I Should Have Married a Cowboy is a hot-off-the-press, self-published book from a local author.
Barbara Robin, oldest of nine siblings, talks about her life in a series of short stories recounting her adventures in north central B.C.
Robin will host a book signing today from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at Books & Co., to showcase her debut adventure into the literary world.
"I was very interested in the country life, I guess you could say, and there are some horse and rodeo stories in the book," Robin said, explaining the reason for the title.
"On the back of the book it says I'm a back-to-the-land romantic and I really was."
Robin spent a lot of years in northwest B.C., settling in Fort St. James for a number of years before moving to Prince George in 2009 where she is enjoying being a recently retired real estate agent and living a stone's throw away from three of her sisters.
"I wouldn't know how to manage without them," Robin said with a smile.
Most of the stories in her new book are authored by Robin but there are two exceptions. There is a story told by Robin's uncle, Paul Sargent, about the Red Rose mine located west of Hazelton, which is part of their family history.
Her mother, Orrice (Sis) Robin, is best known for her work to get designation for the Fort St. James National Historic Site, and her story about that is included in Robin's book as well.
"Other than those two, the rest of the stories are mine," she added.
Robin isn't the only book writer in the family. Her brother, Peter Robin, has his own called Tales from the Grub 'n' Rub about some of his life's adventures.
The large family has many stories to tell.
Robin was a realtor in Fort St. James until 2009 when she sold her business and moved to Prince George, going to work in a local realty office and retiring in May 2016.
She got serious about writing the book last fall and turned her full attention to the task, after having compiled the stories prior to that time.
"The stories in the book speak a lot to the history of the area and what was going on at the time," Robin said.
"The truth is in the details."
Robin self-published the book and the most daunting task was editing it for readers' eyes.
Robin and one of her three sisters, Pat, would take on the task of reading Robin's work with an objective tilt.
"In January and February I would go to her house every morning at seven and I would read a story out loud and we would pick it apart," she said.
"That was the only way we could do it uninterrupted, so that's what we did."
Robin wanted to impart one message to others who wish to record their own history.
"Get it down on paper," she said.
Robin's got nieces and nephews that are asking about the family's history and so it's nice to be able to present the book to them, which will provide a lot of answers.
"I would really encourage others to do it - just think 'if she can do it, so can I,'" Robin said.
She offered these words of encouragement.
"You have to be patient and persistent and do not get frustrated."
There's already another book in the works for Robin.
She's co-authoring a book about historical buildings in Fort St. James, which should be out next year.
