Action Pulp!

February 5, 2026

By Adam Messer

Robin Pullen is an author and playwright who connects with her audience by creating affinity with her characters.

Please introduce yourself. 

I’m Robin Pullen, a playwright and author whose play THE WILD WOMEN OF AMELIA is premiering on International Women’s Day. To link the historic women with modern leaders, I am interviewing impactful females,and creating fun events that benefit local charities.

What genres do you write and why?

As an educator, I love writing family musicals (PAINT!) and children’s books that highlight the journey of real girls who persevered and achieved! CARO’S COMET, a picture book and musical, has premiered at the JAX Planetarium and will have a Chicago play Reading at Northwestern U this April.  AMELIA THE ISLAND is a comedic historic chapter book for grades 2-5 which will be published by Story and Song Press this Spring and will tour local schools. 

What is your earliest memory of reading? 
From the first grade on I knew I wanted to be a teacher like Miss White and an author like Caroline Keene. I wrote “plays” on the cool letterheads my dad would bring home from his furniture store, Deutsch Brothers. My mom read to me constantly, as I read to my son, who is now reading to his son! Let the joy continue!

When did you know you wanted to write? How did it happen?
As a child I was obsessed by Nancy Drew’s sleuthing and Harriet the Spy’s journals. Beverly Clearly propelled my childhood, as Judy Blume solidified my adolescence and  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn cemented my love of the written word. At 27, a draft of a play was accepted by Chicago Dramatists, and three years later the theater produced my romantic comedy, Cows In A Snowstorm. I understand life more when I jot down my observations. I’m so grateful that my typing fingers have a mind of their own!

What’s one of your favorite scenes in one of your books?
In the picture book CARO’S COMET, Caroline Herschel dreams of being an astronomer, like her brother. When Caro discovers her comet, despite expectations, I beam every time! In AMELIA THE ISLAND, underestimated Amelia journeys back in time, meeting Timucuans and even the Beach Lady! How fun to visit imaginative destinations through print.

What makes a good character? A bad one? 
A good character changes, speaks to us, is us.

When a story transports us, the author has done their job.

What moves the story for you?

The best books are still children’s books whose familiar characters sustain connections. I love when an audience feels an affinity to a character.

What is your favorite book and why?

IF is my favorite poem, for its phrases speak to me at every phase.  and Tennessee Williams’ works brilliantly bring us character and dramatic action, love and loss. The enticing vocabulary of Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and Rebecca mesmerize me at every stage.

What do you want to say to your audience?
I love when an audience feels an affinity to a character. “Mom, I want to be an astronomer like Caro,” I overheard a young girl say. If an audience delights at the magic of Marc Chagall, or sees the stars in Caro’s songs, then they too perceive their world differently. 

What advice do you have for new writers?

New writers, good writing is a process. You may have distractions, but time is truly the ally, for writing well is a lifelong process. At any stage, your best writing  is yet to come! Creativity is destiny!

Do you have anything else you would like to add?
Stories are limitless, so challenge yourself to discover new genres. Who could imagine that my current projects would include a play about mental illness, a comedy about murder, and a short film about real friends who are each one hundred years old! Keep dreaming. Words ignite our world!

Website: pullenplaywright.com

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