Christian Fiction Author Janice Jones

VR: When did you know that you were chosen not to just write but to become an author?

 JJ: It was 1999.  I was riding in the car with my then husband and I so loudly and so clearly heard the voice of God say write His Woman His Wife His Widow.  I had no concept for a novel or anything.  He just clearly spoke that title to me.  Becoming an author was the last thing on my radar.  I loved, loved, loved to read novels, but writing one had never crossed my mind until that moment.  So I did it slowly but obediently and five years later I completed my first novel of that exact title.  It took me two additional years to finally get a book deal on it.

VR: What has your literary journey been like for you?

JJ: Wow.  That’s an awkward question.  Even though it has been more than 14 years since discovering I was purposed by God to be an author, six years since I received my first writing contract, 4 years since my first novel hit the shelves and a total of four novels later, I’m not sure what the journey has been like.  You know what, that is not true.  It just doesn’t look like I thought it would.  I have actually been very pleased with the responses I have received from my work.  Many people have contacted me as a result of a character they were able to connect with or with the overall content of the book.  They have stated how much the books have helped them in a variety of ways and that I believe is what my journey is all about.  It is about God using my gift of writing and the books I write to show people what it is He wants them to see.  This journey has been all about God’s plans and purposes for my life and others lives being revealed. 

VR: What is your writing process like?

JJ: I don’t know if I have a specific writing process.  Like I said, I had no idea I was even supposed to be an author.  I have always enjoyed writing, but simply for the purpose of release.  The truth is I have two different processes now that I write this, one for novels and one for my sermons and messages.  With the novels, I just get the idea from the Holy Spirit and I slowly allow it to unfold in words as God gives it to me little by little.  I do an outline of how it should start, unfold and begin, but it NEVER looks the way I think it will by the end of the book.  However, at the end, I am always pleased and I believe God is too.  With the sermons and messages, I just jot down inspirations as they come to me and I then take them, put them in some sort of understandable order and craft them into a formidable message or sermon. 

VR: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in any of your books?

JJ: Absolutely not.  I have come to realize I am simply the typist for the novels.  God is the creator of the stories so however they come out, I give him all the credit and we know He doesn’t make mistakes so there will never be any blame.  Of course not everyone will like everything or even anything about the novel, but I just chalk it up to the message of the book not being specifically for them.  But I believe that everyone who reads them will have something from God planted in their heart that they can later use.

VR: What were the challenges you faced in bringing forth any of your books?

JJ: I think the most challenging aspects for me are developing the characters.  And that goes for positive development as well as those whose bad character does not change or gets worse.  I would love to see everyone in the novel grow and become better people than they were when the book started, but that is not realistic.  I do write fiction which gives me the option to bend a story and or character to my will. However, I would rather write realistic work than fantasy. 

VR: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

JJ: Be patient.  Be patient with your story.  Be patient with the process of publishing be itself or traditional.  Be patient with the criticism and realize that your work is very subjective and abstract, especially if you are writing fiction.  Also, realize that character development, one way or the other is very important.  Don’t put in so many characters that you lose track of any of them.  Each of them should be significant even if they are not the main character.   

VR: Are you working on any new projects?

JJ: Yes I am.  It is again in the Christian Fiction genre but this one will push the envelope probably more than any of my other novels.  And those novels are daring in and of themselves as it relates to Christians.   Its tentative title is The Unsanctified Lady.  I hope the title speaks volumes. 

VR: What is something that your readers would find interesting about you?

JJ: Probably the fact that I am a true menace turned minister.  I grew up in Detroit where I was a promiscuous, violent fighter with a criminal past.  I was destructive and reckless with my life for several years.  I never got into drugs or alcohol but nonetheless I was out of control.  It was not until I truly turned my life over to Christ in 1999 that I began to change.  After receiving psychological therapy I realized I was so angry and destructive because I had been continually sexually molested by a family member when I was six years old.  The pain of that time period use to fuel my actions.  Now it fuels my passion to help other women overcome and survive the pains and hurts of their past.

My name is Janice Jones. I was born July 6, 1966 in Detroit, Michigan. I lived in the great state of Michigan until August, 2007, when I moved to Phoenix, Arizona. I am the mother of two sons, Jerrick & Derrick Parker, and grandmother to Jevon Jerrick Parker. https://www.facebook.com/Jnycethewriter – See more at: http://thecertainonesmagazine.com/for-colored-girls/#sthash.0WslS65h.dpuf

Contact Janice Jones at https://www.facebook.com/Jnycethewriter

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