Author Spotlight - Excerpt from Last Resort

BJ Robinson would like to giveaway copies of paperback novels she's read and reviewed on her blog. Leave a comment to win The Potluck Club by Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson, a beautiful paperback novel. Post here on the excerpt, FRI, SAT, & SUN and I'll pick a winner on the following Monday as the winner. Be sure to leave a good email addy so I can get in touch with you.

Enjoy BJ's excerpt!
Moderator Steph

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Prologue

From the wooded lot beside the small country church, Fred Blunt waited and constantly checked his watch. Services were over, and he'd feast his eyes on Faith as she filled her plate at the buffet table during Sunday dinner on the grounds.

Perspiration trickled down his forehead, dripped into his eyes, and burned them, but he refused to blink. He didn't want to miss her. The sun burned his cheeks and plastered the black tee shirt he wore to his back. Mosquitoes swarmed, and he slapped the air to scare them away, reminded of how much she drew him, like mosquitoes drawn to the swamp. Sweat collected in
puddles underneath his baseball cap and seeped down the back of his neck. It was a miserable hot, humid day in Bridal Wreath, Florida.

The twenty-two slipped in his sweaty hands. It wouldn't make much noise. If he could kill a deer with it, as a last resort, he'd make it work on a person. Fred adjusted it, ready. He'd get his chance sooner or later. He spotted the cowboy farmer who lived next door to his Faith. He didn't like him one bit. He'd alter that picture.

EXCERPT

Faith tore out of the jail's parking lot and prayed she wouldn't get a ticket. She turned Old Blue into the flowing traffic. Her heart pumped faster than a race car engine. Dear God, please don't let me be too late. She reached down and punched Matt's number again. Come on, Matt, where are you? Pick up. Still no answer. She snapped the phone shut and focused on the road ahead. Who could possibly have it in for him? He was such a great guy. She gassed the truck as she passed the city limits and left the jail behind. Why wasn't he answering? She'd never had a problem before. This wasn't like him.

Faith whipped into the drive. She jumped from her pickup, strode to the side door, and knocked. No answer. She pulled out her cell and tried again. It rang and rang, then went straight to the voicemail. This time, she hung up without leaving a message.
She yanked the screen door, and it flew open, unlatched. The door knob turned, and she shoved the door open and yelled, "Matt, are you there?"

No response. She briskly marched through the house and called his name. She checked each room. In Matt's office, the swivel chair faced the door. Blood spotted it. Faith's heart lurched. Oh, God, please don't let me be too late. She spotted blood droplets on the carpet and followed them back through the kitchen and to the garage. Matt's truck ran. Dear God, what will I find when I open this door? Please let me be in time. Why didn't Matt use his pistol?

Faith jerked the garage door, but it wouldn't budge. She ran to the kitchen and hit the automatic door opener. The door slowly opened. She raced inside the garage, and the gas fumes nearly knocked her out. She coughed and held her nose with one hand. Her eyes burned, but she yanked open the driver's truck door. Matt tumbled out.

She let go of her nose and turned off the truck. Faith slid her arms under Matt's and locked her hands in front of his chest. She hefted. He didn't budge. She had to get him out of there. Now. No time to waste. She hauled in a breath, grunted, and heaved. He lifted, and she pulled him toward the door. One foot. Two feet. Three more.

"Matt, we're out of the garage." Please, Lord, help me. She couldn't drop him now. The outside air hit her face and tears of relief filled her eyes. She tenderly laid him on the grass by the side of the cement drive and yanked her cell from its holster. She dialed 911.

Assured the ambulance was on its way, Faith closed her phone and felt for his heartbeat. She rubbed her knuckles against his breast bone and stroked his face. So still. She touched his neck and held her breath. No response. She tilted his head and lifted his chin, then put her ear to his mouth and listened. Nothing. She looked for chest movement. Nothing. She listened for air blowing through his mouth or nose, or on her cheek. Nothing. He wasn't going to die if she had anything to do with it.

She ran her tongue over her lip and tasted perspiration. Why did sweat always taste salty, and why would she even think to question that at a time like this? She took a quick, shallow breath and whispered, "Come on, Matt. Breathe! BREATHE!"

It'd been a long time since she'd trained for CPR. Would she remember what to do? A bluish pallor stole over Matt's complexion, and his body became a dead weight. She had no time to lose.

