Growing up on Long Island and living
periodically in Tennessee as a youth has given her the opportunity to meet many
different types of people and experience many different lifestyles. After
moving from Long Island to settle in upstate New York with her family, she
found the support needed to pursue her writing endeavors.
When Janina is not writing, she may
be marching for women’s rights, kayaking, camping, drumming, or dancing around
the fire.
With her two children grown, she and
her husband, David, share their 110-year-old Mohawk Valley farm house homestead
with a few resident spirits and a very squawky murder of crows.
Beverley: Which genre or genres do you
write or prefer to write? And why?
Janina: Contemporary romance is my most recent focus as my
publisher says I’m good at it! I have a time travel series I plan to pick back
up when the Earth and Sky series is finished. I recently read someone’s tagline
as “Joyfully Jumping Genres.” I wish I’d thought of that, as that’s what I’d
like to do, but I was told a few years back that writers should stick with one
genre when first starting out.
Beverley: Who influenced you the
most in deciding to become a writer?
Janina: I would have to say my
Uncle Anthony influenced me the most in my writing journey, although he doesn’t
write romance. He writes mystery thriller types of stories. My first writing
endeavors began with poetry, which he also inspired, and it sort of grew from
there.
Beverley: What
gets your creative juices flowing?
Janina: A
hot cuppa Lady Grey tea, the early morning sun filtering through the trees, and
my earbuds piping whatever music is associated with the project I’m working on
is how I get my creative juices flowing. For TEN BUCKS AND A WISH it was
anything Fleetwood Mac. For LOVE IN THE FOREST it has been Elton John’s Captain
Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (especially the songs Writing
and Bitter Fingers). For
Book Two of the series, LIFE IS FOR LIVING, it was anything by Coldplay. The
third book in the series, currently untitled, it’s Grateful Dead.
Beverley: Do
you have a favorite cartoon character? Why?
Janina: At
the moment, my favorite animated series character would have to be a toss
between She-Ra and Katra, from the She-Ra: Princesses of Power series. Both are
very strong young women who come from a childhood filled with trauma. Katra is
affected in a negative way, but I’m hoping her character arc will bring her
peace. The other, She-Ra, struggles to correct the wrongs of her world, and
hasn’t quite grasped her own power, but she’s getting there. It’s an amazing
series with tons of great characters, and a message of inclusivity and
empowerment for all, but especially the LGBTQ community and women.
Beverley: Who
would you love most to meet 'in person' and why?
Janina: Stevie
Nicks, from Fleetwood Mac, and Elton John would be two people I would most love
to meet in person. Growing up is rough, and I had my fair share of teen angst.
Their music gave me a place to escape to, and hope that in the end everything
would turn out all right. And it has. I would like to thank them for giving me
a place to hide and to heal when things got overwhelming.
Beverley: If
you had an unexpected free day what would you do with it?
Janina: If
I had an unexpected free day handed to me I would write, of course. Guilt free,
focused, and unabashedly imagination-driven prose would stream from my
fingertips. Or I’d get distracted and clean the house. Those two To-Do’s are
always at the top of my list.
Beverley: What
are you working on now?
Janina: I’m
currently working on marketing LOVE IN THE FOREST, which was released on June
2, by Soul Mate Publishing. When I need a break from that, I’ve been wrapping
up my final read-through of LIFE IS FOR LIVING before I send it off to Soul
Mate. These are Books One and Two in the Earth and Sky series, set in the
Adirondack Mountains, and are very different from my first romance published
with SMP, TEN BUCKS AND A WISH, a Long Island based contemporary romance.
Blurb for LOVE IN THE FOREST:
Step into the mystical and magical forests of Upstate New
York, where Earth and Sky camp photographer Brooke Meadows has taken refuge
from the demons of her past as she uses her ability to communicate with the
dead to heal loved ones left behind.
Unable to cope with the loss of his wife and daughters three
years prior, Josh Quinn, CEO of the number one dating site Quirkyflirt.com, is
ordered by his board president to take a break from his Big Apple Headquarters.
He finds himself at Earth and Sky Retreats, where confronting his grief has led
him to experience a life-altering transformation and re-evaluation of reality.
