Write to the Point with B.J. Robinson

Congratulations to Jo who won Bonnie Leon’s book Joy Takes Flight.

This week we get write to the point with B.J. Robinson.

Tell us about yourself, family, where are you from, how long have you been writing?

I’m from Louisiana and a Florida transplant. I’ve been writing and publishing since the third grade, if you count a story about my pet dog my teacher submitted to a local newspaper that was published all those years ago. I’ve had short stories, poems, and devotionals published as well as novels. I have two grown sons and two grown daughters living in Louisiana and a daughter in Maine. They’ve all made me a grandmother multiple times, and I have twelve grandchildren. I’m blessed with children, grandchildren, my hubby, two dogs that are like family, a golden retriever and a golden cocker spaniel, and faith.

How did you come to know Jesus as your Savior?

I was baptized many years ago as a child and again as a young bride at a First Baptist Church when I rededicated my life. Mother reared me on superstitions and Bible verses, quite a combination. I never had the close, personal relationship I now enjoy with my Lord until I was older and found myself spending more time reading His Word. I lost my youngest sister to an eating disorder and my mother to cancer six years apart, and I think this loss personally affected me so much that I began to devour scripture. I missed my mother and sister so much, and I was glad to know I’d see them again one day. I wrote about this in Last Resort, my debut novel.

Tell us about your latest book(s). What do want your readers to take away after the last page?

Whispering Cypress releases August 11 from Desert Breeze Publishing and will be available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, etc. I hope readers will see the theme of forgiveness and realize things always work out the way God has planned, even if it takes a few years. It’s His timing, not ours. He always has a reason for events we might not understand. What we see as tragedy may happen for a reason known only to Him, and we may never understand this side of heaven. Bad things happen to good people just as they do in the novel, but believing in God is what helps us get through, just as scripture helped me get through the loss of my mother and sister. God used that tragedy in my life for good because I was weak, but my belief in Him and in His Word made me stronger and brought me into a closer, personal relationship with Him.

It’s set in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.  After a decade of no contact, a woman purchases the campground a man from her past dreams of owning and hires him to repair and remodel the cabins. She discovers she still has feelings for him, and the sparks are still there — smoldering like embers from a left-over campfire, but a young girl is attacked, and he’s arrested. You’ll never have peace here. Leave the past where it belongs, or it will ruin you. Spring Showers stared at the cutout newspaper letters pasted on a sheet of typing paper. Her heart pounded harder than any nail gun, and she placed her hand over her chest as if to still it. Nothing about the rundown campground prepared her for such a threat. Who could possibly care if she restored it?

Southern Superstitions is my most recently published novel, a romantic suspense set in Louisiana. I want readers to take way the power of prayer and faith in God from this one and realize God is in control. A Favorite Line: It was faith in God that would bring her husband home. Even a lucky penny or a dime declared, In God we trust. It’s getting great reviews on Amazon. Here’s a short blurb:

Prayer versus Southern superstitions when a woman’s husband mysteriously disappears in the swamp on a deer-hunting trip. As steamy as the hot, thick, sticky heat of Louisiana, this page-turner will keep readers in suspense, as the author spins a tale of love, loss, superstition, pain, heartache, and faith in God. 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’s done every crisis in her life. She knows He will take care of this for her.” God and the power of prayer versus Southern superstitions. Through belief, faith, hard work, the power of prayer, and God’s help, this powerful, moving story is a thought-provoking Christian romantic suspense about a young couple who fall in love, but have to change her mother’s mind in more ways than one, if their relationship is to survive. Can Andy convince June there’s more to their relationship than friends? Will he win the approval of Mrs. Myrtle, her mother, and can love survive strawberry season and an April flood? Will June be able to give Andy a child?

How often do you blog and what do you cover in your blog? My blog is mostly a book review blog at this point, but I’m considering a devotional blog as well. Presently, I read and post reviews of the books I’ve read and enjoyed on my blog at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com, and I also post updates and information about my books. I may start blogging about writing as well.

