Michelle Robinson, Author |
We would like to welcome Michelle
Robinson, author of Right Before My Eyes. Michelle is on a Virtual Book Tour, promoting her book.
She has dropped by to share why and how she got into writing her first novel.
Welcome
Michelle, Tell our readers about yourself? I love music.
Compassionate. I’m a great friend, daughter, cousin, girlfriend, hairstylist,
poet & thinker. I am a humanitarian. My belief is you owe it to life to
give to others. I have a high moral background. I am a dreamer. As long as you
have a dream, life should keep you busy. I am a believer that all things are
possible. I am also an artist so I creatively think outside the box. I am a
go-getter so I don’t take no as an option for me. I am organized to the point
that I cannot function in confusion. I can be the life of the party & also like
spending time alone. I also love taking naps.
Tell
our readers about your journey to writing? I started
writing poetry in junior high school. In my twenties, I wanted to write a book.
The people I told assumed it would be about hair. That was not my genre and was
not my passion as far as writing goes. I had no concept, but I decided when the
time came it would be fiction. I felt that I was not experienced enough to make
an impact, so I kept reading books. I felt that I needed to learn more about
life. So I lived life, kept a journal, and experienced more.
Who or what has influenced your writing,
and in what way? I was telling two
people a story at different times on the same day and they both told me that I
needed to write a book. So I figured that was a sign from God and I started
writing.
What has the responses been from those that
have read your book? People have said
it’s a great book, a page turner; they finished it in 2 days. Some finished it
in 1 day. They couldn’t put it down, was
late to work trying to finish it, stayed up til 3 am in bed with my boyfriend with a flashlight reading it; the characters
are well developed, loved the sisterhood of the girls in the book; my readers
can relate to these characters; they were shocked at the ending, fending for
the next book.
How long did it take you to write this
book? 15 months.
How did you feel the day you held the copy
of your first book in your hands? The feeling I had was very similar to giving birth. I was full of joy and
super excited!
Thinking
about your writing career, is there anything you would go back and do
differently now that you have been published? Definitely
would have done more research looking for a good editor.
Is
there any lesson or moral you hope your story might reveal to those who read
it? Love and trust God through your storms and trust Him to give
you what you desire on His time. Be patient and pray on your journey so you can
learn life’s lessons and help someone else along the way. True friendship should be valued and not
envied. Life is not perfect, but it can seem that way with great friends to
share it with. Life provides that we are all on the same journey just walking
in different shoes. We are searching for that earthly love that we get from God
and our parents. We struggle, we make mistakes, we love, we hate, and we
forgive. We must also try to accept people who are different from us. This book
proves that.
Please
tell the readers who are the main characters? Journee Bell,
Jordyn Bell, Derrick Long, Chelsea Hendricks, Najah Joseph and Kalena Martin.
What
is the conflict in the story? Relationships
Which characters “are you most like? Journee, her mother, Derrick, Pops & Chelsea.
Take us inside “Right Before My Eyes” What
are two major events taking place? A wedding & Journee discovering who really is her Mr. Right
Are your characters from the portrayal of
real people? Two of them are
& some are a combination of many people in one character.
How
can people connect with you? Email: rightbeforemyeyes@yahoo.com
Please
give us your website? www.michellerobinsonauthor.com
About the Book:
Journee and Jordyn are
thirty-something year old twins with two totally different lifestyles. Journee
is in love with Drew, her high school sweetheart that’s in prison. A phone call
from him changes everything. After a fight, she decides to end their
relationship and tries to move on but she has unfinished business with Jason,
another ex-boyfriend. As she moves forward, she meets Jules who appears to be
Mr. Right until all his baggage shows up.
Now Jordyn is living by
her own rules but the problem is she hasn’t told anyone, but the drama begins
when her secret is leaked on Facebook. She finds herself in a battle with her
love life, family, friends and herself. Follow these two as they take their
family and friends on a turbulent ride into their lives as they discover they
are worlds apart but are forever connected.
Chapter 15 is
where you have Journee at a crucial time in her life. She’s 36, single with no
kids but ready to start a family. She managed to escape her 20’s without
becoming someone’s baby mama. She’s trying to live by God’s rule and is trying
to wait to get married first before having children. But impatiently waiting on
God, she’s debating on having a child with a guy that she’s still in love with
and he just might be still in love with her too. The problem is, he moved out
of state without ending their relationship to start a new relationship with
another woman. Journee has a feeling that he may be getting married. She even
had dreams of receiving a wedding invitation in the mail. She thinks it may be God’s way of telling her
to sit down and wait on Him since Jason hasn’t told her the whole truth yet. Is
this Jason’s way of keeping Journee around?
Is she strictly for his entertainment or a back-up plan in case his
relationship doesn’t work? Is he regretting leaving Journee and doesn’t know
how to end the new relationship? Does he want both women? Why is he willing to
have a baby with a woman that he left behind? Are the two women supposed to agree
to this arrangement or is the new woman going to dump him and send him back to Oakland ? Journee is seriously thinking of having this man’s child.
She even went as far as asking her mother, her sister and closest friends their
opinions. But all Jason could offer her, was coming back to California every two months to father the child. Journee feels like
she is running out of time and options since her very first love and real
boyfriend is in prison. Journee’s mother said she should adopt or get married
first. Kalena told her to hurry up. That’s easy for her to say since she had a
kid out of wedlock. Journee’s twin sister supports her decision to have Jason’s
baby. Maybe it’s a twin thing, or an “I want to be an aunt so bad” situation or
maybe because Jordyn wants support in return because of her lifestyle. Derrick
advised her to go to a sperm bank. Najah told her that she wouldn’t be able to
handle having his kid emotionally. Chelsea said Journee’s other male friend, Sean would be a better
pick, but he’s just a booty call and won’t offer anything more. Now Journee is
normally the one giving advice, you’ll love how she rationalized her own mess
and comes up with her own conclusion of what to do.
What people are saying about Right Before My Eyes:
Amazon - Five star rating. I thoroughly enjoyed this read "Right Before My Eyes" and I would recommend it to any
one that likes a good romance that is so full of soul, forgiveness, prayer and
love. Be ready to take a wonderful ride that will leave you only wanting more.
Good Job Ms. Robinson!
Barnes & Nobles - Five star rating. I
was on edge of my seat. I also loved the crankberry {cell} phone conversations
throughout the read.
Goodreads - Five star rating. RIGHT
BEFORE MY EYES by Michelle Robinson was some read that will stay with me
forever. Why? Because it was so realistic and emotional that will only leave
you saying Wow...what a wonderful read!
About the Author:
Michelle Robinson was
born and raised in Oakland , CA. Oakland’s rich culture has laid the fabric for this
story. She’s been doing hair for two decades. As a hairstylist, it’s safe to
say she has also served as a therapist to her clients. She has heard and
witnessed it all right behind her styling chair. From her experiences, she’s
given advice to many and has watched people’s lives transition. With this
driving force, she has finally penned her first novel. Connect with Michelle
on-line at
Michelle can be reached
at rightbeforemyeyes@yahoo.com
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