It’s Been Fun, Kids! C. Kelly Robinson Retires
by C. Kelly Robinson
Published: Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Family, friends, and loyal readers, This week’s passing of acclaimed author and journalist BeBe Moore Campbell moved me to sit down and provide you an update on my own writing career. BeBe was more than one of my favorite contemporary writers and a role model whose work inspired me in the early days of my career. She was, to put it simply, one of us—a down-to-earth, warm personality who made me feel welcome the one time I met her at a book signing in 2001.

Selfishly, I drew encouragement as a budding author by the way she carried herself. Although she was well educated and received the type of accolades most writers only dream of, in person she was not showy or loud and didn’t have the standup comic persona many bestselling writers flaunt these days. That gave this shy boy from Ohio additional courage for my own transformation into a confident author and public speaker.

So, to expound on the headline, I want to thank all of you who have purchased any of my previous novels ’ from Not All Dogs or Between Brothers to No More Mr. Nice Guy, up through last year’s The One That Got Away ’ and more importantly, for allowing me to share in your life experiences and hopefully provide some joy and inspiration along the way. I have greatly enjoyed the journey from aspiring writer with a gleam of a storyline in my eye, to the creator of five commercially published works with over a hundred thousand copies in print. Your emails and personal visits to my signings have been an invaluable part of the journey, and I only hope that you will continue to support new and existing fiction writers in the coming years.

This will sound clich’d, but I am retiring the C. Kelly Robinson publishing persona in order to spend more time with my family. This year Kyra and I have been blessed with the arrival of our first child, and we are learning firsthand the joys and challenges so many of you have shared with us in years past. Personally, I am also learning that I can no longer compete for book sales by spending precious funds that now need to be invested in children’s books, formula, and college savings plans!

With that said, the good news is that my pen is not going silent. More details will follow, but by this time next year you will hear from me when a major publisher releases the first of my Christian fiction works. These books will be released under a different pen name, but I will make sure that you are able to recognize me. I look forward to this opportunity to write more openly about characters who share my faith in Jesus Christ, in a style comparable to such bestsellers (and friends) as Victoria Christopher Murray, Kimberla Lawson Roby, and Jacquelin Thomas.

Again, thank you so much for being a part of my journey to date, and please keep an eye out for me as the adventure continues! My sincere wishes for a blessed Christmas and Kwanzaa season. And if you’re a praying person, please say a word for the families of BeBe Moore Campbell, Ed Bradley, and the other luminaries we have lost the past few days.

Chet “C. Kelly” Robinson/p>