In a rescheduled interview, popular award-winning author, Robin Jones Gunn will join me on Teen Talk Radio this Thursday, November 18th at 10 p.m. EST at www.choicesradio.com.
Read to the bottom . . . there’s a giveaway!!!
Robin Jones Gunn and her husband, Ross, spent the first two decades of their marriage working together in youth ministry. When their children were young, Robin began writing her Christy Miller series, often reading her written pages to the girls in her youth group for their advice. Robin now has 25 years of writing for publication, with 70 books published and 4 million copies of her books sold worldwide. Robin’s writing awards include three Christy awards for excellence in fiction, a Gold Medallion finalist, Mt. Hermon Pacesetter and Writer of the Year. Robin is a frequent key-note speaker at various events and serves on the Board of Directors for Media Associates International and Jerry Jenkin’s Christian Writer’s Guild.
Q: What inspired you to write?
RJG: When I first started writing my inspiration came in two parts. First, I was writing children’s books when my kids were babies. That was probably to satisfy my storytelling instinct. Then I became motivated to write novels when I was spending a lot of time with teenagers.We were on a camping trip, when I found these 13-year-old girls sitting in their tent reading books rather than going out to the beach and hanging around with everybody else. I asked if I could read three of their books — their favorites — and they showed me a stack of probably 20 books they’d brought from the library. When I read their three favorite books, it concerned me because the content wasn’t really appropriate for thirteen year-olds. I encouraged them to read something else, and they challenged me and said, “Why don’t you write a book for us?” “Oh no,” I told them. “I just write picture books.” They kept at me and said, “You can write a novel! How hard could it be? As a matter of fact, we’ll tell you what to write! We want a love story with teenagers at the beach.” And they told me what to write.It took two years and they brutally critiqued every word. That first novel for teens wasSummer Promise, book one in the Christy Miller series, and it came out 1988. After the Christy Miller series I wrote the Sierra Jensen series, then Christy & Todd the College Years followed by the Katie Weldon series. Who knows what will be next? These Forever Friends just seem to keep on going!
The latest from Christy Miller: Readers of the bestselling Christy Miller Series want to know more about their favorite Forever Friends and now they can. What was Christy thinking and feeling during high school, college and even the night before her wedding? You’ll find out here on the pages of Christy Miller’s Diary. The first part of this book was originally released in 1999 in a book entitled, “From the Secret Place in My Heart”. Since Robin received so many requests for that out of print book, she has expanded this work of fiction and added diary entries up to when the last Katie Weldon book ended. You’ll love having an inside view into what has been happening in Christy’s heart over the years.
