Interview with Eve Craven on helping her mom write a book
By way of introduction, here is Meri Robie-Craven’s bio:
Meri Robie is a writer and editor living in BalImore. Her play, “Light Strikes a Deal” was included in the Rapid Lemon Theater’s Varia%ons on Night fesIval (2025), and she earned Honorable MenIon for the 2023 Page One Contest
by Gutsy Great Novelist.
She is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins WriIng Seminars. Find her at merirobie.com.
Meri Robie published Wildflowers on Sept 1, 2025. Her youngest daughter, Eve, was twelve through fifteen while Meri was writing the book.
Meri read chapters and sections to Eve and received plenty of reactions and criticism. Meri sat with Eve to talk about the process and what Eve remembers about it:
Mom:
How did you get involved with writing this book?
Eve:
You had already been interested in writing books, and you were writing another book about music, and so we would have long car rides when you were working on that book in your car, and when you picked me up, you would ask me advice about parts you had been working on.
Mom:
Give me an example of something you helped with.
Eve:
Building on Honey’s character, like modern-day words like emojis and social media. Honey is very homey and safe.
Mom:
The thing I remember, well two things — one is that I wanted a person to be sort of throwing something at a house because she was so angry at her ex-boyfriend. And I couldn’t really think of something good to throw. Do you remember what you said?
Eve:
Did I say eggs?
Mom:
Nope, you said pickles. So I made it jars of pickles that she throws at the wall.
Eve:
(laughing) I don’t remember that at all! That’s really funny!
Mom:
The other thing I asked was really serious. I said, there is a woman who is really
sad and defeated, and she gets very, very sick. I don’t know whether she should die, or recover. Do you remember that one?
Eve:
Yeah, I do remember that. I think I said she should pass away. It made it show thatnot everything has a happy ending, and it made it feel more… like it made it feel like it happened for something?
Mom:
Like it was more satisfying to, not really to have closure, but to complete that
storyline in a way?
Eve:
Mm-hmm.
Mom:
Do you want to be a writer? Or are you one already?
Eve:
I think writing would be a fun thing to do in the future-future, maybe when I’m out of dance. But I have written a few stories and I have written lots of poetry. But I wouldn’t consider myself a writer-writer. I do like doing it for myself, but I wouldn’t put anything out there yet.
Mom:
I do remember showing you some blogs and you said, “Oh wow. I need to get better.” And that’s one thing that shows me that maybe writing is in your future because you know quality and can really resonate with good writing.
Eve:
I think that’s the reason why I don’t want to do it now, especially since there’s another career path I want to get to. I would love to focus on [writing] more in the future.
Mom:
So should I call you for my next book?
Eve:
Yes!
Mom:
Also, Eve is now my social media manager. You can check her work out on my Instagram! Wink wink.
Eve:
Thank you!
Book Blurb:
Three elder stateswomen in the music industry, scarred by scandal, addiction, and forced retirement, go all in to create a killer comeback album.
As they learn to trust themselves and dive back into songwriting, they entwine their lives and voices in ways they couldn’t have imagined alone.
Everyone has forgotten about soul singer Honey Conaway, except that she stabbed a producer’s eye out at a party and left drunk and stumbling like some glitzy Medea.
Everyone loves Gloria Redmond: Girls grew up listening to her country-tinged, smart-alecky tunes, but she has become irrelevant past her prime.
And everyone knows Sian Star, not for her time fronting the pop band The Whirlygirls, but for driving a red Porsche into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
When these three women create an award-winning comeback album together, each is challenged by the version of herself that pushed her out of the spotlight in the first place.
