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Robin Tompkins

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Robin Tompkins

ŷ Author


Born
in Birmingham, The United Kingdom
Website

Genre

Member Since
June 2021


Robin, is from Birmingham, where he has been telling stories all his life, like his father before him and writing them down for nearly as long. He has also been known to paint a bit and take photographs that some people quite like.
He was published for the first time at age 50, on his fiftieth birthday in fact, after many years of strife (don't feel sorry for him, it was self-inflicted, he would insist on writing and trying to get published)
Since then, he has won the British Fantasy Society Short Story Prize in 2010, with the story, 'Omar, the Teller of Tales' and has also been published by Leaf Books and in Scribble magazine.
He currently has three books available on Amazon, a fourth 'under construction,' and a fifth in the back of his mind
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Popular Answered Questions

Robin Tompkins Hmm, OK... Did you wish really, really hard and the spam fairy made them all go away?
Robin Tompkins Hi Henry, no, I haven't read it. To my shame, I thought it sounded like a book about an exceptionally gifted bartender, until I Googled it.
Sadly, I …mǰ
Hi Henry, no, I haven't read it. To my shame, I thought it sounded like a book about an exceptionally gifted bartender, until I Googled it.
Sadly, I think you may have mistaken me for a person of intelligence. A controversial, surreal satire once banned by the Soviet authorities and translated from the original Russian, is not, generally speaking, the sort of thing you will find on my bookshelf. The 'Beano Summer Special' is much more likely. :-)
Thank you for the question and so sorry to be a disappointment to you. :-)(less)
Average rating: 4.6 · 5 ratings · 2 reviews · 5 distinct works
The Field of Reeds in Shadows

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2021
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The Field of Reeds : In Sha...

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After Bell Hill (The Bell H...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating2 editions
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Omar the Teller of Tales an...

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The Road to Bell Hill: The ...

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More books by Robin Tompkins…

The Name of the Tree

Last year, I dropped a free to read story on here for Halloween. I have decided to do the same again. This one is brand new, written from scratch and never before published. It is also the first fiction I have written that way in over a year for many and various depressing reasons. However, it's October, it's (almost) Halloween, that's a reason to be cheerful I think?

Just to say, please don't expo Read more of this blog post »
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Published on October 26, 2023 11:09
Mistborn Trilogy ...
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Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson
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Paternoster by Kim Fleet
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Quotes by Robin Tompkins  (?)
Quotes are added by the ŷ community and are not verified by ŷ.

“Tamarin stood and walked briskly toward the front of the barge.
‘King Billy...� She said firmly, ‘There is great danger following behind us!�
‘Danger is it? What manner of danger would that be then?� Billy said, setting his jaw.
‘I know not...� she said flatly.
‘Then how can you tell there’s danger?� he said.
‘That’s for me to know and you to be glad I know...� she answered, the little crease forming at the bridge of her nose. Recognising the shadow of Ullie, Gorg turned his head aside as tears formed in his eyes.”
Robin Tompkins, After Bell Hill

“Draw closer... closer, that you might clearly hear my words; for in the telling of tales, the softly spoken word may carry more power than the shout... the silence between words, more power than the words themselves.
“I know this, because I am Omar, the Teller of Tales.”
Robin Tompkins, Omar the Teller of Tales and Other Stories

“Merren, Merren,
Murderer of many
Ask not for pity
For he hasn’t any”
Robin Tompkins, The Road to Bell Hill: The Second Book of the Bell Hill Trilogy

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Sci-fi and Heroic...: Support an Indie Author this Halloween 3 12 Oct 29, 2021 11:20AM  
“Music is the cup that holds the wine of silence. Sound is that cup, but empty. Noise is that cup, but broken.”
Robert Fripp

“He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sun rise.”
William Blake

“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love � for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you from misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life

“But sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, 'Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.' So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there.”
Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

“Gather ye rose-buds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.”
Robert Herrick, Hesperides, Or, the Works Both Humane and Divine of Robert Herrick [Followed By] His Noble Numbers

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message 8: by Robin

Robin Tompkins K.G. wrote: "Hey Robin! I left a review for you! (GoodReads and Amazon) I actually finished the book a while back but have been away from ŷ for a while with my crazy busy life... Now the summer has come..."

Hi Kyle, I wondered where you had gotten to, I was a little worried that your inner dragon might have eaten you.☺☺ Glad to hear that you were just busy. Thank you for the stars and the stellar review (see what I did there?) It might be more than we deserve but I will take it nonetheless.☺☺


message 7: by K.G.

