The Inside Scoop!
Johnnie Alexander
and her contemporary romance
Where She Belongs
Revell
**********
I grew up in Madison County, Ohio, a farming community southwest of Columbus.
I was inspired to write my first published novel by close friends who read another story I wrote and wanted a sequel. About the same time, I watched two documentaries: The Rape of Europa and The Hidden Child. These two motifs, the protection of artwork and children during World War II, tugged at my heart. In my debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, art and children are saved by the protagonists.
The books that have most influenced my life are My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, and Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. These are books I read again and again. (The Bible is a given—I read it every day.)
My biggest challenge when writing is moving on when I can’t find the perfect word or get a sentence just right. Sometimes I use brackets as placeholders, and that seems to help. In many ways, rewriting is easier than writing. I also tend to be too descriptive.
One of my favourite authors is Ann Tatlock because she writes beautiful phrases and tells unique stories. (I’m also a Charles Dickens fan though I haven’t yet read all of his books.)
If I wasn’t a writer, I would be devastated. But if I had to choose another career, perhaps a genealogist, a historian, or an archivist.
The superhero talent I would love to have is to fly. My grandchildren are in Ohio and Florida while I’m in Tennessee. It’d be great to just take a running leap and pop in on them whenever I wanted.
Where She Belongs
Shelby Kincaid is ready to move on from her grief. With high hopes for the future, she longs to purchase her family’s ancestral homestead so she can raise her young daughters in the only place she ever truly belonged. She plans to transform the abandoned house into the perfect home of her memories. But she’ll have her work cut out for her.
AJ Sullivan never wanted the homestead. Inherited as a punishment from his grandfather, it has sat empty for fifteen years and fallen into ruin. He’s glad to finally unload it. But a clean break isn’t possible when he can’t get the young widow Shelby off his mind.
My latest novel can be described by these 5 adjectives: emotional, engaging, heart-warming, nostalgic, and uplifting.
My main characters are Shelby Lassiter Kincaid and Anderson John “AJ” Sullivan IV.
More than anything, Shelby wants to recreate her memories of a golden childhood for her own children. That can only happen at her grandparents’ home—a house that has been empty since their deaths several years before.
AJ, a popular high school history teacher and football coach, is seldom seen without a ball cap bearing The Ohio State University logo on his head. He believes a relationship with Shelby is impossible unless he apologizes to his first love for abandoning her. But when he finds her, he learns she has secrets, too.
My main characters resemble the girl next door and the high school jock all grown up. I don’t “cast” my characters unless someone asks who would play them in a movie. I now see them as the people who appear on the cover.
A previously unknown fact about this novel is that readers may know that Shelby’s house is based on a house I lived in as a teen that was later abandoned. They may not know that the cottage AJ lives in is also an actual place that’s nestled into a hillside and was once hidden from the road just like the one in the story. I moved it though so Shelby and AJ live closer together.
My story’s spiritual theme is trusting God to put us in a “spacious place.” This concept is found in a few passages, but my favorite is Psalm 18:19: “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me” (NIV). Shelby thinks she knows where her spacious place is, but she learns it might not be a literal place at all.
While writing this novel I was challenged by all the details of what happened in the long-ago past. The protagonists—their values, their hurts, their current circumstances—are greatly influenced by events that occurred before they were born and also, for Shelby, when she was a teen. As important as the past is to the present, it couldn’t overshadow what was happening now.
The title was chosen by the publisher. In the manuscript’s pre-publishing life, it had several titles, and this one is the most perfect. I submitted it as Into a Spacious Place which caught people’s attention. But it sounds more like a poetry book than a contemporary romance.
As an author, the hardest scenes for me to write are the openings. So many elements need to come together in just the right way to pull the reader into the story so she never wants to leave. I usually have a few false starts before everything comes together in the best way.
The story I’m currently working on is the third novel in the Misty Willow Series. The second book, When Love Arrives, will be out in September. Book #3 features another family member who is struggling with the consequences of her choices.
You may not know this about me, but I have a small herd of alpaca. Unfortunately, I have yet to learn to knit.
If I could be a character in any novel, I would want to be a Lothlorien elf living in Middle Earth. But since I’m five foot nothing standing on tiptoe, I’d probably end up in Hobbiton instead.
Thanks Johnnie!
Relz Reviewz Extras
Visit Johnnie’s website
Buy at Amazon: Where She Belongs or Koorong
January 19, 2016 at 11:18 pm
I’ve had the pleasure of reading Johnnie’s Where Treasures Hide. This novel is certainly a different direction!
I really do not have aspirations to write so the blog question is a tough one. I’ll leave it at that.
January 20, 2016 at 1:23 am
Hi, Staci. I’m glad to hear you’ve read Where Treasure Hides. And I totally agree with you. My two novels are different in many ways. Yet both are “heart-tug” stories with similar themes of family heritage and belonging. Thanks for commenting.
January 20, 2016 at 2:01 am
This sounds like a good book! I’ll have to read it one of these days.
