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Author Interview,  Giveaway,  Hope-filled Fiction

Author Interview with Janyre Tromp & a Giveaway

December 8, 2021 /

By Deena Adams

This week you’re in for a treat as Janyre Tromp, editor with Kregel Publications and Historical novelist, shares about her writing. I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Janyre on Zoom several times, and her sweet, gentle spirit always shines through.

Janyre is offering an ebook giveaway of It’s a Wonderful Christmas, a novella collection from five authors based on classic Christmas movies. Fun, right?

To enter the drawing, simply comment on this post by Tuesday, December 14. A winner will be chosen at random and notified in the comments and by email on December 15.

Now, let’s learn more about Janyre!

Welcome to my blog, Janyre! Tell us a little about yourself and your family.

I’m a firm believer in the power of an entertaining story. And it shows in my everyday life. I’m a book editor by day. And at night, I’m a historical novelist who loves spinning tales that, at their core, hunt for beauty, even when it isn’t pretty. I live just south of Grand Rapids, Michigan with my family (hubby, Chris, and two teenage kids), two crazy cats, and a slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog.

I love the core of your stories, hunting for beauty even when it isn’t pretty. Tell us how you started writing and when. 

I didn’t start writing until college. I actually started college as a chemistry major. But I started hating labs and that’s a death toll to any science student. I called my mom crying and she told me to do what I loved. I answered with all the accumulated wisdom of an eighteen-year-old, “Mom, no one gets paid to read.”

The irony is, of course that’s exactly what I do for my day job. But to get there, I declared an English major with a writing emphasis. Even then I didn’t have plans to be a writer. It wasn’t until my managing editor told me I should try my hand at writing a book that I took my first stab at it.

Kudos to your mom for great advice, and to your managing editor! What genre do you write and what inspired you to write that particular genre? 

I write historical with a healthy dose of intrigue. For most of my school years, I hated history. Who wants to learn random dates and events? But in college, my professor of US History, Tom Jones, gave us an assignment to talk with a relative about WWII or the depression. I went and visited two of my favorite people in the world—my grandparents. Their stories made history come alive and I was hooked from then on. I love researching and finding little known historical factoids.

I can relate to not enjoying history in school but learning to appreciate it later. Are any of your stories inspired by true events or personal history? 

All of my stories have roots in real history. My novella for It’s a Wonderful Christmas features a real-life castle here in Michigan that used to be a concert venue. And my novel Shadows in the Mind’s Eye features the largest illegal gambling city in the nation during WWII . . . it was also inspired a bit by my grandparents’ enduring love for one another despite the hardships they faced, and my best friend’s grandmother Dovie makes an appearance as well.

Very cool. I love when authors add personal elements in their books. You mentioned having a Shetland Sheepdog. Do you have any other pets? Do they find their way into any of your stories?

I have a menagerie of pets! I love pretty much every kind of pet . . . with the exception of spiders. We even had geckos for a while. That said, my cat Brave makes an appearance as a troublesome, but adorable kitten named Bailey in Shadows in the Mind’s Eye. 

I think lots of readers love books with animals. With all the time you spend at your desk as an editor and a writer, I’m interested in what your writing space looks like.

I work in my unfinished basement on our old kitchen table which is pocked with paint, glitter glue, and a sundry of other craft supply wounds. It’s very sheik [insert wink here]. 

Seriously though I have a warm blanket, an extra screen, a TON of books—self-help, poetry, research books, writing craft books, novels, kids books, etc.—and a few candles and extra lights (because Michigan in winter is very dark).

Sounds like a cozy and functional space. Last question…Who was your favorite book character as a child and why?

I still adore Aslan and Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I so often felt (and still feel) like Lucy. Someone unregarded and a little bit of an underdog who wants so much to be helpful. And she’s ridiculed or ignored despite the fact that she often is helpful. That frustration and feeling like an outsider is something I can identify with very clearly. 

Thanks for your honest answer to that question, Janyre. Many of us can relate to being on the outside looking in and wondering how we fit. As someone you’ve shared wisdom and writing advice with, I can attest to the fact that you are super helpful! I’m sure many others agree.

I appreciate you taking time to share with my readers. It was great getting to know a little more about you. Keep on being wonderful you, and continue to allow God to use you for His work in the writing world and beyond. You make a difference!

Join the conversation. Do you enjoy stories that include pets? Does a collection of novellas based on classic Christmas movies sound interesting to you? What about historical novels with a dose of intrigue? Which book character from your childhood do you most relate to?

Be sure to comment by Tuesday, December 14, for a chance to win a digital copy of It’s a Wonderful Christmas!

