About Terri Robinson

"With a love of literature and history of the land and of its people, I sometimes think I would like to have been an archeologist. And I am , in that my uncovering of genealogy has evolved into a type of archeology in words, that is, telling the story of those who have already passed through their earth time. Perhaps I am also the Keeper of the Fire, telling stories about real people in ancestry that are, if not spoken around a camp fire, read in words that tell what might have been."

Childhood experiences on the home-place of her mother's birth in eastern Kentucky gave Terri Robinson insight into both Appalachian culture as well as culture beyond the holler . . . insights that contributed to her awareness of her own self-identity. Expanding real ancestors into fictional characters placed in historical context, Robinson draws on actual events from the early 1800s to the present.

Born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, Terri Robinson graduated from Marshall University with a BA in English and a Professional Certificate in Journalism. She pursued a career in teaching American Literature and Journalism, sponsoring publication of high school yearbooks and a school news magazine. Both teaching and publishing deepened her love of history and writing.

Robinson later became immersed in genealogy, a search that began with her roots in eastern Kentucky and eventually reached her Wallen ancestor who arrived in Plymouth Colony in 1623. Although Robinson?s Miller, McVeigh, Hall, Wallen and Hale roots, among others, run deep in Kentucky soil, her ancestry originates in England, Scotland and Ireland before blending with the Cherokee tribe in America.

Years of teaching brought her research to life , for no longer were these just names, dates and places on a page, but part of her own ancestry and identity, her own pioneer kinfolk. As the research became more compelling, Robinson knew she had to tell the story of her ancestors and give voice to their spirits.

Circumstances and responsibilities have dictated the roads Robinson has traveled during her life journey. Drawing on her many years as a caregiver, she recently stepped away from her historic novels to write Riding The Care Go Round. Written for, and about, caregivers, Robinson often speaks to groups about the needs of persons working behind the scene s in that role.

Robinson is currently working on a new novel that will again highlight characters her readers have asked to read more about.

Main Navigation

About Terri Robinson