Author Interview: JoHannah Reardon

Thank you JoHannah for sharing all of your amazing books with us!  This wraps up the final book in your series of interviews.  It has been a pleasure working with you and I look forward to hearing an update on your future success!



Author Name: JoHannah Reardon      

Book Title:  Ah Ni - A Christian Novel

Book Price: $2.99 as an e-book

Where is your book avaliable? Anywhere e-books are sold: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Borders, Diesel, Sony, i-Tunes

How would you describe your book? A serious Christian romance that deals with the difficulties of deciding to become a Christian if you are Chinese. This book gives people good insight into the life of a person from China.

Do you have a favorite character? Yes, Guo Feng, the Chinese man who constantly reaches out to Ah Ni. He's just a great guy!

What gave you a passion for writing Christian Romance novels? I couldn't find romances I liked to read. Most of them were too bawdy, and I couldn't identify with the main characters because they behaved in a way I never would. So my favorite romance novels were the Jane Austin type. I wanted to created romances that were more like those in tone. However, each of my main characters lives life around their faith. It's what drives everything they do.

Where do you get your ideas from? This book came from a relationship I had with a Chinese couple who attended a university in our community. My relationship with them helped me write this with confidence. And during the same time period, I traveled to China to teach English.

How has your experience been with self-publishing? It has been great! I sent my novels out from time to time and they would get a lot of interest, but would never make it through the final stage of approval. I always felt one editor liked them and one didn't, and the one who didn't had more seniority. I'd asked people in my writers group and friends to read my novels, and they liked them a lot, so I knew they had merit. I was sure there was an audience for my books. I just needed to find them.

Are you a "structured" or "let your mind go" kind of writer? I am definitely in the "let your mind go" camp. In some ways I feel my novels write themselves. Sometimes I'm even surprised by how they turn out. That's half the fun of writing them. I'd kind of like to write mysteries, because I love to read them, but I'm not structured enough to tie in all the details one needs for a mystery. I'm in awe of mystery writers.


How did you create your characters personalities? I couldn't have written Ah Ni without getting to know some Chinese people fairly well. I also needed to learn a lot about their culture and what it is like for them to be immersed in American culture for the first time. So although the Chinese people in my novels do not represent real people, they borrow heavily from the Chinese people I've gotten to know.

Do you have any advice for up and coming authors? Join a writers group and take their comments and critiques seriously. Develop a tough skin and keep trying to improve your writing. If you can't get the attention of a publisher, consider self-publishing an e-book. It's much lower cost than hard copies and easier to market.

Author Bio: JoHannah is the managing editor of ChristianBibleStudies.com, an online Christianity Today Bible study site where more than 100,000 leaders, students, and teachers come to learn and apply God’s Word. Besides co-writing and editing nearly 1,000 Bible studies, JoHannah has written seven novels, a children’s devotional, ghostwritten two books, written content for the Couples’ Devotional Bible, and contributed to two separate Bible study series published by Standard and Thomas Nelson. She has been published in several magazines and on numerous websites.  She is also a contributing editor for Kyria.com, an online site for women who want to go deeper in the Lord. JoHannah is a pastor’s wife, the mother of three, and a grandmother—all three her favorite roles in life, even though she’s crazy about her work.

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Author Interview: JoHannah Reardon

Author Name: JoHannah Reardon 

Book Title: Cherry Cobbler - A Novel

Book Price: $2.99 as an e-book

Where is your book avaliable? Anywhere e-books are sold: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Borders, Diesel, Sony, i-Tunes

How would you describe your book? A lighthearted romance and a Chrisitanized version of Bridget Jones Diary. This novel was pure fun to write and is pure fun to read.

Do you have a favorite character? Love Cherry! She reacts to life rather than thinking it out. She is so different than me that it was fun to live in her skin while I was writing it. I'd like to write more like this one. But I also love a lot of my characters in this novel: Mrs. Vanderweide is a rich widow who keeps things hoping. Cherry's sister-in-law, Crystal, is a way on the crazy side. I grew quite fond of her.

What gave you a passion for writing Christian Romance novels? I wanted to write the kind of novels I'd like to read. I love wholesome romances, and they are so hard to find. So I had to write one to get what I was looking for.

