Donald, Robyn 1940-

views updated

DONALD, Robyn 1940-

[A pseudonym] (Robyn Elaine Kingston)

PERSONAL: Born August 14, 1940, in Auckland, New Zealand; married Donald James Kingston, 1960; children: one son, one daughter. Education: Attended Auckland Teachers Training College. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, gardening.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Mills and Boon, Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Rd., Richmond on Thames, Surrey TW9 1SR, England. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and educator. Primary school teacher, Warkworth, New Zealand, 1960–64; primary school teacher, Kerikeri, New Zealand, 1971–72; teacher of remedial reading, 1974–77, secondary school teacher, beginning 1973.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE NOVELS

Bride at Whangatapu, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1978.

Dilemma in Paradise, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1978.

Shadow of the Past, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1979.

Summer at Awakopu, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1979.

Wife in Exchange, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1979.

Bay of Stars, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1980.

Iceberg, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1980.

The Interloper, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1981.

Dark Abyss, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1982.

Old Passion, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1982.

The Gates of Rangitatau, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1983.

Guarded Heart, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1983.

Mansion for My Love, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1983.

Return to Yesterday, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1983.

A Durable Fire, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1984.

A Durable Line, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1984.

An Unbreakable Bond, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1986.

Captives of the Past, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1986.

Long Journey Back, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1986.

Country of the Heart, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1987.

Late Loving, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1987.

Smoke in the Wind, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1987.

Willing Surrender, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1987.

The Sweetest Trap, Mills & Boon (London, England), 1988.

A Bitter Homecoming, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1989.

A Matter of Will, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1989.

Love's Reward, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1989.

The Darker Side of Paradise, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1990.

No Guarantees, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1990.

No Place Too Far, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1990.

Summer Storm, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1990.

Some Kind of Madness, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1991.

The Stone Princess, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1991.

Storm Bluer Paradise, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1991.

Storm over Paradise, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1991.

The Golden Mask, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1992.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1992.

Island Enchantment, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1993.

Pagan Surrender, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1993.

Paradise Lost, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1993.

Such Dark Magic, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1993.

The Colour of Midnight, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1994.

Dark Fire, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1994.

Element of Risk, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1994.

Tiger Eyes, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1994.

Prince of Lies, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1995.

The Final Proposal, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1996.

Indiscretions, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1996.

The Mirror Bride, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1996.

Meant to Marry, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1996.

A Forbidden Desire, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1997.

Tiger, Tiger, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1997.

Forbidden Pleasure, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1998.

The Nanny Affair, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1998.

The Paternity Affair, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1998.

A Reluctant Mistress, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1998.

Surrender to Seduction, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 1998.

Sanchia's Secret, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2000.

The Devil's Bargain, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2001.

Forgotten Sins, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2001.

A Ruthless Passion, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2001.

One Night at Parenga, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2002.

The Prince's Pleasure, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2002.

Wolfe's Temptress, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2002.

A Spanish Vengeance, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2003.

The Millionaire's Virgin Mistress, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2003.

The Temptress of Tarika Bay, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2003.

By Royal Command, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2004.

His Pregnant Princess, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2004.

The Blackmail Bargain, Mills & Boon (Richmond, Surrey, England), 2005.

OTHER

(With Daphne Clair) Writing Romantic Fiction, A & C Black (London, England), 1999.

Also contributor to numerous collections, including Best of Robyn Donald: Summer at Awakopu, Wife in Exchange 1984; Daddy's Home, 1997; Captive Hearts, 1998; Pacific Passions, 2002; His Secret Baby, 2004; and The Tycoon's Love Child. 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: New Zealand native Robyn Kingston, who is well known to readers under her pseudonym Robyn Donald, is a prolific producer of romantic fiction usually set in New Zealand or the South Pacific region. "I write romances because I enjoy reading them and because I believe a happy marriage to be the state in which people attain the greatest felicity," noted the author in Twentieth-Century Romance & Historical Writers. The author's heroines are usually "normal" everyday women without high-powered jobs or an exciting life. "Her talents do not intimidate and every reader could see her as a would-be friend," a Twentieth-Century Romance & Historical Writers essayist explained. On the other hand, the hero of Donald's novels is the ideal in many ways. Although extremely attractive and successful, the hero still has flaws, such as pride or possessiveness. "His flaws are those of the best romantic heroes," the Twentieth-Century Romance & Historical Writers contributor added, noting that the author "gives her readers the preferred fantasy of an ordinary woman swept off her feet by an extraordinary man. Her great strength is the power and passion with which she is able to recreate the mixture afresh with every book."

Donald's 2005 romance novel, The Blackmail Bargain, follows her usual plot arrangements with a slight twist. It tells the love story of Peta Grey and Curt McIntosh; Curt has found his ideal in Peta but can't give in to his passion because he thinks Peta's a gold digger who is trying to breakup his sister's marriage. Meanwhile, Peta is attracted to Curt but holds back her emotions because he is domineering like her father. The Twentieth-Century Romance & Historical Writers contributor noted that Donald commonly places such conflict in the center of her stories. The contributor wrote: "A battle of wills between the strong central characters, often arising from a past encounter which has left unfinished business between them, forms Donald's usual plot and her mood is often a dark one, reflecting the baser human emotions such as jealousy, physical obsession, the desire for revenge and the need to manipulate (and also to be manipulated) which are more often kept hidden." In The Blackmail Bargain, Curt blackmails Peta into getting out of his sister's life and coming with him to Auckland, New Zealand, where he lives. From there the two have a battle of wills leading ultimately to romance. Writing on the Romance Writers of New Zealand Web site, Donald commented: "It's a tale of two strong characters, drawn together with a passion that neither feel comfortable with."

Donald is also the author of a writing book with Daphne Clair titled Writing Romantic Fiction. In the book, the two writers present their own methods and approaches to writing romance fiction, as well as approaches used by other successful writers. The authors address numerous issues essential to romance writing, including how to achieve tension, pacing, and emotional intensity through good characterization and other methods. A contributor to WritersWrite.com noted that "aspiring romance authors will find … [the authors'] advice to be extremely helpful."