K.G. Duncan Hey Robin! I left a review for you! (GoodReads and Amazon) I actually finished the book a while back but have been away from ŷ for a while with my crazy busy life... Now the summer has come, and I shall have a moment or two to slow down and do some more reading and writing! Hope you are well!

KG


message 6: by Robin

Robin Tompkins K.G. wrote: "Robin wrote: "K.G. wrote: "As I intimated in one of our earlier exchanges, I have one tiny pet peeve with the formatting of your book. In my humble opinion--well, I'm not sure it is humble... sligh..."

Hi Kyle, Happy almost Easter! Just spotted your reply. Who says modern day communication is instantaneous? LOL.

Maddie makes a very good argument for her case. Hopefully without misrepresenting her, it goes like this...

Yes the use of three asterisks for a section break is a useful and valid writing tool but...

It can interrupt the narrative flow

It can make the writing both read and physically look, disjointed and fragmented.

It can be an excuse for lazy writing. It's easy to whack in three asterisks and move on but it may not be the best or most elegant solution.

It was interesting writing that way anyway and it certainly made me question whether I have overused it in the past? I guess anything that gets you thinking about whether you are doing your best work is no bad thing?

Anyway, enough of that subject. Hope the writing editing and all of that stuff is going well and not suffering too much at the hands of real life and all that goes with it?

Have yourself a good Easter.


message 5: by K.G.

K.G. Duncan Robin wrote: "K.G. wrote: "As I intimated in one of our earlier exchanges, I have one tiny pet peeve with the formatting of your book. In my humble opinion--well, I'm not sure it is humble... slightly modest and..."
Good enough... compromise, or yielding to your sister, seems the better part of discretion--at least in this instance. Stilll... I'm with you on this one! Sorry for the long delay! Haven't checked into GR in quite a while!


message 4: by Robin

Robin Tompkins K.G. wrote: "As I intimated in one of our earlier exchanges, I have one tiny pet peeve with the formatting of your book. In my humble opinion--well, I'm not sure it is humble... slightly modest and inconspicuou..."

Hi KG, yes i know what you mean. What I unscientjfically call a 'star, star, star.' ☺As I mentioned, this is not just my book. I do use that very method in my Bell Hill books. However, my sister absolutely hates it. (With a passion). She says it interrupts the narrative flow. She prefers to use a clear indicator, such as naming the person/place we are now with in the opening sentence of the new POV. If you have read my blog piece about writing with someone else, you will know that a trip to the weapons cabinet ensued. I lost that one (it was a trade off for some other stuff). I did insist on it in a couple of places where i really thought the transition was too big a wrench and she did agree it was the best solution. So, there you go. Compromise is a wonderful thing. I should also point out that Maddie has sold more books than me by some way, so she must be doing something right.☺It's a good point though and thank you for it.


message 3: by K.G.

K.G. Duncan As I intimated in one of our earlier exchanges, I have one tiny pet peeve with the formatting of your book. In my humble opinion--well, I'm not sure it is humble... slightly modest and inconspicuous at times, I suppose, but irascible and thorny, once it settles in...like a good nettle--but seriously, dear Robin, here is my two cents: I am enjoying your book, but I often get confused as I am reading because there are no breaks or borders between paragraphs when the scene suddenly changes and we are inside another character's point of view. A simple line of asterisks or some kind of physical border line would work (my book formatter took my asterisks in the Word doc and turned them into a nice and very elegant symbol). That would serve the purpose of letting the reader know that the story has moved on to another locale and/or character/time of day, etc. Just a thought for your future books!


message 2: by Robin

Robin Tompkins K.G. wrote: "Guess what arrived in paperback today? "The Field of Reeds, Book One: In Shadows!" I will start reading it tonight! (s soon as I'm done riding the writing wave... gotta take it as far as you can!)
..."


Don't mind me KG, keep on surfing the wave while you have it ☺I was trying to get back into my 'Bell Hill,' headspace but Xmas kicked me right out of it☺Hope you don't hate 'Field of Reeds' and Happy New Year!🍻


message 1: by K.G.

K.G. Duncan Guess what arrived in paperback today? "The Field of Reeds, Book One: In Shadows!" I will start reading it tonight! (s soon as I'm done riding the writing wave... gotta take it as far as you can!)

I hope your Yule wasn't gruel-ing, and full of tom-foolery, my friend. Have a wonderful New Year's!


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