Ex-banker now an author of novels, poetry

Janelle Peterman didn't ever plan on being an author. Now she has a pen name.

D.J. Peterman graces the cover of six books, including her latest book of poetry, "Clouds of Change."

Janelle Peterman was a career banker - D.J. Peterman can't stop stringing words together.

"Most times I just get a thought and it won't leave me," the 67-year-old Winterville resident said. "A poem comes out of it. When you get an idea and you start going, it just all comes out."

Peterman wrote most of the 54 poems that were "just piling up" in her new book last year, she said. When Peterman writes, she can get on a roll.

On some days, she'll write three or four poems in one sitting. Many take on a spiritual theme, praising God and reaching into the soul.

Take "Songs of Deliverance," for example.

"Out of my mouth I sing a new song of deliverance," she writes. "With joy in my heart, to God I give reverence."

A message of hope reigns throughout the book.

Many poems deal with overcoming the trials and challenges of life and changing as a person. The love of God, Peterman conveys, never leaves.

Instead, God gives people strength to get back up and try again when they fall. She believes the spirit and soul join together to create the abundant life that everyone is looking for.

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