Influential Teachers. by Christine Johnson

Teachers make a huge impact on their students. Today I’m reminiscing about the teachers who played a role in guiding me toward my dream of writing books. It begins with my second grade teacher who instilled a love of language in my heart and gifted me a tin filled with words printed on pieces of cardboard. I loved to grab a handful of words and try to make fun sentences.

Middle school saw three years of grammar instruction, some of which remained with me. During those years, whenever I got bored, I wrote snippets of a “novel” on any scrap of paper on hand. Those scraps are long gone and never ended up compiled into one coherent story, but the dream remained. In high school I was blessed with an amazing literature instructor and a creative writing teacher who fed my love of story. Great teachers continued into my college years, playing a part in honing both the love of language and the love of writing.

After a brief stint student teaching, I gained a much, much greater appreciation for the dedication and work that teachers put in each day. Teachers make a huge difference in the lives of their students.

Which teacher(s) made a big impact on your life?

In my upcoming April release, Mail Order Mix-Up, Pearl Lawson travels to her first teaching position in a Michigan lumber town. She brings along her best friend who was recently jilted by her fiancé and an advertisement for a mail order bride for a Mr. Decker, who is located in the very same town. Pearl hopes a new relationship will revive her friend’s spirits. She doesn’t count on competition in the form of two other ladies responding to the same ad, and she certainly doesn’t anticipate falling for Mr. Decker herself.

Christine Johnson

Mail Order Mix-Up (#1, Boom Town Brides, LIH, April 2016)

Honor Redeemed (#2, Keys of Promise, Revell, July 2016)

Mail Order Mommy (#2, Boom Town Brides, LIH, Nov 2016)

http://christineelizabethjohnson.com

https://www.facebook.com/ChristineJohnsonAuthor

His Cowgirl Bride on shelves now!

It's me, Debra Clopton! I hope everyone is doing well. I am but as always when it is time for me to post a blog I'm on deadline crunch and worrying about what to talk about. So I decided to talk about a few things that are on my mind.

First my book that's on the shelves right now, HIS COWGIRL BRIDE it received a Top Pick 4 1/2 stars from Romantic Times review magazine. I was thrilled. It is a fun book. This is the book that I got the idea for two years ago when I was driving cross country from Texas to Arizona and I saw a Pumpkin Chunking Contest going on. That's where people have built all kinds of machines that will shoot, toss or fling a pumpkin across a field. There was a cannon type gun thingy out there with a long, long barrel on it that was in action as I was driving by. Seeing this going on gave me the idea to have my Mule Hollow Characters have a contest. I could just see Applegate and Stanley competing against Norma Sue and Ester Mae. It was a very fun book to write. I hope you'll grab a copy and come spend time with me and the gang in Mule Hollow. A blurb about the book is here on the sidebar or over at my sight http://debraclopton.blogspot.com/

Then take a good look at this picture. I love it. I think the art department is doing a great job on covers. This one really does convey my story--I think. And my mother and several readers think from the side view like this that this looks like me! What do you think?

And then last, did y'all catch the CMA awards the other night? I caught the last of it and Taylor Swift won everything I saw. She is really doing great--and though I get a tad tired of hearing her sing almost every third song on the radio :) I do like the fact that she sings, and creates songs straight from her heart and is connecting with a group of young listeners in a very positive way. I may be rambling now, since I haven't had just a whole lot of sleep over the weekend (deadline--I love them) I'm always thrilled when I see good role models out there--goodness we need them. When I create characters I like to create strong, characters who could be good role models for all of us. Tacy Jones, my heroine of His Cowgirl Bride is strong, determined and willing to work hard for her dreams. I don't know if this picture looks like me or not but I know that I have this in common with Tacy. I wrote for 13 years while raising a family and running my business. I felt like God had given me a talent that I needed to use and in His timing I was able to sell my first book and now, looking back, I am amazed at what He is doing in my life with my books. He is an awesome God. I love, love, love when readers write me and tell me that I was able to help them in some way, just to escape and laugh, or with a problem that my book is written around that hits home with something in their life. I write my books straight from my heart and pray that you will be blessed in some way by what I've written. Okay, now I have to get back to the book I'm working on right now, can't wait, I'm writing the end and I love that part when everything comes together!