January 21, 2016 at 7:00 am
Hope you get a chance to, Amy!
January 20, 2016 at 2:17 am
If I could collaborate with any author, it would be Johnnie! She could write the romance part and I could write the suspense part!! And this is an EXCELLENT book!
January 21, 2016 at 7:00 am
Hm. We’ll have to give this some thought! (Patricia is my critique partner and it’s so fun that we’re both with Revell.)
January 20, 2016 at 2:31 am
Hmmm, actually Patricia Bradley because I can get lost in history details, but she keeps the narrative, and suspense, moving forward fast.
January 21, 2016 at 7:44 am
Hi, Delores! So glad to “run into” you here.
January 20, 2016 at 8:29 am
I would much rather read than write! It’s all I can do to get reviews written!
Thanks for the giveaway, Johnnie and Rel!
January 21, 2016 at 9:03 am
Hi, Beth. I don’t get to read nearly as much as I want to. So many great books and so little time!
January 20, 2016 at 10:14 am
I don’t aspire to be an author, but if I was to write a book with someone, I’d probably like someone who can write a good adventure with some humor, like Mary Connealy, Margaret Brownley, Jen Turano, or Regina Jennings. Thanks for the interview with Johnnie and the chance to win her new book. It sounds great!
January 21, 2016 at 9:05 am
Hi, Pam. Adventure with humor sounds like a good time! Thanks for joining in the giveaway.
January 20, 2016 at 11:34 am
I have not had the pleasure of reading a Johnnie Alexander book yet so I would love to start with this one. When I was a youngster I wanted to write but it didn’t work out for me. I think I don’t have the imagination needed for it. I do write short reviews and enjoy that.
January 21, 2016 at 9:07 am
Stella, I want to thank you for writing reviews–authors really appreciate them. I find them very difficult to write even for books I absolutely love. We all seem to have our own writing niches, don’t we?
January 20, 2016 at 12:03 pm
I’d love to collaborate with Richard Paul Evans. He’s such a humble, genuinely nice man! He also goes on research trips, and I love any excuse to travel!
January 21, 2016 at 9:11 am
Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve read a book by Richard Paul Evans. Karen, I’m with you on the travel. I’d love to indulge my vagabond heart but this just isn’t the season. Thanks!
January 20, 2016 at 12:44 pm
I wrote stories in notebooks as a kid. The first Girl Scout badge I received was the Writer. It wasn’t until many years later that I tried writing a novel, and many more years before I got a contract.
Where Treasure Hides is the first book I won in a giveaway.
January 21, 2016 at 9:12 am
Hi, Terri! So glad to see you here. I didn’t know (or didn’t remember) about Where Treasure Hides being your first “win.” That’s so cool. Thanks for commenting.
January 20, 2016 at 9:55 pm
I’d choose Julie Lessman to collaborate with. I love her style!
Thanks for the interview and giveaway!!!
January 21, 2016 at 9:17 am
Hi, Kathryn. I have one of Julie’s books but haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Hope to soon! Thanks for being here.
January 21, 2016 at 4:27 am
you mean I have to pick just one. Tough decision!
January 21, 2016 at 9:18 am
I agree, Kim! Thanks for commenting!
January 21, 2016 at 8:06 am
I have not read anything by the author, but it sounds like I’m really missing out.
No desire to write, so I don’t know who to put as my answer. There are so many great ones that I would love to chat with, just not about me writing. 😉
January 21, 2016 at 9:19 am
Cindi, your answer is so cute. Glad you stopped by!
January 23, 2016 at 11:59 am
I am very eclectic with my reading choices, which makes choosing an author hard. To be fair, I would love to pick an author from every genre that I read from. Narrowing it down contemporary or historical romantic comedies are probably my favorite. I am a giggler and love to laugh. In fact, I will start laughing if someone else is, not even knowing why they are laughing. So I might have to pick Mary Connealy or Regina Jennings for writing partners.
January 23, 2016 at 12:00 pm
And, because I want to meet Johnnie and Patricia Bradley in person, I would choose them, as well. 🙂
January 26, 2016 at 2:32 am
Well, we’re both going to be at the Southaven, Mississippi library on February 6th, the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference in Collierville, Tennessee on March 19th, and the Bookstock Festival at the Memphis central library on April 23rd. We’d love to see you!
February 1, 2016 at 7:42 pm
Ugh! It’s still so far away. You have to make sure that if you ever hit the West coast, especially Washington or Oregon, that you let me know. 🙂
January 26, 2016 at 3:24 pm
If I were to collaborate with anyone….Julie Klassen!!! 🙂
January 27, 2016 at 10:21 am
Great choice, Trixi!
January 27, 2016 at 5:25 am
I don’t really know. It’d be hard.
January 27, 2016 at 10:23 am
Laura, thanks for participating in the giveaway. I really appreciate it!
April 29, 2016 at 12:08 am
Just wanted to say that I finally got a chance to read this book and really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to find out more about some characters whose stories were left hanging.