It’s a Wonderful Christmas by Julie Cantrell, Lynne Gentry, Allison Pittman, Kelli Stuart, and Janyre Tromp

Click the book cover for purchase link

Charming, inventive . . . completely original and filled with heart. I can’t wait to unwrap this gift of a book year after year!”—Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of Christmas in Peachtree Bluff

Nothing jump-starts Christmas nostalgia quite like the movies. With stirring images of snow-covered hills, crackling fireplaces, and happy families gathered around the decorated tree, these silver-screen tales capture all the magic and wonder of the season. Inspired by some of their favorite holiday films, each of these novelists has paid homage to the classic stories we all love, crafting an eclectic collection that delivers something for everyone.

From small town romance to a Sugar Plum Fairy, this Christmas box set includes five stories sparked by National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, The Nutcracker, and Remember the Night.

Topped with a whole lot of cheer and sentimentality, It’s a Wonderful Christmas: Classics Reimagined will delight readers from the first page to the last. So grab a cup of hot cocoa, nestle under a cozy blanket, and enjoy these holiday stories in a whole new way!

Janyre offers Wide Open, a Historical Suspense novella, FREE to newsletter subscribers.

Her debut novel, Shadows in the Mind’s Eye, releases March 15, 2022 and is available for preorder here.

Shadows in the MInd’s Eye: In 1946, a soldier returns to his young family and no one knows if he’s actually seeing criminals in the hills or if, in a Hitchcockian twist, his battle scarred mind has made him the true danger. 

Janyre Tromp is a firm believer in the power of an entertaining story. As such, she’s a book editor by day. And at night, she is a historical novelist whose loves spinning tales that, at their core, hunt for beauty, even when it isn’t pretty. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her family, two crazy cats, and a slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog. 

Connect with Janyre: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / BookBub

Please share this post on social media to help spread the word about Janyre’s books!

If you missed last week’s interview with Jennifer Chastain, find it here.

As a Jesus girl for more than thirty years, Deena Adams understands how important hope is to daily life, which fuels her passion to inspire others through hope-filled fiction based on true to life stories. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency and is a multi-award-winning writer, an active ACFW member, and ACFW Virginia president. Connect with Deena through her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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18 Comments

  • Lynn Moore
    December 11, 2021 at 7:26 pm

    Janyre…..fiction mixed with real facts & a little bit from the writer’s real life makes for a great story!
    Blessings on your writing!
    Lynn Moore

  • Mark Wainwright
    December 10, 2021 at 11:28 pm

    Janyre, I appreciate what you said about using historical facts to make a narrative come to life. I love reading stories that contain those historic nuggets and references. It makes the plot and characters seem even more real and relatable. Thanks for sharing.

  • Mary
    December 8, 2021 at 11:05 am

    Your latest book sounds wonderful, Janyre!
    I love to include a pet in my stories. They provide great comic relief. My upcoming romance features a yellow lab rescue named Champ. During an episode of Downton Abbey, the family dog Isis (similar breed) dies. Though I knew the dog “actor” was fine, I was so sad! Then I learned that the producers/writers chose to “kill Isis” as symbolic message to parallel the devastation and conflict in the Middle East at the time due to ISIS. And the Lord said, “Champ has to die.” (yeah, spoiler …) But Champ had achieved his ultimate purpose in the story – to identify the hero’s perfect bride … the only one of the hero’s girlfriends Champ did NOT threaten to bite. Once Champ had done that, it was time for him to go.

    • Deena Adams
      December 8, 2021 at 11:17 am

      Thanks for reading and joining the conversation, Mary. I’ve been told, “Whatever you do in your story, don’t kill the pets.” People get upset don’t they? But sometimes animals, as well as people, must die to tell the story the way God leads. Blessings on your writing!

    • Janyre Tromp
      December 8, 2021 at 3:39 pm

      Thank you, Mary! I love that animals mean as much to you as they do to me. I find myself always wanting to include them. And I hadn’t known about Isis in Downton Abbey. What an interesting story.

  • Debbie Williams
    December 8, 2021 at 10:05 am

    What a delightful interview. When I did NaNoWriMo for the first time in 2019, I was completely lost. Janyre and Janine Rosche came to my aid and invited me into their group. I’ll never forget their kindness in helping this lady of a certain age get through that challenging time. BTW, I started NaNo 4 days late but went on to Win!! Couldn’t have done that without those 2 sweet, giving ladies.
    Thanks, Deena! Loved this!!

    • Deena Adams
      December 8, 2021 at 11:14 am

      Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Debbie. I totally agree about Janyre and Janine. Two wonderful ladies and authors. I’m blessed to know them both. Congratulations on your Nano win! I participated in 2018 and 2019 and won both years. It’s a challenging and fun accomplishment. 😊

    • Janyre Tromp
      December 8, 2021 at 3:41 pm

      Hey Debbie, congratulations on the NaNo win! I didn’t even attempt NaNo this year. I had COVID at the end of October and still had a manuscript due on Nov. 1 and edits on the novel coming this spring due Nov. 5. I needed some recovery time! 😆