Faith pinched his nose and made a seal over his mouth with her own. She breathed big enough to make his chest rise, let his chest fall, and repeated the rescue breath again. She listened for an intake of breath, an exhale, but the only sound was the pounding of her own heart in her ears.

Author Spotlight - BJ Robinson shares the inspiration of devotionals

If you've visited my blog at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com and read my profile, you know I've had a number of devotionals published. Below is one of my favorite scriptures, and I used it in my debut novel Last Resort because it gave me hope when I lost my mother and sister only six years apart. Mom died of cancer and my sister of an eating disorder, and I used the themes of lost loved ones and eating disorders in my novel.

Hope Lives

". . . and the dead in Christ will rise first: After that, we who are still alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” 1 Thessalonians verses 4:16-18

She and I stood in the front yard of the old apartment house. Lisa wore a light pink suit jacket, and her sad brown eyes looked directly into mine as she said, "I hope it's not cancer. I don't want to die." That visual image is sealed in my mind as vivid today as it was seven years ago when I lost my youngest sister. Bird-like hands clutched a shining gold star with a pearl-head pin. She handed it to me, "I want you to wear this, because every time I see a star, I think of you." When Lisa died, the heavens raged. Storm clouds covered the land and hurricanes blew in from the sea. That year, twelve blustery ones battered America's shores. The last, a storm named Lisa, tiny and non-threatening like her, eventually faded out over land. On September 13, a summons came for Lisa. Sent on a mission, angels ferried another angel home. As I fell to my knees bedside my bed and cried, I said a silent prayer. Then, I opened my Bible, and the Comforter sent me encouragement. I knew then, that even in death, hope lived, for I'd see my youngest sister again in heaven.

Dear Lord, thank you for Your encouraging Word and the gift of eternal life through Your son, Jesus. Thank you for opening my eyes so I no longer grieve without hope, Amen.

Author Spotlight - BJ Robinson talks about the Sunflower in her life

Since Sunflower is a character in LAST RESORT, here's the story of our we came to own our sweet blessing.

It’s not Puppy Love for
Sunflower my Golden Baby Girl

A golden cocker spaniel flew out of a play pen and nearly fell into the swimming pool. She jumped right for my husband’s arms, and he caught her and laughed. She captured my heart at once. “That’s her. She’s the one. She couldn’t wait for us to claim her.”

We were in Holly Hills, Florida, to look at puppies. After watching the paper and phoning about various advertisements, I finally found a golden cocker spaniel. Years ago, I owned a male named Buffy, and I always wanted another one. I'd found her. After she jumped out of the play pen to us, we simply couldn’t leave her behind. She rode home in my lap, and I named her Sunflower. She would soon live up to her name by being the sun in our lives.

As a puppy, Sunflower zipped with pep and energy. She raced through the house like a golden bullet. She had to make friends with the cats and a German shepherd named Dakota. We need not have worried; she and Dakota soon made fast friends and became like sisters. We hadn't thought about how well a puppy could chew. I had been lucky with Buffy, and I had never had a problem with him chewing, but Sunflower was a different story.

One day I came home from teaching school to find the new grandfather clock I bought my husband for his birthday attacked by her, the latest in a line of Sunflower victims. I worried that when my husband got home from work he would say Sunflower had to go. I could just imagine the words that would stream from his mouth, “That dog's history! I’ve always wanted a grandfather clock!”



My husband had fallen in love with the cuddly little puppy, so he let her stay. He calls her his baby girl, but I knew he would be upset with his baby girl when he got home and found that she lunched on his grandfather clock.

Sunflower always runs to meet us when we return from work. She sits in the window and watches for our vehicles to pull into the drive and dances around on her little short legs so happy to see us. When I let her out, she takes a run around the swimming pool and slides into home base. She glides on the ceramic tile and has to put on puppy-paw brakes to keep from running into the furniture. That evening was no different. She knows when it's time for us and waits and watches like an alarm clock ready to spring. As my husband opened the door, she leapt into action and flew into her daddy’s arms. He picked her up and cuddled her, happy to see her.

“You might not be as loving to Sunflower when you notice how she spent her time today," I warned.

“What did she do now?”

She'd already chewed slippers, socks, and even a cap. “See if you notice anything different in the living room.”

