Ferris Robinson
Ferris Robinson for years has developed a following for her personal, real-life columns and other stories in the former Chattanooga Free Press and now chattanoogan.com and the Lookout Mountain Mirror.
But the world of fiction has also pulled heavily on this reflective-style writer, despite so few hints to her readers until recently.
“I’ve always wanted to write a novel,” Mrs. Robinson said during a recent interview. “I knew that if I was on my deathbed and had not done that, then I’d feel sad.”
Well, she is now feeling a little more at peace about that aspect of her life because she has written her first novel, which is being published by Kindle Press.
Called “Making Arrangements,” the book is about a 65-year-old female protagonist and cancer survivor named Lang Eldridge, who plans a celebratory trip with her husband after surviving her first year following her diagnosis.
Unfortunately, he falls dead on a tennis court before they leave, despite being physically active, and she soon realizes while mourning that he had a malady of character as well.
Showing poor financial stewardship, he had taken out an ill-advised second mortgage on a Cravens House-like historic property her family owned, and that creates problems for her.
As the family tries to figure out how to go forward, her son wants to take over the property and subdivide it, but a woman friend with whom Lang later develops a deeper friendship helps guide her through some tough decisions. Lang also gets to make some more pleasant choices in the book after meeting a male veterinarian through a stray dog.
Mrs. Robinson believes the book has a happy ending, but she knows the publishing of it has definitely brought a pleasant conclusion to this chapter of her writing life.
“I’m so excited and just elated,” she said.
The first chapter of Mrs. Robinson’s real-life story to becoming a published author took place in Jasper, Tenn. Her mother, Mary Ferris Kelly, made sure she had plenty of books to read, she said.
Mrs. Robinson was named for her grandfather, George Marvin Ferris, whose father, Charles E. Ferris, was the first engineering school dean at the University of Tennessee. The historic and eye-catching Ferris Hall science building on the Hill part of the campus near Neyland Stadium is named for him.
While growing up, Mrs. Robinson also received from her mother a diary, which had a lock on it. However, she was certainly not afraid to keep her thoughts hidden from the paper, and she soon found that writing offered her a form of natural expression.
“I always wrote,” she said. “It’s a lot easier for me to express myself that way rather than tell someone what I think, especially if there is emotion involved.”
After attending public school in Jasper, she enrolled at Girls Preparatory School. There, she was exposed to writing research reports and analytical papers, as well as literature, which she also enjoyed.
But she also found pleasure in such classes as anthropology and psychology at GPS and the engaging teaching styles of such instructors as Ginny Thurston. So after graduating from GPS in 1976, she made plans to enroll at Mary Baldwin College for women in Staunton, Va., and major in psychology.
After a year there, she transferred to Vanderbilt for two years and then began attending UT-Chattanooga, where she took some writing courses.
“In hindsight I wish I had majored in English, but I didn’t,” she said.
By this time she was interested in pursuing a career involving writing. She was able to start working part-time for the Lookout Mountain Mirror and answered a call by then-Chattanooga News-Free Press lifestyle editor Helen Exum for a freelance contributor to that paper.
She called the support of the late Ms. Exum very helpful early in her career.
“She gave me some assignments and then gave me a column. She was such an encourager,” Mrs. Robinson said.
The freelance work there stopped after the Free Press and the Times merged in early 1999, but she continued writing a regular column for the Mountain Mirror. It and Angie Conroy’s personal column have become among the favorite articles for readers in each month’s edition. As mentioned, her columns also run in chattanoogan.com.
In 2013, she also began serving as the editor of the Mirror.
But she also quietly kept her dreams of writing a novel alive, and about five years ago really began working on putting together the book. Like with a number of people who have other jobs or duties, the ideas were sometimes more abundant than available time, but she began working on it for up to two hours in the mornings before having to devote time to other responsibilities.
A woman with whom she became acquainted and who offers professional editorial advice agreed to read portions of it and suggested she reduce the number of main characters, so she did that. Other editing was also done.
“It has changed so much since I began,” Ms. Robinson said.
Mrs. Robinson was also able to secure an agent – the first major hurdle in getting a book published – but the agent was unable to find a publisher.
However, like an appealing character in a book, Mrs. Robinson remained resourceful and began searching the Internet for alternative ideas to get it published. That is when she came across Kindle Press, a publishing imprint of Amazon.com, which picks books to publish based partly on an online poll.
“Anybody can submit a finished novel,” she said. “They have a competition in which you have 30 days to get votes. They weigh how many votes and the board also reads it and decides which books to publish.”
Mrs. Robinson said she was ecstatic when she received word her novel was going to be published, realizing she had accomplished one of her longtime goals.
After she received word that the book would be published, a Kindle editor read over it and made some small suggestions for changes, particularly in some minor mistakes Mrs. Robinson had made in the dialogue.
The book came out online this week, with promotions handled by the publisher. Mrs. Robinson owns the paperback rights, and said she plans to publish a small run.
“I still like a printed book,” she said. “I like to have a book in my hand.”
She also has a website, www.ferrisrobinson.com, that has more information about the book and her writing career. The site even includes a recipe for Southern caramel cake that is part of the novel.
The cover of the book was from a painting done by her mother about 15 years ago called “Woman in the Garden,” which shows a woman making flower arrangements with a chaotic background.
“It’s not what meets the eye,” said Mrs. Robinson with a smile, hinting the book pulls from some of that symbolism and has a double meaning in its title.
While her mother and a childhood friend from Athens, Tenn., both called each other “Lang,” and a few other parallels can be made, she said the book does not pull strongly from the real-life experiences of her and her family.
Her husband, Dan Robinson, a standout football player at McCallie in the mid-1970s, jokingly wondered if the book is about him, since he had heart surgery 23 years ago, she said.
But he has enjoyed the real-life story of her getting a book published, she added.
“He’s excited for me,” she said. “He’s proud. He is glad I’m done so he won’t have to hear me talk about it.”
Jcshearer2@comcast.net
Book cover