Where do you get your ideas from? I wrote Cherry Cobbler after I'd been reading a bunch of P. G. Wodehouse novels, which are crazy romances that rarely turn out well. But it gave me the idea of having fun with it and I had a blast.

How has your experience been with self-publishing? It has been great! I sent my novels out from time to time and they would get a lot of interest, but would never make it through the final stage of approval. I always felt one editor liked them and one didn't, and the one who didn't had more seniority. I'd asked people in my writers group and friends to read my novels, and they liked them a lot, so I knew they had merit. I was sure there was an audience for my books. I just needed to find them. And with e-publishing, the initial cost is quite low, which is what I needed.

Do you have any advice for up and coming authors? Join a writers group and take their comments and critiques seriously. Develop a tough skin and keep trying to improve your writing. If you can't get the attention of a publisher, consider self-publishing an e-book. It's much lower cost than hard copies and easier to market.

 

What criticism has helped you to grow as a writer? With Cherry Cobbler, a friend told me that things were moving too fast at one point in the novel. That helped me slow down and look at it differently and make improvements.

How do you feel events in your life have impacted your writing style? The things I read affect my writing style, but also the things I'm going through at the time I am writing. I wrote Cherry Cobbler at a very stressful time of my life, so her lighthearted approach to life was like the vacation I needed to deal with the difficult things that were happening.  I’d escape into lighthearted Cherry’s world and start breathing easier again.  She made me laugh!

Author Bio: JoHannah is the managing editor of ChristianBibleStudies.com, an online Christianity Today Bible study site where more than 100,000 leaders, students, and teachers come to learn and apply God’s Word. Besides co-writing and editing nearly 1,000 Bible studies, JoHannah has written seven novels, a children’s devotional, ghostwritten two books, written content for the Couples’ Devotional Bible, and contributed to two separate Bible study series published by Standard and Thomas Nelson. She has been published in several magazines and on numerous websites.  She is also a contributing editor for Kyria.com, an online site for women who want to go deeper in the Lord. JoHannah is a pastor’s wife, the mother of three, and a grandmother—all three her favorite roles in life, even though she’s crazy about her work.

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Author Interview: JoHannah Reardon

Author Name: JoHannah Reardon    

Book Title: Journey to Omwana - A Christian Novel

Book Price: $2.99 as an e-book

Where is your book available? Anywhere e-books are sold: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Borders, Diesel, Sony, i-Tunes

How would you describe your book? An intense romance set in the remote jungles of Venezuela. This novel deals with the serious side of our commitment to God and to the person we choose to marry.

Do you have a favorite character? Yes, I love Jake's mom. She's this crusty character who has pioneered a mission under extremely difficult circumstances and is now battling a life-threatening disease. I love her tenacious way of tackling any difficulty. When I wrote it, I wished I could be mentored by someone like her.

What gave you a passion for writing Christian Romance novels? I wanted to write the kind of novels I'd like to read. I love wholesome romances, and they are so hard to find. So I had to write one to get what I was looking for.

Where do you get your ideas from? At the time I wrote this novel, our church had a partnership with a church in Venezuela, so I was learning a lot about the culture. I also read this amazing book about missionaries who pioneered a Christian mission in the jungles there. It made me think a lot about the challenges and rewards of such a venture, which led to this book. But, of course, every story is more interesting if it centers around a romance!

How has your experience been with self-publishing? It has been great! I sent my novels out from time to time and they would get a lot of interest, but would never make it through the final stage of approval. I always felt one editor liked them and one didn't, and the one who didn't had more seniority. I'd asked people in my writers group and friends to read my novels, and they liked them a lot, so I knew they had merit. I was sure there was an audience for my books. I just needed to find them. And with e-publishing, the initial cost is quite low, which is what I needed.

Do you have any advice for up and coming authors? Join a writers group and take their comments and critiques seriously. Develop a tough skin and keep trying to improve your writing. If you can't get the attention of a publisher, consider self-publishing an e-book. It's much lower cost than hard copies and easier to market.

What is the best compliment you have received? When I was writing Journey to Omwana, a woman visited our writer's group who was a published author and in full-time Christian work. I read a sample chapter and she absolutely loved it. It validated that I was on the right track.