Can you share with us a favorite book you have read? I’ve read many great novels, but the most recent best one I really enjoyed was River Rising by Athol Dickson. Lynn Austin’s All She Ever Wanted is a favorite, and I’m a fan of Nicholas Sparks. My writing mentor, Eva Marie Everson, has some great novels, and she has a Cedar Key series set in Florida. Naomi Musch is one of my favorite Desert Breeze authors. Her novels are plus ones, and she has the Empire in Pines series containing: The Green Veil, The Red Fury, and The Black Rose. Her novels run deep, and that’s what I love. There are so many great Desert Breeze authors it’s impossible to share them all, but Shawna K. Williams also has novels I really enjoyed. June Foster is a new Desert Breeze author, and I loved her debut novel Give us This Day. Nike Chillemi has a series, and I’ve read her first two novels and enjoyed them. Regina Andrews has awesome books, and Anne Patrick does, too. I’m an avid reader and passionate writer, and I devour books I love. Michelle Sutton has over a dozen novels. My two favorites of hers were Danger at the Door and In Plain Sight, but depending upon a reader’s tastes, she has various types and selections from which to choose. As you can tell I’ve read many of my fellow Desert Breeze authors books, and I can vouch that they’re worthy reads. Sadie and Sophie Cuffie better known as the Cuffie sisters also have excellent books and spend a great deal of time on their research for theirs.

Can you share with us a Genesis 50:20 in your life?

God used the loss of my mother and sister six years apart for good because I was weak, but my belief in Him and in His Word made me stronger and brought me into a closer, personal relationship with Him. The enemy could have made me give up on God and ask why my youngest sister had to die before me. I’m twelve years older than she was, and I never thought she would go first, but she did. Her death really hurt. I’d lost Mom six years prior to cancer, and I thought it was so unfair that I was losing my youngest sister only six years later. I lost my father when I was four on Christmas Day. I’d seen too much death in my immediate family, but I didn’t give up on God. I think this helped me to create Whispering Cypress. I had a character lose his entire family. I think this came from my loss of Mom, Dad, and my sister, though I didn’t handle it the way the character in the story does, but I drew upon my own personal losses to help create the character and his loss. I also used their loss in my debut novel Last Resort. I lost my youngest sister to an eating disorder, and I wanted to write about it in some way to warn others and hopefully help them before it was too late, like it was for my sister. Even with the tragedies in my family, God used it for good to bring me closer to Him and His Word. In Whispering Cypress, God uses the man’s loss to show him what he had and didn’t appreciate when he had it and in the end, to make him a better person. We see him turn weak, but we also see him strong enough that he does not give him to evil in the end.

Do you have a life and/or a ministry verse?

1 Thessalonians verses 4:16-18, because it helped me when they passed ‘…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.'”

 

Where can we find you on the web? https://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorBJRobinson, http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-template/BJRobinson/Page.bok, https://www.facebook.com/barbara.robinson.773, http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com/.

Is there anything I didn’t ask that you would like to add?

Book Trailers for Last Resort, Southern Superstitions, and Whispering Cypress:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juwF0dLLX6M&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNoo962DbF0&feature=share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFSVAPKrmKU&feature=youtu.be

What early Readers Had to Say…

“B. J. Robinson’s Last Resort is an inspirational romantic suspense story that keeps you hanging on the edge of your seat — both to see if the villain is overcome and to see if Matt and Faith end up together. You don’t want to miss this one with its twists; it’s a great read!” Deb Haggerty, Author and Speaker

“The warm, sweet romance, yet insightful story, will touch your heart with its simplicity and charm.” Janet Perez Eckles, Author and Speaker

http://www.amazon.com/Last-Resort-ebook/dp/B005CQ7JQK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310918473&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Superstitions-ebook/dp/B006X8GAWA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1342642713&sr=1-1&keywords=southern+superstitions

Southern Superstitions is only $4.61 at Amazon–snag it!

 B.J., thanks so much for sharing with my readers, I sincerely appreciate it.

Readers, B.J. is giving away an ebook of Last Resort. Leave a comment to be entered to win by August 7 at 5:00 PM.