Today we’d like to introduce you to Jan Johnson.
Hi Jan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always liked to write. When I was in fourth grade, I wrote a little story called The Red Man, A Mars Story.
My dad bound it in red vinyl. I was so proud! I’ve found little poems I wrote and sent to my grandfather, who would return letters with his own poetry.
As an adult, I renewed my passion for writing and took a correspondence course (way back before internet and computers) on Children’s Book Writing. That was a real eye opener. I loved getting my stories back with a lot of red marks, because then I knew what needed to be improved upon.
And then, as things do, there was a detour in my life. I had married Howard and had three children. Seven years into the marriage, at the age of 36, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Surgery left him paralyzed on his right side. He lived two years after that and died at 38 leaving me a widow at the age of 32.
After he died, I found his spiritual journal. It was amazing. Full of deep insights into who God is and what life in heaven would be like.
I knew that somehow I had to share it. This led to me writing a memoir about our lives together and including his journal pieces.
Publishing this book and seeing the impact it had on others gave me the confidence to write more books.
My daughter was a nurse working nights on a very difficult hospital floor. She had close working buddies, which she would tell me about on her way home each morning. And she’d share crazy patient stories.
That got us forming an idea to write a three-part medical romance series and a Christmas novella.
My latest work is a 6-week Bible Study where participants map out the journeys of their lives using the format Because of, This Happened, Leading to.
We then apply the same journey format to the lives of Ruth, Jonah, Joseph and David and compare what God taught them to our own journeys.
Meanwhile, I have two podcasts. One is called Women of the Northwest, Ordinary Women Leading Extraordinary Lives. I’ve interviewed over one hundred very interesting and motivating women.
The other is called Just Talkin’ About Jesus. This also has been enriching hearing the stories and testimonies of others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It hasn’t all been smooth.
Writing a book is a massive job. I took hundreds of hours worth of classes, went to conferences, watched writer YouTubes and listened to a ton of podcasts. Little by little I learned about structure, grammar, how dialogue works and more.
And then, there was the huge learning curve of publishing. Who knew there were so many steps?
Not to mention discovering Canva and learning to create book covers.
But the pain has been worth it. I’ve learned so much and now share that with others who are just starting out.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a starter of things.
Out of college with a degree in Early Childhood Education, I began a preschool which served infants through after school age children. I had a staff of thirteen and over one hundred children. At the time, it was the only preschool/daycare of its type.
When my kids were young, I started the Parent Club where we held fundraisers like Burger/Bingo, Carnival, and Book Fairs. I even started a small thrift store to raise funds. I was a Literacy Specialist and started a Family Book Club.
The school walls were bare, so I helped students design and paint murals. There was no theater at the school, so I began and ran two plays a year for ten years. There were a lot of moving parts—finding scripts, sewing costumes, setting rehearsal times, figuring out lighting and sound. It was a blast. I did it all.
I started a girl scout troop and 4-H clubs for sewing and cooking.
Now that my kids are grown, I began a chapter of 100 Women Who Care, which meets four times a year to showcase local nonprofits. Members nominate those nonprofits, then we, the steering committee, narrow them down to three who will present at the meetings. After the presentations, members vote and the recipient receives $100 from each member, equalling over $10,000. So far, we’ve put nearly $175,000 into our county nonprofits. It’s pretty awesome!
I started having retreats in my church, which met two weekends a year for over fifteen years.
Before the internet and socials, I wrote and published a small local newsletter which was mailed out twice a month.
I’m sure there’s more, but who wants to read all that, anyway?
Any big plans?
I would like to take my newly widowed sister to Europe. When I graduated from high school, my mom took me and my two siblings there on a two-month trip. She bought a VW van, and we camped from Italy to Denmark. It was amazing. This was, of course, before cell phones and maps.
I’d like to relive that experience with my sister— go to museums, hike in the Alps, explore towns and villages.
I also want to finish one more novel, bringing the number of my books to eight. This one is called Nuns with Guns, A Holiday Caper, complete with ex-cons whose house is behind the convent and connected by a basement where they find a dead body. There will be some displaced kids from a war-torn country and, of course, nuns! I’m not sure what kind of guns they’ll have—rubber band guns? Marshmallow shooters? Nerf guns? Potato guns or cap guns? Maybe bazookas. I’m open to ideas! There will also be displaced children from a war-torn country. It will all be fun and games.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jan-johnson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janreajohnson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janreajohnson.
- Youtube: @JustTalkinAboutJesus
- Other: Substack: https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/
Image Credits
Headshot by Colin Corner
