An Interview with an Author: Joanna White
It’s Author Thursday on my blog! Today, meet Christian author Joanna White.
A Christian author, Joanna has five published books. Two are traditionally published with Ambassador International: Hunter and Shifter, books one and two of the Valiant Series. The other three books are all self-published. There’s Dark Magi, Book One in the Republic Chronicles; The Crystal Heist, which is a standalone urban fantasy; and Rebels, which is a companion to Hunter.
Joanna has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Entertainment.
Learn more about Joanna through the links at the end of this interview.
—By Jessica Brodie
JB: Tell us about yourself and your faith journey.
Joanna: I’ve only gotten to where I am because of God. Writing was a hobby for me, so when I graduated, I tried to go to college, but that didn’t work out. I came back home, feeling like a failure. But that was when God showed me that I was meant to be a full-time author.
JB: When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
Joanna: I’ve always been good at it and it’s been a passion for me since I was ten years old. It was only after I came home from college when I didn’t know what to do with my life, that God helped me understand I needed to be an author full time.
JB: How does your faith influence your writing?
Joanna: I wouldn’t be able to write without God. He gives me all the inspiration. All of my novels include God in some way or form and most of them have Biblical themes. I write because I’m passionate about it, but I also write to encourage and inspire others and to lead people to Christ. I also write to give Christians good, dramatic books to read where they also aren’t forced to compromise their beliefs to read a good book.
JB: When did this particular story first stir in your heart?
Joanna: The Valiant Series came to me as I got interested in writing fantasy, which I had never done before. I wanted to write a book franchise that was just as long and epic as my favorite franchise—Star Wars. At the time, I didn’t think I could do it. But seven years and seventeen books later, God helped me completely write it.
With my latest release, The Crystal Heist, I loved the video game called Skyrim. There’s a lot of story arcs to play out, but one is about a thief and I thought the idea of a fantasy story about a thief trying to survive would be exciting. Everyone loves a ragtag team of misfits, especially who are trying to do something far greater than themselves. I didn’t want it to be a save-the-world kind of scenario, so I thought, what if they’re doing a heist to make life better for the thieves of the city? That’s where the entire idea came from—a ragtag team of thieves attempting the greatest heist Kryston has ever seen.
JB: Do you have other books coming out in the future?
Joanna: I just finished writing fifteen novels this year as part of the million-word challenge. It was a lot of work, so right now, I have a lot of other books and new series to start planning and developing, which is currently what I’m working on. In December, I hope to publish a collection of short Christmas stories called The Heart of Christmas, which will be my next published book.
JB: What do you hope for readers to take away from your books?
Joanna: With any of my stories, I hope that readers are inspired and encouraged. With my latest release, The Crystal Heist, I hope they’ll learn that we can’t rely on ourselves. The main character, Alyra, is a thief and she doesn’t trust anyone. She believes in God, but doesn’t lean on Him. Sometimes, life is hard, but we can’t rely on ourselves to get us through hard times. We have to lean on God and He wants to help us through, if we let Him.
Check out Joanna online:
Website: authorjoannawhite.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjoannawhite
Facebook Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jwwarriors
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorjoannawhite
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/joannamwhite
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorjoannawhite
