Deborah Robillard

Deborah Robillard is the sole writer and creator of the novel and story of The Crickets Dance, it is largely based on her own life and experiences growing up in the deep south. While the book is fiction there are many elements of truth and she hopes that the message of acceptance and God creating everyone with a purpose will shine through, as the story is masterfully woven through decades of history. She was born overseas in Okinawa Japan to military parents. But when her father retired they moved back home to Georgia. Although the military lifestyle and the constant moving, changing scenery, friends and environments were a huge catalyst as they expanded her imagination and love for both telling and writing stories. The ever present changes in her life gave her a host of characters and backdrops to choose from, and she felt fortunate to have the rare ability to travel and see the world.

Deborah began to develop her talent when she put down permanent roots in Georgia. It was the first place she ever lived in the United States from infancy to about age three, and then returning as a young girl. It would seem she got her roots and wings backwards first seeing the world and then settling down in Peach County Georgia where she was raised and educated. At the age of eleven she began to write her first book. Her colorful imagination developed early and was paramount to her creativity and story-telling.

When Deborah went to college it was never her intention to become a writer, despite one of her literary teachers pulling her aside and encouraging her to do so. Instead of following her dreams and perhaps the best advice she had ever been given, Deborah went on to pursue a degree in nursing. While she loved her time caring for others the stories and characters she imagined as a child became more intricate, full of detail, color, and plots that would twist and turn, not just the story, but her entire focus. Eventually her passion for the work became her sole purpose, and she began to write. She has authored several other books besides The Crickets Dance and is excited about sharing them both on paper and in film. While The Crickets Dance was the first of her work to be adapted to film it seems the sky is the limit for both her imagination, story telling and her bright future.

Her faith, her mother and her close knit family unit encouraged her to share her writing with others, and while she was uncertain if she would ever have the courage to do so their prompting and love gave her the nudge she needed to give her words with the world. It is her hope through sharing her characters, stories and imagination with others that their own faith will be encouraged and they will see as she has that God gives everyone something special to share.