Will Josh leave behind his fast-paced, high society life in
the concrete mountains of New York City, for the magical, bewitching world
Brooke reveals to him in the foothills of the Adirondacks?
Will Brooke acknowledge and accept
her own journey of transformation and healing as she and Josh explore the
winding paths and summits that lead them to find love in the forest?
Excerpt
from LOVE IN THE FOREST
“See?
I told you.” Brooke laughed as they ended a very fast-tempoed rhythm beat out
on two djembes they had selected from the music closet in the rec room.
“You’re
good. I never would have thought I could do this.” Josh stared at his hands
resting on the drum head.
“You
have to trust me. Trust yourself. Trust the drum. And trust your heart.” She
stared at him, suddenly uncomfortable as his gaze turned to her lips while she
spoke. Even after she stopped talking, his eyes never moved. “It’s what I tell
all the kids I teach when they’re here. Trust your heart. It’s good advice.”
Trying to explain herself only made it worse.
As
she babbled on, Josh offered a lopsided grin. “Uh-huh. I see.”
“Yeah,
well. I don’t think you do.” The flush of her cheeks was spreading to the rest
of her body.
“Thank
you.” Josh put down his drum and pocketed the sunglasses he had placed on the
seat beside him. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, sharing
her personal space as he stared into her eyes.
“For?”
Her breath caught as she noted, being this close, that his baby blues might
actually be baby teals, something she’d never noticed before now.
She
scooted her metal folding chair backwards, then beelined to the storage
shelves. Pausing for a second, she shook her head to clear the crazy thought
he’d been about to kiss her. Her drum made a solid thud as she set it on the
shelf. After finding the nearest window and opening it, she scanned the wall
for the overhead light switch by the door and headed in that direction. The
room had darkened considerably as another storm blew in from the southeast.
“Teaching
me how to drum. Reminding me what it’s like to feel again. I haven’t felt
anything in a long time.” He rose from the folding chair and carried his drum
to the shelf Brooke had placed her drum on. After setting the djembe next to
Brooke’s, he joined her by the door.
She
watched his every move; the graceful way he unfolded himself from the chair;
the casual yet commanding way he sauntered across the rec room; to the way he
studied her face, his eyes settling on her lips as he halted by her side.
Her
heart pounded wildly and her breathing lost its normal flow as he reached for
the wall switch and shut the lights so they stood in the shadows once more.
“Thank you. For teaching me how to drum,” he said, his voice barely audible.
“You’re
welcome,” she said in a breathless whisper. She cleared her throat and
continued. “It’s getting dark. Storm’s blowin’ in.” Brooke’s voice cracked and
she swallowed thickly. “We should go.”
“We
should, shouldn’t we?” His words came softly, cloaked in a husky timber.
“Yes.”
She answered too quickly as he took another step closer.
He
had a regal profile and in the shadows his silhouette appeared as though an
artist had traced him, a soliloquy of perfection. Her legs grew wobbly as he
filled her personal space with a velvety soft reality she’d not known in an
awfully long time. He was so close she picked up his scent, like a heady
incense. He smelled of fresh air, and rain . . . and man.
A
rumble of thunder rolled around the mountains, and the lunch bell rang out in
the distance, far off and faint. His eyes were warm and inviting. He smelled so
good.
“Brooke?”
Reality
returned with the sound of her name. She blinked and noticed he was studying
her with an intensity that turned her insides to melted butter. His dimples cut
deep and his teal blues were bright with amusement.
“Uh.
Yeah?” She practically grunted, unable to speak.
“Lunch?”
A corner of his mouth turned up on one side ever so slightly. “Unless you
prefer to stay here in the darkness.”
At
first, she thought he was mocking her, but his energy didn’t seem chiding at
all.
“We
better get going,” Brooke said, leading the way by putting as much distance
between them as possible, without waiting for him to follow.
BUY
LINKS for LOVE IN THE
FOREST:
Soul
Mate Publishing soulmatepublishing.com/love-in-the-forest/
Amazon:
amazon.com/gp/product/B09233R53Q
SOCIAL
MEDIA LINKS
Website: www.janinagrey.com
Facebook: facebook.com/janinagrey
Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/18967836.Janina_Grey
Instagram: @janinagreyauthor
Twitter: @janina_grey
Bookbub.com: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/janina-grey
