Author Spotlight - BJ Robinson talks about her love of Romance

Thanks so much for supporting BJ during her spotlight week. Leave a comment today, Saturday, or Sunday here and be entered to win a PDF copy of BJ's latest release, "Southern Superstitions." I'll pick the winner randomly and announce who it is here and on the Connections Loop.

Enjoy the weekend!
Moderator Steph

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I grew up loving romance novels, perhaps because there never seemed to be enough romance in real life. Danielle Steel was one of my favorite romance authors. I went from fairytales to romance novels like a runaway roller coaster, getting what little romance I could out of life from the characters in my books. In years to come, a country music singer would come up with a song about a Louisiana woman and a Mississippi man, and I would always tell Mother that each and every time I heard that song, I would think about my parents. Father never got to hear that song, but Mother loved it. She was a country music lover too. I like other types of music too, but country is my favorite because I was raised on it. Conway Twitty sang Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man and Mom was a Louisiana woman and Daddy was a Mississippi man.

I loved to listen to Mom's stories about Daddy. Her stories were all I had left after his death. She had a way of making him come back to life for me, with her eyes sparkling as she told me stories about their happy times and happy life together.

She told me how Daddy always showed up loaded down with surprises for the both of us. He'd come laughing inside, glad to be home with us once again and say, "How's my two favorite girls?" He'd grab Mother and hug her until she thought he'd surely break her small bones in two, and he'd pick me up out of my crib or playpen and head for the rocking chair with me. "Got to make up for lost time and sing to my baby girl," he'd tell Mom.

He had a job at a shipyard in New Orleans, and he worked there until he became disabled. At first, we lived in a very small white house in Springfield, and I remember Daddy taking me fishing with him when we lived there. I could watch the ducks swim on the water, and the chickens followed us to the river. Daddy showed me how to bait my cane pole with a real-live worm and took me fishing at four years old.

From there, we moved to the white apartment house on South Third Street , where I would be living when I lost my daddy on Christmas Day.

The last week Daddy stayed in the city, Mom and I went to New Orleans to surprise him. I was too little to remember the trip, but I was all ears when Mom told me all about it after Daddy had passed away, and she was reminiscing about happier times.
"When we got to your daddy's room in that boarding house, I knocked on the door, but he didn't answer at first. I pounded and pounded and finally I heard him coming to open the door. He had been sleeping and had the gas heater on in that room, without a crack in the window. Landsakes child, it is a good thing we went to visit your daddy when we did, or we might have lost him sooner. I had to raise that window and let the fumes air out of the room. He was so surprised and glad to see us. There, by the side of his bed, was a big, walking doll he had bought for you. He already had his gifts for us, but he thought he'd be bringing them home and surprising us as usual. This time, we surprised him though, because we didn't wait for him. We caught a Greyhound bus and went to him."

How I loved to listen to Mother's reminiscing about the olden days, what she called the good-old days, when she was growing up as a little girl on my grandfather's strawberry farm in Springfield, Louisiana. I loved those strawberry tales about how hard my Grandma and Grandpa Threeton worked on their strawberry farm. Most of all though, I loved to listen to her tales about Daddy and how good he was to us and how happy the four of us had been, once upon a time. Just like a fairytale, there was a once upon a time, but unlike a fairytale, we had no happy ending. All we had were our happy memories.

You see, it took many years before I realized sweet Jesus was no fairytale. When Mom first quoted all those Bible verses, I often wondered why she didn't just speak in plain English, and I had no idea they came from the Good Book. Meanwhile, I read and wrote out my heart that Mom always said I wore on my sleeve. I traveled many places and explored other worlds through many a good book. Now, I write my own, and I'm happy to say God has placed some incredible people in my life to assist me with my writing journey for Him. Eva Marie Everson, my Christian Writing Guild mentor, Karen O'Connor, my Long Ridge Writing instructor, and Tim Gauthreaux, my college creative-writing teacher among them. But, I'll never forget my third grade teacher who actually started my writing journey when she submitted my pet story to the local newspaper. I've been reading and writing ever since. She gave me something to hold onto, a love for the written word, an escape from real life when it became too much, and hope to last me until years later when I found true hope and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Now, I promised to share more Desert Breeze favorite authors whom I've read:

Author Anne Patrick wrote Fire and Ash, and I loved it. Check out her other titles. I have several others on my reading list. She's an excellent author. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/Categories.bok

Author Michelle Sutton has many books under her belt. My favorites of hers were Danger at the Door and its sequel. She has a new one I also enjoyed, When Love Collides. Check it out. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-238/When-Love-Collides-Michelle/Detail.bok

Author Lynette Hall Hampton has several title out, and I've read and reviewed her first in this series. Loved it. Check them out. http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-188/Lynette-Hall-Hampton-US/Detail.bok

Author Melanie Atkins has a series, and I've read and reviewed one set in Louisiana/Mississippi and really enjoyed it. Check her out.

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-203/Melanie-Atkins-Shield-of/Detail.bok

Author Jayne Lee wrote August in Montana, and I reviewed it on my blog. Check it out. It's a delightful read.
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-166/Jayne-Lee-August-in/Detail.bok

I've read so many DB authors and titles I'm sure I've missed some, and I do apologize if I missed you. As I said earlier, they're too many great authors at Desert Breeze to name them all. Browse the DB catalog and discover new ones for yourself. I'm sure you have a great idea about my reading tastes after checking out my favorites. Be blessed and enjoy relaxing reads with us.

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 My first review for Southern Superstitions.

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/

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

Reviewer Kathy Boswell says, "Very good! She never gives up hope that Andy will return to her someday. She puts it all in God's hands like she'd done every crisis in her life. She knows He will take care of this for her."

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.