Please welcome Merida Johns to This Writer’s Life….
Have you ever had an imaginary friend?
Yes! As a kid, I had a few imaginary friends. Always wondered if they may have been friends from a past life . . . or a future one?
Do you have any phobias?
If you mean the classic definition of phobia—an intense, irrational, and persistent fear of a specific object, situation, or activity leading to anxiety—I don’t have any. However, I can think of plenty of anxiety-producing situations that I’d rather avoid. I have an entire list of those, including anything poisonous or that might eat me whole.
Do you listen to music when you’re writing?
Background music is a must when I’m writing. When I’m not immersed in writing about a specific era, my go-to music is easy jazz.
Other times, I’ll play music appropriate to the era I’m writing about. For example, my novel Blackhorse Road was set in the mid-1960’s in Southern California, and I listened to a lot of the Four Seasons, the Beach Boys, Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, as well as folk music of the day like Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, and the list goes on. Two of the main characters in A Proof of Love, my latest novel, grew up in the 1960’s. In tavern scenes in the story, readers will find Ned Boomer cranking up the juke listening to the music inspiring me, such as “The Loco-Motion,” “Up on the Roof,” and “Twist and Shout.”
Do you ever read your stories out loud?
Reading and/or doing text-to-speech to listen to my stories is a must. The University of North Carolina Writing Center has a marvelous post on the benefits of reading a manuscript outloud. “When you read your draft out loud or listen to someone else read it, your brain gets the information in a new way, and you may notice things that you didn’t see before.”
Reading or listening to my manuscript helps me better pace my novel, identify close word repetition, refine dialogue, identify opportunities for additional character interiority, and catch timeline and grammatical errors.
Tell us about your main character and who inspired him/her.
Katie Blake, the nine-year-old protagonist in A Proof of Love, is a spunky, precocious computer geek who wants to control her world, eliminate every obstacle, and measure everyone in it against THE Principles List.
Katie was inspired by a nine-year-old neighborhood girl who showed up at my doorstep a few days after my husband and I had moved into our home in a small town in northern Illinois, asking if she could walk our boxer dog daily after school. She presented me with her business card, told me her fee, and provided me with references! In writing A Proof of Love, I wanted to imbue my protagonist, Katie, with the same grit, determination, and values that made me smile after listening to our young neighbor’s pitch.
GENRE: Women’s Fiction
BLURB:
A fictional story with a memoir overlay as narrator Katie Blake reflects on life in small town America and the principles, influences, and big personalities she wants you to never forget.
It’s Memorial Day weekend, 2009, and the town gossips have their shorts in a twist about a mysterious newcomer who wears tie-dye, colorful headbands, clunky necklaces, and rings on every finger.“Who installs a ceiling fan on a Victorian porch?” cries Ned Boomer, Woodburg’s grumpiest man, and the town gossips concur, “She must be a hippie, witch, or maybe worse . . . a socialist.”
Hell-bent on preventing a neighborhood blow-up, precocious, nine-year-old Katie Blake launches a covert investigation to gather the truth about the enigmatic Rose. But when she discovers a decades-old secret binding her, Rose, and bad-tempered Ned Boomer, her world takes a turn.
Penning a memoir sixteen years later, Katie is forced to reconsider whether the real proof of love was in preventing a neighborhood war or finding friendship and comfort among three unlikely grief-stricken souls who should never be forgotten.
Excerpt
She gazes at that old maple tree and makes us a promise. “One day . . . I’ll write about the special people in my life so you will know them, and they will never be forgotten.”
But Gram went to heaven before her one day came, and her stories, told in her own words, are lost forever.
Fifteen years later, I’ve learned that one day’s promise is not assured. Before it’s lost . . . So, I’m seizing that one day to write about the special people in my life, so that you will know them, and they will never be forgotten. This is A Proof of Love.
Kathleen Claire Blake, Memorial Day, 2024
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
At heart, I am a storyteller who writes women’s fiction and stories of courage and discovery, showcasing the protagonist’s journey toward a more fulfilled self.
My passion is writing women’s fiction and exploring the human experience—how ordinary people tackle challenges, endure sorrow and betrayal, wrestle with doubt, and act on their aspirations to achieve flourishing lives.
My insight into the power of fiction came during a conference call in late 2017 with a group of fellow life coaches. “What would it be like to help women and men achieve a flourishing life through storytelling?” I asked them.
After that phone call, I got started answering that question. The result was my debut novel titled Blackhorse Road, a compelling story of womanhood and the power of choice, gratitude, and forgiveness, published July 21, 2020, by Coffee Cup Press, followed by Flower Girl (2022), Flawless Witness (2023), and now A Proof of Love (2026)
Before embracing writing fiction, I was the author of health informatics and leadership textbooks. Later, I put my leadership experience to use as a leadership coach, focusing on supporting others to fulfill their leadership and economic potential. My range of nonfiction is available on my Amazon Author Page.
Substack: https://meridajohns.substack.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MeridaJohnsAuthor
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/MeridaJohns
Website: https://www.MeridaJohnsAuthor.com
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
A randomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.