog, Oscar, who generously shared his name with the four-legged character in The Stories We Carry—both inspire and distract me, usually simultaneously. Because we’re homeschoolers—another great passion of mine—I’m always teaching and learning and feeding my love of words, books, and all things literary. Our somewhat flexible, yet hectic, schedule, provides opportunities to spend time with people of all ages as we travel hither and yon, so I’m always adding to my cast of characters, creating dialogue, and discovering new settings. And cooking, sweeping, and stacking sneakers on the stairs.

  6. What do you find to be the most challenging part of the writing process? What advice would you offer young writers? Remembering my why constantly challenges me. I’ve been called to write about how faith in Jesus changes our perspective and affects our relationships. That’s the most important story I carry. I encourage young writers to know their why and hold on to it so the how of their work—platform building, querying, reviews, sales, social media, outlining, meeting deadlines—doesn’t detract from their main purpose: conveying the truth God has led them to share, whether in fiction or nonfiction.

  7. What books or authors have shaped you recently? Australian author Liane Moriarty’s manner of plopping readers smack into her novels inspires me to help readers “move into” my North Carolina–based stories. In her latest, Here One Moment, Moriarty paints a vivid picture of all the history her characters are toting around and how their pasts weave together and affect each other. Johanna Rojas Vann’s An American Immigrant emphasizes the impact of an individual’s life and voice and how staying true to them can change the world—one story, one family, one community at a time.