His eyes quickly darted around the small room taking everything in, and I saw his face when they landed on the bottom part of his grandfather clock. He always wanted a grandfather clock, and I bought him an imitation one since we couldn't afford the real thing. We got Sunflower the later part of August; it was only September, and his new clock was history. I waited dreading to hear what he'd say.

“Good thing it wasn’t the real thing. It’s a clock and can be replaced. Sunflower can’t.” He continued to cradle her in his arms and scolded her, “You’ve been a bad girl today and tried to make a meal of my clock.” She loved her daddy’s attention and kissed him.


I silently thanked God he hadn’t told me I had to get rid of Sunflower. She had already captured both our hearts, and she had us both wrapped around her little golden puppy paws. Good thing for Sunflower, her daddy had fallen in love with her before she decided to devour his clock.

The battle-worn clock still keeps time in our living room with little puppy teeth scars all around the edges and bottom. Every night Sunflower snuggles with her daddy and then gets in her favorite spot behind us on our bookcase headboard bed. She puts her sweet little puppy head on the pillow right between both our heads and sleeps. Did you know cocker spaniels snore? This one does sometimes. Her daddy says she's dreaming sweet puppy dreams.

Sunflower is the light in my life when I come home from a hard day’s work, just as she is for my husband. She is such a smart, pretty little dog. We both have spoiled her. She has to have a doggie cookie every time she comes in from outside. I have her trained, so I do not have to yell and wake the neighbors calling for her in the mornings. Quite by accident, I discovered that if I flip the light switch three times, wait a minute, and flip it again, Sunflower comes running to claim her doggie biscuit.

Sunflower is a golden-girl companion, and I hope we enjoy her company for many years to come. She has outgrown her puppy-chewing days. Thank God, but I hope she never outgrows her cuddly, loving ways. She follows my every step. If I go into another room, she is right behind me. As I work on my home computer taking college classes online or writing, Sunflower sleeps at my feet, as close as she can get. I can’t make a move without my Sunflower angel by my side, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She is a warm loving companion. The grandfather clock is just a chunk of wood, no company at all. My husband was right. A clock can be replaced, but Sunflower is one of a kind. It’s more important to have the enjoyment of a loyal pet. If you haven’t known the love of a pet, part of your heart and soul have not been awakened. She’s our golden baby girl, our stress reliever. It’s not puppy love for Sunflower!

My summer activities are reading and writing. I love to read on my Nook, and I can read faster and better since my husband gave it to me as a Christmas gift this past year.

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.

Author Spotlight -Q&A with Author BJ Robinson

STEPH: I don't know much about Last Resort. What's it about?

BJ: LAST RESORT is set in Bridal Wreath, a fictional town, and Key West, Florida. A woman vows to hide her heart so deeply in Christ that to find her, a man will have to find Him first, but will the true hidden treasures in God's Word be enough when she collides with Matt Allen? Faith is stalked and forced to search her conflicted heart. Will she be forced to use The Pink Lady? In a battle of love, loss, and jealousy, she strives to build a new life with peace and contentment, but Matt Allen has eyes like magnets she could get as lost in as unknown woods. Will he prove to be a helpmate or just another strawberry cull? She's pursued by an ex-fiancé, shattered dreams, an awesome God, and a cowboy farmer. There's only one place she can turn . . . .There's only one last resort.

Faith left the city to return to the country home where she grew up, but someone wants her to pack bags, not berries. A series of incidents take place to try to force her to leave. When she doesn't budge, arson, attempted murder, and murder kept the reader turning pages.

StepH: Where did you find the inspiration for it?
BJ: It started off as a sweet romance and turned into a book with several themes. There was a lot of controversy about guns in the news and gun control. At the same time, there were many incidents of private citizens who owned guns coming to the rescue. I thought about how I could show growth and change for my main character and thought I'd have her not wanting to own a gun and show her become stronger as she changed her attitude and learned to use one for all the right reasons, of course. Many women are stalked by former spouses and/or boyfriends, so I thought it'd make a good story. I was inspired to include Sunflower, my golden cocker spaniel, because I'm a dog lover and thought it'd appeal to pet lovers. I love reading books with pets included.

STEPH: How long did it take you to write?

