Author Spotlight - BJ Robinson talks about influences in her life

Two teachers who really made an important difference in my life were my third and fifth grade teachers. My third grade teacher developed my interest in writing when she submitted my short story about my dog to the local newspaper, and it was published. That sparked an interest in writing for me which has not dimmed, though it was to be many years before I would see myself published once again. My next publication came with the first essay I wrote in my first college English class. Since that time, I have had many poems, articles, essays, and short stories published in anthologies and local newspapers. I won first prize for a short story which I wrote during a creative-writing class under the instruction of Tim Gautreaux, a Louisiana author who was listed as one of the fifty writers to watch in the January 2000 edition of Writer's Digest. I developed that award-winning short story into a novel which releases January 11, Southern Superstitions. The short story itself will be a Christmas freebie.

The other special teacher, who made a big difference in my life, was my fifth grade teacher who really developed my love for reading and books. She introduced me to another world with the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She knew just where to leave off to keep our interest sparked, and we looked forward to reading class each day. After having this wonderful lady as a teacher, I joined the reading club during the summer at the local library each year. Though I never won, I watched my marker climb its way towards the top, and I read more books then than I have ever read in my life, that is until my husband gifted me with a Nook for Christmas. Now, I devour them. It's one of the best presents he ever gave me, but the best was Sunflower. I gave more book reports in school than any other student in my class, and I earned extra credit for many of them. I've always been an avid reader and passionate writer.

It was also about that time when I discovered my love for mysteries. I read every Nancy Drew mystery I could find. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand. To be a good writer, one must first become a good reader, and I feel I owe both of these special teachers in my life for starting me off on the right track when I was young; thereby, helping shape, mold, and develop the writer I am today. My mother also read all the classic fairytales to me before I started school, and I thank her for my love of reading, too. Most of all, I thank God for placing the desire to write within my heart, guiding and directing me as I write, and allowing me to serve Him through my writing. I love to write inspirational fiction to touch peoples' lives and hearts and make a difference, and I've had a number of devotionals published for the same reason. I have a writing devotional in Words to Write By compiled by Robin Bayne. This is a book of devotionals for writers, and if you're a writer, you'll love it. It's available at Barnes and Noble as an eBook for the Nook for only four dollars.