When it comes to reading and writing, Bethel-Hanberry kindergarten teacher Deborah Johnson practices what she teaches. Not only is she a voracious reader, but she recently published her first novel, The Narrow Journey. Johnson's book is the story of a poor, uneducated Cajun girl named Lucie Trosclair who grew up in Louisiana in the late 1800's. Always aware that she was extremely plain looking, Trosclair used her determination, quick wit and sense of humor to survive what Johnson describes as the narrow journey we all make from youth to adulthood. Trosclair's uniquely colorful journey takes her to New Orleans, Leavenworth and the Colorado Rockies. The story winds through encounters with alligator wrestlers, buffalo hunters and Cajun cowboys. While Johnson said she patterned Lucie's spirited independence after her own great grandmother who also grew up Cajun in 19th century Louisiana, Johnson added, laughing, "the similarities between my great grandmother and Lucie stop there." Johnson, also Cajun, wrote about a heritage that paralleled her own. "Not only am I Cajun, but I actually grew up Cajun," Johnson said. "I feel close to my ancestors. My heritage is very much a part of my life and of who I am." But Johnson said her own narrow journey to adulthood was not as intriguing as Lucie Trosclair's. A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Johnson was married during her college years and moved with her husband, Jim, to South Carolina in 1972. They have two daughters, Kirsten, 25, and Jessica, 20. Johnson finished her bachelor's degree and earned a master's degree in education from the University of South Carolina. She has taught kindergarten at Bethel-Hanberry for the last three years. Johnson began writing fiction fifteen years ago. She has since been published in several local and regional magazines and has won several awards for her short stories, including the South Carolina Arts Commission's Fiction Project Award in 1991 and 1993. She won Ohio's Green River Writer's Competition for Short Fiction in 1994. Last April, she won third place for the Novel/Novella at the Sandhill's Writer's Conference in Augusta, Georgia. The Narrow Journey is published by one of the country's new e-publishers, Xlibris, which is owned by Random House Ventures, a subsidiary of Random House, Inc. Johnson's book (paperback, $16) is available locally at The Happy Bookseller and online at Xlibris.com; Amazon.com; Borders.com; BarnesandNoble.com; BooksaMillion.com and from local bookstores. A book signing is tenatively planned for spring at The Happy Bookseller. Call 782-2665 for more information. Johnson is currently working on her second novel, which is a mystery.
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