Johnson, Annette R. 1969–

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Johnson, Annette R. 1969–

PERSONAL: Born January 26, 1969, in Manchester, Jamaica; father a police and corrections officer, mother a college English instructor; married July 30, 1994; husband, a carpenter; children: Ciara, Robert L. III, Keith, three other sons. Ethnicity: "African." Education: Florida State University, B.A. (communications/journalism), 1990; Florida International University, M.S. (journalism), 1993. Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Editing, tennis, jogging.

ADDRESSES: Home—3799 Radcliffe Blvd., Decatur, GA 30034. Office—All-Write Advertising and Publishing, P.O. Box 2363, Atlanta, GA 30301. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: All-Write Advertising and Publishing, founder and editor; Decatur-Dekalb News, Decatur, GA, reporter and editor, 1994–96; Positive Publica-tions, Union City, GA, editor, 1998; Atlanta Bulletin, Atlanta, editor, 1998–99; Atlanta Metropolitan College, GA, instructor in journalism, 2000; Georgia State University, Atlanta, instructor in journalism, 2001–; publishing consultant, 1998–.

MEMBER: Society of Professional Journalists.

WRITINGS:

What's Your Motivation? Inspiration and Instruction for Those Wanting to Understand Their Purpose throughout Life, All-Write Advertising and Publishing (Atlanta, GA), 2003.

Contributor to periodicals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: My Other Name, for children.

SIDELIGHTS: Annette R. Johnson told CA: "As a professional, working mother of six (five boys and one girl), I want to share my discoveries, challenges, and victories in major areas of life, including marriage, children, love, money, career, worship, and communication. Likewise, I want to encourage readers to take an inventory of their lives. I know my stories will provide inspiration, instruction, and motivation meant to renew the mind and spirit. In my first book, What's Your Motivation? Inspiration and Instruction for Those Wanting to Understand Their Purpose throughout Life, I do not write specifically for mothers with large families. Instead, I write for anyone who can or wants to relate to a person who has been knocked down but stands victoriously because she has a renewed incentive for living. I write about what used to motivate me versus what is now motivating me. I write about what's presently motivating people and what should be motivating them.

"Injustice primarily influences my writing. I am a middle child who was often overlooked and ignored, so I am hypersensitive to blatant disparities. I had always responded to bias with letters, editorials, and verbal reprimands. Now, however, I have chosen books to enlighten oppressors and inspire sufferers. I have also written a children's book titled My Other Name. It is about a middle child who creates her own identity through the use of a nickname. I love to write about children's issues because of experience with my own children, now aged three through sixteen. They provide plenty of inspiration and material. Similarly my husband, whom I have known for twenty years, and our somewhat atypical relationship fuel my desire to discuss love and marriage. I have to write about God and the church because they have been an enduring part of my life. In fact, much of my ideology stems from my life as a Christian.

"I write best if I am inspired, not assigned. Once I get an overwhelming urge or desire to share my thoughts on a particular subject, I begin to compose themes on the backs of envelopes or anything else. I then go to my computer and begin to expand on all my ideas. I research as I write to provide credibility. Once I am done, I go back and read for coherency, organization, grammar, and sentence structure. I often have my mother, an English and reading instructor, to further dissect my grammar, particularly sentence-verb agreement. Finally, I set the manuscript aside for a period of time and read it again with more objective, 'fresh' eyes."