Happy Memorial Day FRIDAY!!
Today I extend a warm summertime welcome to author Janet Ferguson, who has a new novel, The Art of Rivers (Coastal Hearts Series), releasing June 30 (It’s available for pre-order at 99 cents!!)! We’ll talk about her new release, and Janet has agreed to give away an ebook copy of another book in the Coastal Hearts Series, Magnolia Storms!!
Let’s learn a little more about Janet . . .
Regina: What inspired you to write, initially, and what encouraged you to continue?
Janet: I began writing my first story after my own struggle with anxiety and panic attacks while driving on the interstate. I wanted to write a story to encourage people with mental/brain disorders that they were still important and useful in God’s kingdom. That novel became a romantic comedy somehow called Leaving Oxford. And I just kept on writing.
Regina: Leaving Oxford has been on my radar for a long time – on my TBR list!!
Do you look on writing as a “calling?”
Janet: Yes! Writing fiction is hard work, with hours of research. For me, if it wasn’t a calling, there’s no way I’d spend so much time on something so difficult! My goal is to spread the gospel!
Regina: Amen! I don’t know about you, but it took me three books to realize what I was writing about! God can use us even when it’s hard!
Which do you prefer? Salad or Sandwich?
Janet: Oh wow, I’ve been doing a version of the Paleo, Whole 30 diets for almost two years and lost a good bit of weight, so I have to choose salad. But I do love all foods, ha! I think that was part of the problem. 😉
Regina: I get it. I’ve been on a low-carb diet since last fall. It’s tough, but I still have a hard time choosing salad! LOL! I just try to get around bread by using substitutes!
A lot of interviewers ask for your favorite book. That’s just not fair! What has been the most recent book you’ve read that excited you or moved you in some way? Why?
Janet: I met Mesu Andrews at the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat, and she was so nice. I bought her book Of Fire and Lions, and I really enjoyed it. It’s biblical fiction about Daniel of the Old Testament. I love to read biblical fiction because it sends me to the text to see where the author came up with their story.
Regina: I’ve recently read some Biblical fiction, and it amazed me! I’ll have to look for that one!
Is there someone, alive or dead, who had a major influence on your writing life, or on your life in general?
Janet: I believe Francine Rivers challenged and changed my view of fiction. Her Mark of the Lion series so affected me. I more understood the persecution of the early church, the destruction of Jerusalem, and honestly, it proved the power of story.
Regina: I’ve had more people answer with that series. Also on my TBR list! 🙂
Now I’m curious about one of your main characters, Rivers Sullivan. Here is a short interview with her!
Interview with character Rivers Sullivan!
Regina: What is one thing about you, Rivers Sullivan, that makes you an interesting character?
Rivers: I have suffered great loss. My mother was in the driver in a drunk driving accident leaving her with a severe brain injury. I had to help care for her since I was twelve. Then I lost my fiancé just the week before my wedding. He was shot. I was too, but I lived. Sometimes I wished I didn’t.
Regina: Are you looking for romance?
Rivers: Absolutely not. I just want some kind of healing from my loss.
Regina: Most people/characters have a secret of some kind. Tell us something about yourself that only very few people might know. (No spoilers, please!)
Rivers: My mother was a binge drinker most of my life, and she was with another man when she was in the accident.
Regina: What kind of music do you like to listen to?
Rivers: All kinds! And I love to dance. I sing terribly though, so I’m told, ha!
Regina: What would you like to tell us about your author?
Rivers: She is so slow! It took two years for me to get my happy ending!
Regina: LOL! I’m sure some of MY characters would say the same! Thanks, River! Now, let’s hear about your BOOK!
The Art of Rivers
Rivers Sullivan bears both visible and invisible scars—those on her shoulder from a bullet wound and those on her heart from the loss of her fiancé during the same brutal attack. Not even her background as an art therapist can help her regain her faith in humanity. Still, she scrapes together the courage to travel to St. Simons Island to see the beach cottage and art gallery she’s inherited from her fiancé. When she stumbles upon recovering addicts running her gallery, she’s forced to reckon with her own healing.
After the tragic drowning of his cousin, James Cooper Knight spends his days trying to make up for his past mistakes. He not only dedicates his life to addiction counseling, but guilt drives him to the water, searching for others who’ve been caught unaware of the quickly rising tides of St. Simons. When he rescues a peculiar blond woman and her sketch pad from a sandbar, then delivers this same woman to his deceased grandmother’s properties, he knows things are about to get even more complicated.
Tragic circumstances draw Cooper and Rivers closer, but they fight their growing feelings. Though Cooper’s been sober for years, Rivers can’t imagine trusting her heart to someone in recovery, and he knows a relationship with her will only rip his family further apart. Distrust and guilt are only the first roadblocks they must overcome if they take a chance on love.
About Janet . . .
Janet W. Ferguson grew up in Mississippi and received a degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi. She has served as a children’s minister and a church youth volunteer. An avid reader, she worked as a librarian at a large public high school. She writes humorous inspirational fiction for people with real lives and real problems. Janet and her husband have two grown children, one really smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space.
Connect with Janet
- https://www.bookbub.com/profile/janet-w-ferguson
- https://www.facebook.com/Janet.Ferguson.author
- http://www.janetfergusonauthor.com/
- https://www.pinterest.com/janetwferguson/
- https://twitter.com/JanetwFerguson
Note: When you sign up for Janet’s email newsletter via her website, you can get a free ebook copy of her FIRST book, Leaving Oxford!
Purchase Links for The Art of Rivers
Releasing June 30, 2019! Preorder now for only 99 cents!
Thank you so much for joining me today, Janet! Just so you know, St. Simons Island in Georgia has been on my list of must-see-places since I read Eugenia Price’s novels years and years ago! I will get there someday, and in the meantime, I’ll read your book! I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!
A question for YOU, dear reader – answer for the chance to win an ebook copy of Magnolia Storms: What are YOUR Memorial Day plans?
Happy Reading!
Janet Ferguson says
Thank you so much for having me today!! I hope your readers enjoy!
Blessings,
Janet
Tracy Crump says
Nice to meet another Mississippi writer! Oxford is not too far down the road.
Janet Ferguson says
How cool, Tracy! I’m excited to meet you! Where are you? I live in the Jackson area.
Patricia Bradley says
Janet, I can’t wait to read this.
Janet Ferguson says
Thanks, Patricia~