How do you feel events in your life have impacted your writing style? I became a Christian in my teens and really grew in my faith during my college years. When I graduated, I worked for Christian non-profit organizations, so my life was about serious, sacrificial discipleship. That has made my novels an interesting mixture. I live and write so much serious stuff, that my novels have been a wonderful way to combine what I've learned with the absolute joy of just writing for fun. It's been one of the best things God has allowed me to do.
 

Author Bio: JoHannah is the managing editor of ChristianBibleStudies.com, an online Christianity Today Bible study site where more than 100,000 leaders, students, and teachers come to learn and apply God’s Word. Besides co-writing and editing nearly 1,000 Bible studies, JoHannah has written seven novels, a children’s devotional, ghostwritten two books, written content for the Couples’ Devotional Bible, and contributed to two separate Bible study series published by Standard and Thomas Nelson. She has been published in several magazines and on numerous websites.  She is also a contributing editor for Kyria.com, an online site for women who want to go deeper in the Lord. JoHannah is a pastor’s wife, the mother of three, and a grandmother—all three her favorite roles in life, even though she’s crazy about her work.  

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Author Interview: JoHannah Reardon

Welcome JoHannah!  I'm delighted to share the first of your four interviews with my viewers.  Can't wait to let everyone know about Crispens Point and your other fabulous books!

Author Name: JoHannah Reardon      

Book Title:  Crispens Point

Book Price: Free! Except on Amazon. There it is 99 cents. They won't let me make it free. Try this one and if you like it, consider the seven other e-books I have, which are $2.99 each.

Where is your book avaliable? Anywhere e-books are sold: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Borders, Diesel, Sony, i-Tunes

How would you describe your book? A lighthearted Christian romance that deals with some deeper subjects, including a past we aren't proud of.

Do you have a favorite character? Yes, Charlotte, the main character. I grew quite fond of her as I wrote this novel.

What gave you a passion for writing Christian Romance novels? I couldn't find romances I liked to read. Most of them were too bawdy, and I couldn't identify with the main characters because they behaved in a way I never would. So my favorite romance novels were the Jane Austin type. I wanted to created romances that were more like those in tone. However, each of my main characters lives life around their faith. It's what drives everything they do.

Where do you get your ideas from? My imagination! From the time I was very young, I made up stories to entertain myself. As I got older I began to write them down.

How has your experience been with self-publishing? It has been great! I sent my novels out from time to time and they would get a lot of interest, but would never make it through the final stage of approval. I always felt one editor liked them and one didn't, and the one who didn't had more seniority. I'd asked people in my writers group and friends to read my novels, and they liked them a lot, so I knew they had merit. I was sure there was an audience for my books. I just needed to find them.

Do you have any advice for up and coming authors? Join a writers group and take their comments and critiques seriously. Develop a tough skin and keep trying to improve your writing. If you can't get the attention of a publisher, consider self-publishing an e-book. It's much lower cost than hard copies and easier to market.

What is the best compliment you have received? My favorite compliment came from a young man who read Crispens Point. He said it was his first ever Christian novel. He pointed out a few things he didn't like about it (clearly he had not read romance novels before either), but in the end he gave it five stars because it kept his interest to the end and he really enjoyed it. It was fun to win a convert to Christian novels and romance novels in one fell swoop!

How have you gone about marketing your books? If you have more than one e-book, make one of them free. It helps get the word out about you. I have given away thousands of copies of Crispens Point and it is generating interest in my other books.
 

Author Bio: JoHannah is the managing editor of ChristianBibleStudies.com, an online Christianity Today Bible study site where more than 100,000 leaders, students, and teachers come to learn and apply God’s Word. Besides co-writing and editing nearly 1,000 Bible studies, JoHannah has written seven novels, a children’s devotional, ghostwritten two books, written content for the Couples’ Devotional Bible, and contributed to two separate Bible study series published by Standard and Thomas Nelson. She has been published in several magazines and on numerous websites.  She is also a contributing editor for Kyria.com, an online site for women who want to go deeper in the Lord. JoHannah is a pastor’s wife, the mother of three, and a grandmother—all three her favorite roles in life, even though she’s crazy about her work.  

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