Robin Layne

Update as of March 30, 2011:

Robin Layne loves fiction, and is presently working on a YA vampire novel. She is researching vampire folklore and literature, which so far has inspired two Hubs. For years she was managing editor of a mental health activities newsletter. She enjoys writing poetry and songs as well as nonfiction. Her blog, "Hatching My Eggs," primarily about her writing, is at myspace.com/robin_layne,, but she hasn't gone there in a long time because she hangs out on Facebook instead, under the name Robin Wilkinson. (Layne is her middle name.) She does most of her writing at the computer in her room, inspired--and sometimes annoyed--by her shrill-voiced cockatiel Angel. She has an editing and writing business, Robin Layne Enterprises. Her business webpage is http://writingthatsings.com. (Please note the new address, and visit, and make comments and suggestions!)

Robin has discovered zines (no, not e-zines, and not traditional magazines, either), and has two currently for sale. The first is an anthology from a Write Around Portland Seasoned Writer's group, in which she has two pieces of flash fiction. It's called Repeat Offenders. The second is her own creation, mostly illustrated by herself, titled A Chracter Sandwich. It features short pieces about fictiional characters sandwiched in between pieces about herself. Robin is already at work on her next zine, Turtle Soup: On Finding My Voice. For more information, see her website.

In August 2009, she won AuthorsbyDesign.com's Twisted Fairytale contest. Read the winning story, "Mother of All Good Children," at AuthorsbyDesign.blogspot.com. In May 2006, she won her first contest on AuthorsbyDesign for "Blood Ties," a short story based on her novel in progress. When she read this story at Kumoricon that year, it won "best original fiction." Characters from the same vampire series are included in the first two zines mentioned above.

Robin now attends Portland State University, where she is finishing her bachelors degree in English, minoring in writing. Spring term, she took a book editing course, and is taking publishing studio this term, interning on staff at Ooligan Press, the college's student-run book publisher. She works in the editing department.

A note to those who have read my grammar/punctuation Hubs, especially Life Without Grammar: I feel I was a bit rough on people who struggle with these issues. This doesn't mean I advocate improper or sloppy writing by any means. But some of the books I have been reading about the subject show a compassion I lacked when I wrote the past articles. It is hard to get it right. I feel bad that I accused people of simply being stupid. But I think if we want to be taken seriously as writers, business people, teachers, etc., we ought to care enough to edit what we write, and to get help with it if we need to. Spell checker and grammar checker can't catch everything. And we ALL need help at least from time to time.

Okay. Off my soapbox now.

I am a single mother of a 21-year-old daughter who moved to Florida. Yes, Robin is an empty nester! My daughter is an artist who specializes in manga and anime (Japanese style comics, graphic novels, and animation), and she did three of the illustrations in A Character Sandwich.

The apartment we used to share was largely taken over by my daughter's cat Zidane, who you may remember from the addendum to Cats I Have Loved. He is big and buff now, tore up the bathroom hamper with his claws, left litter all over the bathroom floor, and ambushed you when you walked by. Altogether an amusing and beautiful cat. Now that my daugther and cat are gone, Angel can come out into other rooms of my new apartment.

A big thanks to all readers who encourage and sometimes correct me. You are all needed. I wish I had more time to read other Hubbers' work.