BJ: It took me three years to complete, but not to write. I had the basic story the first eight months, but I kept going back and changing it, layering. I took my time on it since I was also taking writing courses at the same time and tried to apply some of the lessons to my novel as I worked on the WIP. The last year was spent with rewrites, editing, and layering. I could have written it sooner, but I spent time completing writing lessons during this time, and the first year I started it, I was still completing my Masters in Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction, and writing devotionals and shorter pieces of work. I had a Thanksgiving story I wrote published in the local newspaper during this time and a short story. I also have a number of devotionals published in one year's time.

STEPH: How important is setting to the novel?

BJ: The setting of a strawberry farm is important because the main characters earn their living as honest farmers. Key West, Florida, is important to the climax of the story.

STEPH: Did you have to do a lot of research for the novel?

BJ: Some for the hydroponic strawberries, but I went to a hydroponic berry farm and actually picked some. They were delicious. Some of the research came from watching the local news. Ideas came from it as well. I actually traveled to Key West several times while writing the novel, and I picked hydroponic strawberries twice.

STEPH: Hollywood just told you they want to make a movie of your novel. Cast the leads!

BJ: Nicholas Cage-ex
Faith- Jennifer Aniston
Matt- Toby Keith, but he has blue eyes. I can't think of a brown-eyed guy at the moment. Alan Jackson would make a great hero, too, but again, he has blue eyes, and my hero has brown ones.

STEPH: What do you want people to take away from the novel?


BJ: There are so many things I hope and pray readers glean from the reading of my novel: The importance of family and friends, love, faith, prayer and God, survival, gun safety, swimming safety, especially during the summer months, waiting for the right one and not settling, God's perfect timing, abuse, eating disorders, and nature, are apparent throughout the novel. The unconditional love a pet provides. The faith element is very important, since I hope my readers turn the last page knowing Jesus is their best friend and the simple things in life, family and friends are life's true hidden treasures. I also want them to know that they'll see their loved ones again in heaven, and Jesus shouldn't be a LAST RESORT, as He is Fred's. The faith element is strong and important, but the novel weaves a story with twists and turns, and the romantic suspense makes it a page-turner. It has the elements of romance, suspense, arson, attempted murder, murder, shattered dreams, fear, hope, faith, prayer, and love woven together to create a story I hope and pray will touch your heart in more ways than one. I hope my readers realize how short time really is and how a choice made in a few minutes can alter a life forever. The one main thing I want my readers to take away is that they are never alone. There is always someone to turn to, God, and Jesus can be their best friend. I want them to close the book and remember my characters, and I hope they find it thought-provoking, but an enjoyable read. Also, I placed a number of red herrings throughout the novel in hopes of keeping readers guessing and turning the pages, so I want them to feel the novel was a worthy read and not so easy to figure out by the end of the story.

STEPH: Are you a plotter or a panster?

BJ: Both. I started out as a panster, but I have spurts of both. I like to take a pen and paper and write for ten minutes in a notebook by the seat of my pants. It helps with deep thoughts and emotions. I can also sit down at the keyboard and know what I'm going to write about, a certain topic, and just start keying a rough draft. I let it cool and go back later and plan how I can improve it and rewrite, layer, and edit. In the beginning stages of a novel, I plan, but I'm not into elaborate outlines, and I like to be creative.

STEPH: What's your writing space like?

BJ: I have an L-shaped oak desk that overlooks a large backyard. An oak tree is right outside the window, and I can hear birds sing without even cracking my window. I also have a beautiful view of flowers, trees, and birds. I have a golden cocker spaniel and a golden retriever who are beside my feet on the floor by my desk. I love looking at water while I write, and I enjoy writing outdoors at times while I listen to birds and nature.

STEPH: Tell us a little about the state you live in.

BJ: I live in the Sunshine State and Lightening Capital of the World, Florida, and it's a contradiction. We usually get evening showers that quickly blow over with T-storms that suddenly arise in the summer. It's a tourist attraction due to all the theme parks. There are parts with beautiful beaches and water. One favorite place is Cedar Key and another is Key West. I love small town St. Cloud. I'm a small-town girl in my heart and always will be. I don't like fighting traffic. I love the country parts that are left to enjoy. I've visited all the theme parks and ridden all the roller coasters. We used to purchase season tickets. There's Disney, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens, and so many other places to visit and things to do.