One of world's top publishers signs 'resilient' localite

Posted 2/12/16

Local novelist Sharai Robbin will be speaking along with four other local authors in a Black History Month book panel at Big Blue Marble Books, 551 Carpenter Lane in West Mt. Airy, on Saturday, Feb. …

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One of world's top publishers signs 'resilient' localite

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Local novelist Sharai Robbin will be speaking along with four other local authors in a Black History Month book panel at Big Blue Marble Books, 551 Carpenter Lane in West Mt. Airy, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 3 p.m. Local novelist Sharai Robbin will be speaking along with four other local authors in a Black History Month book panel at Big Blue Marble Books, 551 Carpenter Lane in West Mt. Airy, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 3 p.m.

by Len Lear

Nowadays it seems as if self-published books are as common as daffodils in May, but any of those authors will tell you that being accepted by a major publisher as a first-time novelist is about as difficult as becoming a starting quarterback in the National Football League.

No matter how good the book may be, getting a major publisher to accept it is a Catch-22. That is because they almost never will touch anyone who has not already been published, but how do you get published the first time if they insist on previous published works? And with the rise of the internet and death of major bookstore chains, the dilemma has gotten even worse in recent years.

However, Sharai Robbin, 32, who will be speaking along with four other local authors in a Black History Month book panel at Big Blue Marble Books, 551 Carpenter Lane in West Mt. Airy, on Saturday, Feb. 13, 3 p.m., somehow managed to walk out on the high wire and make it safely to the other side.

Sharai, who lived in Germantown and Mt. Airy during most of her adolescence, graduated from the Philadelphia High School for Girls in 2001 and then earned a B.A. in Communications and English from Temple University. “My grandmother has been living in Mt. Airy for close to 50 years,” she said, “and most of my immediate family lives in this area.”

Sharai, who currently lives in Willow Grove with her two daughters, Alana Marie, 10, and Lyric Olivia, 5, is now 12 credits shy of a Masters Degree in English at Arcadia University. It took her over four years to complete her first novel, "Candace Reign."

“When I started writing,” she explained, “I wasn't totally committed to the project. I kept starting and stopping. I never worked from an outline. I just knew what I wanted my characters to do, but I didn't have a real goal or any clear direction in mind.

“It wasn't until I attended a writing workshop with Karen E. Quinones Miller that I began to take my work seriously. At Karen's invitation, I joined the Evening Star Writers' Group, and the team of writers there really helped me pull my manuscript together in a little more than a year.”

But now that she had a book, how on earth did she get one of the world's leading publishing firms, Simon & Schuster, to agree to publish it. “Honestly,” she explained, “I received several rejections before I was able to get my manuscript to someone at Strebor Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. They sent me the generic 'If you don't hear back from us in six months, enjoy the rest of your life' response.

“I kept sending out my manuscript and wasn't getting anywhere. After a while, I decided to self-publish. I did all of the work involved. I hired a graphic designer, found a printer, got my photo for the back of the book photo ready. I was all set to go. My release date was January, 2014. In December, I received an email from the acquisitions editor at Strebor saying they were interested in 'Candace.'

“I was initially hesitant to go with a major publisher, especially after I'd done so much work on my own, but the editor asked me about any further projects I was working on. I told her about 'Prince's Homecoming,' the sequel to 'Candace Reign,' and they offered me a two-book deal right on the spot. It was what I'd always dreamed of as an aspiring author. Of course, I accepted, and the rest is, as they say, history.”

Robbin's debut novel went into its third printing not long after its release. On the Simon & Schuster website, there are currently five reviews of the book, with an average rating of four-and-a-half stars out of a possible five stars.

In the book, Candace is a single mom with a promising future and a plan to get herself and her son out of the “hood.” Even with a good job, though, Candace is barely getting by, and raising her son, 10, who is becoming more challenging every day.

Then she meets Chris, a pretty boy seven years her junior. Candace doesn’t know much about him, but his street-savvy swagger and seductive smile “keep her heart racing.” She should know better than to get involved with a man who’s tied to the streets, but Candace can’t bring herself to shake him off. And soon, Chris drags her down a road that threatens to end her career — and her life.

In addition to her novel writing, Robbin, who says her most impressive quality is “resilience” and that the most overrated virtue

is “beauty,” hopes to teach English, more specifically creative writing or fiction, at the collegiate level.

When asked which talent that she does not have that she would most like to have, she replied, “I'd like to be able to read minds. I think I'd save myself a lot of headache if I knew what people were thinking without them having to say a word.”

More information about the Feb. 13 event at 215-844-1870 or www.bigbluemarblebooks.com. More information about Robbin at www.sharairobbin.com.

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