Author Spotlight - BJ Robinson shares some of her favorites from Desert Breeze

Mother raised me on Cinderella and fairytales. She read to me at an early age on a daily basis, and I developed a love for reading and books before I ever started first grade at five years old. I always loved the school and the town libraries. I'd look forward to library day at school. Over the summer months, I practically lived in the library and would always join the Summer Reading Program. Three important people in my life led me to my love of reading and writing. My mom gave me my start on fairytales; my third-grade teacher submitted my short story about my pet dog to the local newspaper, and my fifth-grade teacher read me the Little House series, which is what I most looked forward to during my fifth-grade days at school. She knew how to leave off and keep us suspended, like a soap opera, so we couldn't wait to hear what happened next.

Growing up on Fairy Tales
(an excerpt from a memoir of the author’s
childhood and schooldays)

Before I was even old enough to read, Momma had me hooked on fairytales. She bought a new one for me each month out of the small social-security check she received after my father's death. She would rock me to sleep reading my favorite fairytales each night. I loved The Glass Mountain, Cinderella, and Snow White.

I was only four years old when my father died one cold Christmas Day in a charity hospital. Four years earlier, I'd been born in a charity hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. We never had much, but I had not realized that. To me, before Daddy died, we had everything.

We lived in a small town on South Third Street in a rambling, white-apartment house. We only rented, but I didn't realize what that meant at the time. To me, we were rich; for, I was rich living in my make-believe world of fairy tales, rich in sunshine and fresh air, swinging in my board-and-rope swing underneath the giant-pecan tree in our front yard.

I was a happy little girl who had everything she could possibly want. I had a doting daddy, a loving mom, and a precious little sister, who was only four months old when our daddy died. Daddy would rock us and sing us to sleep, singing about our beautiful blue eyes, or Mother would read and rock us to sleep with fairytales. My world was rich, happy, and content. I wanted for nothing. Happy endings were all I knew then and now I write my own.

I was an outdoor's child who bounced up early to run outside into the sunshine yelling for Daddy to push me in the swing he had made for me underneath the old pecan. It didn't matter to me that it was not a store-bought swing, like Shelly across the road had. For, my daddy pushed me so high that my tiny feet nearly touched the low-hanging branches. I'd squeal with delight and scream, "Push me to the sky, Daddy!"

Daddy would laugh and say, "That's my girl. She already knows the sky is her limit."

Now, that you know how I developed my love for both reading and writing, I'll share some of my favorite authors with you. Since joining Desert Breeze Publishing, I've discovered some I'll keep on my reading list. If you haven't read any books by these DB colleagues, check them out.

Regina Andrews has a new release in her series. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-244/Sterling-Lakes-Book-Three/Detail.bok

How do I know she's good? I read and reviewed her first one on my blog and loved it. Check it out here and be sure not to miss her second one either. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-146/Regina-Andrews-Light-of/Detail.bok

Shawna K. Williams has several great books under her belt. Check them out so you can read them in order. I loved them all because they are deep. Here's a link to The Good Fight: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-223/The-Good-Fight-Shawna/Detail.bok

You simply can't miss Naomi Musch's The Green Veil and The Red Fury. I've read and reviewed both these novels on my blog, and loved them both because they are what I deem deep novels. I love the author's vivid description and details, her characterization, and the fact that the characters in these two novels remain with me long after closing the book. She'll rip your heart out. That's what I call evoking reader emotions, my type of book. Here's the link to her second novel, but by no means skip or forget the first. You really don't want to miss out on either. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-217/Empire-in-Pines-Book/Detail.bok



Nike Chillemi has two wonderful novels. I've read and reviewed Burning Hearts on my blog and loved it. Her newest is Goodbye Noel, and I'll share the link here: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-234/Sanctuary-Point-Book-Two/Detail.bok

I've read so many great Desert Breeze authors, and I don't have room to list them all here. These are my favorite and most recent reads. Check back tomorrow, and I'll key you in on a few more. I'm a Nicholas Sparks fan. Love his writing style. Love his books because they touch the heart and soul, told like true love stories Chris Fabry's Dogwood is another novel I'll always remember, as is Lynn Austin's All She Ever Wanted. I read both of these novels a few summers ago, but they remain with me and stand out in my mind. I'll always remember them. A book that stays with you after you close the covers is my goal as a writer. I don't want to write easily forgotten fluff. There's enough of it already on the market. I aspire to write more like my favorite authors and with each new book I pen, I strive to reach that goal. I want to write books like the ones I enjoy reading.

Try our Desert Breeze authors. You'll discover we also have novels that stay with you after you close the cover and characters you won't soon forget. You can't beat DB covers, and I've discovered the formatting is much better than other lines of eBooks I've read on the market. I hope you'll remember Faith and Matt from Last Resort and June and Andy from Southern Superstitions. You can look forward to meeting Hackett and Spring in Whispering Cypress, which releases August 15, 2012. Live other worlds through great novels. Adventure with Faith and Matt, June and Andy, and Spring and Hackett. Visit me at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com for an opportunity to win a free PDF of my newest release, Southern Superstitions and meet Andy and June! Be sure to check back tomorrow for a few words about other DB authors.

Book trailer for Southern Superstitions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNoo962DbF0&feature=share

Book trailer for Last Resort: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juwF0dLLX6M&feature=youtu.be

Read a free excerpt for Last Resort: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-184/B-J-Robinson-Last/Detail.bok.

Free excerpt for Southern Superstitions: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-249/Southern-Superstition-BJ-Robinson/Detail.bok

Check my author page with my publisher for updates and new releases: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-template/BJRobinson/Page.bok

Author Shawna K. Williams endorses Southern Superstitions and says, " Southern Superstitions is an inspirational story that’s full of personality, as well as intricacy in the way it explores the complexities of family and the conflict between faith and luck. Barbara does a great job at pulling together the deeply rooted superstitions of the South and entwining them into a suspenseful tale of faith, romance and endurance. I especially enjoyed the setting and culture of the deep South."

Read the first two chapters free at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Superstitions-ebook/dp/B006X8GAWA/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326620592&sr=1-6

Author and book reviewer Dolores Ayotte says, "BJ Robinson has done it again! Her novel Southern Superstitions hits home and shows her devotion to God, her love for strawberry farming, and her appreciation for life's simple pleasures." Read the first interview for my new release here and see what else Dolores has to say about Southern Superstitions.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RTXVLYH2JV0H3

Read a free excerpt at my publisher's, Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc. and if you need a PDF file to read on your laptop or computer, here's the place to snag one. Epub files are also available here.

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-249/Southern-Superstition-BJ-Robinson/Detail.bok
Visit my author page for updates, new releases, and what's coming:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-template/BJRobinson/Page.bok

Visit my blog and sign to follow for an opportunity to win free novels. and discover new writers through book reviews. http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com

Visit another interview at: http://cuffesisters.com/2012/complimentary-cuffes/visiting-with-barbara-j-robinson/

B. J. Robinson makes her home in Florida with her husband, a cocker spaniel named Sunflower, a character in her romantic suspense novel Last Resort, an adopted shelter cat named Frankie, and a golden retriever named Honi. She's been writing since the third grade when her story about her pet dog was published in a local newspaper and hopes people have as much fun reading her novels as she did writing them. As an animal lover and for all pet lovers, her novels contain pets, usually dogs, but sometimes cats. Visit her at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com.