B. J. Johnson

Please visit Barbara Lopuszynski's website at www.barbaralopuszynski.com for more information on Barbara's two novels, Island of the Ghost Bear and Angel and Brie.

Barbara Lopuszynski, who also writes under the penname B.J. Johnson, is an award-winning author of two novels for children, pre-teens, and young adults. She lives and writes half-time on Whidbey Island, in the Puget Sound, and half-time in Seattle. She's fortunate to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds, rural and urban.

Barbara loves children and animals, and her writing reflects those loves. Her stories tell of how children step up to protect animals that are so often threatened by our modern civilization.

Barbara went to Stanford, where she majored in Creative Writing, but didn't start writing seriously until the year 2000. One day she received a post-card in the mail, announcing the Whidbey Island Writer's Conference. When she looked at the card, she thought, "This conference is for writers. Why did they send it to me?" Her next thought was, "why am I not a writer? I have a story in my head that's begging to be told." That night, after work (she'd been a computer professional for several decades), she went up to her office and started writing Island of the Ghost Bear. In 2008, she was able to retire from her computer career to concentrate on writing.

Her joy in life is her family, especially watching her grandchildren grow into fascinating and competent individuals.