Robby Earnhardt

Robby. What is there to say about Robby? Robby is my young rebellion. Only… He sort of didn’t end up being as rebellious as I thought he was going to be. In fact, Robby’s story ended up completely different on paper than it was in my head. Curious? Read on to learn all about my journey with Robby. Including that time when he Gibbs slapped me. Yep. You read that right. Smack to the back of the head…

When I first wrote Robby, I saw him as a kid who hated school. He was a white t-shirt and jeans wearing asshole who was covered in tattoos. He didn’t give a shit about anyone. But when it came to Arianna, his best friend who he considered a little sister, and his girlfriend, Renza, Robby would burn the world to the ground if it meant protecting them. I saw him as super protective. He was held back a grade, so he was a 19 year old senior. No one messed with Robby. No one dared. He was a scary dude.

As you all know, Robby’s story took one hell of a drastic turn. He was super protective. We definitely got that. He was protective enough that he wanted to join the mafia to help keep Arianna safe. He knew she was in danger. And he was smart. Yes, he hated school, but he hated it because of his intelligence level. He wasn’t being challenged at all. How easy is it to enjoy something if a challenge isn’t happening?

But the biggest change with Robby came to me one day when I was re-writing Dangerously Forbidden Love. The Crane Family Series was originally meant to have a book for Nick, one for Robby, and one for Luke. I had lots of ideas floating around, but Robby’s was going to be about him tracking down a hacker who was stealing Crane money. The hacker was meant to become Robby’s LI. She was going to confess to him that she was being forced to do it by her ex-boyfriend. Only he still believed he was her boyfriend. He wouldn’t let her go. Robby didn’t exactly believe her. At least not until he realized she was in danger and the ex was coming for her. He was going to save her, bring her home, and end up falling in love with her.

Robby, though, didn’t like that idea. So as I was doing my re-write, I swear I felt a slap to the back of my head. Robby very clearly told me that isn’t his story. He told me he had chemistry with someone else, and if I didn’t write him the way that he wanted me to, he was just going to continue to bug me. He said he’d refuse to be quiet. He had a story that needed to be told, and it needed to be told the right way.

Yep. Robby wasn’t straight. He wasn’t bi. He wasn’t even bi-curious. Robby told me that he was absolutely gay. And what’s more, his LI was someone I’d already written. He was in love with Luke Massena. His Luke. Of course, this created an even bigger problem for me. Because I had plans for Luke. You’ll have to read Luke’s blog to learn about those plans. There may be a few shockers in there.

All of the sudden, Robby became this super, badass, Alpha male, who was an incredible hacker and very, very dominant and drool-worthy, to this… well… This super, badass who was an incredible hacker. Robby is a strong character. He isn’t exactly what people consider submissive. He’s certainly not at all weak. But Robby is not that Alpha. He was never the dominant. Robby can kick ass and take names. He can stand on his own two feet. He doesn’t need anyone.

Except Luke. Luke is the one who catches him when he stumbles. And Robby lets him. Robby is able to let loose with Luke. He’s able to allow himself to just BE with Luke.

Robby was and still is one of my favorite characters. He’s the first one I wrote as gay. Through Robby, I learned the true meaning of being one’s true self. All of my Crane characters hold a special place in my heart, but Robby… Well, Robby takes my soul.