Let’s Chat! Author Janice Cole Hopkins

Welcome, Readers! 

I‘m tickled to introduce you to author Janice Cole Hopkins, who has penned seven historical novels and four contemporaries with just the right amount of romance. 

Janice is giving away a digital copy of her latest release, It All Started at the Masquerade, so be sure to join our conversation below!

*Congratulations to Jane Theriot, winner of this week’s drawing!

Janice Cole Hopkins’s Pre-Author Life

I grew in Appalachian culture, and 5 of my novels are set there. With a B. S. in history and an M.A. in the teaching of reading, I taught public school (mainly history and English) and wrote for magazines. I’ve traveled extensively, going to all 50 states and 40 other countries. Married to a pastor, I have a grown son and daughter and 4 grandsons. I’m interested in so many things I have a hard time listing them – arts and crafts, photography, travel, history, folk studies, drama, etc. But the driving force in my life is my Christian faith. I can use any or all of this in my writing.

A Debut for Janice Cole Hopkins

Cleared for Planting was my first published book. It is the first in the four-book Appalachian Roots series set in the North Carolina mountains in the 1800’s.

I always wanted to write a historical novel, but with all my other interests, I didn’t sit down to do so until I became my mother’s caregiver. This as an example of how God can use even bad situations for good. Writing my first novel 5 years ago and publishing my first, Cleared for Planting, 3 years ago, I haven’t stopped writing yet. I found my publisher by attending a Christian writing conference that had interviews with publishers.

Janice Cole Hopkins, a Prolific Author

After publishing the first four books with the traditional publishers and talking with other authors I enjoy (like MaryLu Tyndall and Tamara Leigh) I decided to also try indie publishing. The authors had moved from well-known publishers to totally indie publishing, mainly because it gave them much more control over the process and allowed them to earn more.

I published the next seven books with some formatting help. However, I do have another book coming out with my traditional publisher. I can actually write them faster than we publish them, so having two ways of publishing works for me. (Click to Tweet!)

Appalachian Roots Series

Living in the Appalachian Mountains in 1804 takes a strong person, and the unexpected can be lurking just around the corner. Emma has high hopes when her family moves to the North Carolina mountains. Her father appears to have finally quit drinking, and he plans to settle their family once and for all near the Linville River. Here Emma meets Edgar Moretz, an intelligent, passionate, and godly young man. Things are looking up for her, but when she is captured by a Cherokee raiding party, Emma’s problems have just begun.

Years later, Clifton has finally finished his medical training and plans to spend some time at his family’s mountain farm until he can decide his next step. He also hopes God will send him a special woman to become his wife. But when she arrives unexpectedly, he finds that the road to happiness is not always smooth. (Click to Tweet!)

The Appalachian Mountains are a beautiful place for life and love—but they can prove harsh and treacherous to the unexperienced. After the death of their father, Ivy and Leah Morgan are suddenly thrust into unpleasant, arranged marriages by their mother. Ivy, however, has other plans. Having fallen in love with Luke Moretz, Ivy is insistent upon running away to Luke’s farm in the Appalachian Mountains—far from her home and her mother’s disapproval.

Convincing her sister to come along, the Morgan girls leave town with Luke. Along the way, feelings between Ivy and Luke become strained as Ivy’s true personality and distaste for the mountains begin to show. Luke must face following his growing attraction to Leah or keeping his promise to Ivy. Meanwhile, Leah can’t help falling for all the things about Luke that her sister seems to dislike. Mixed emotions and the testing of relationships lead to dangerous and unfortunate circumstances that put any chance of future happiness at risk. Will this journey bring the sisters closer than ever, or drive them further apart than they could have ever imagined? (Click to Tweet!)

When brother must fight against brother, tragedy and terror become all-too-familiar visitors. The fate of a nation, and a family, hangs in the balance.
It’s 1862, and the Civil War has arrived at last in Appalachia. Fearing that he will be drafted by the Confederacy, Luke Moretz leaves his farm and his wife, Leah, behind to join the Union. Although he loves the South, Luke can’t abide slavery. However, Luke’s brother-in-law and best friend, Lawrence, disagrees and will fight for the Confederacy. How can Luke keep his faith when faced with insurmountable obstacles and horrendous conditions amidst the turmoil of war?

Meanwhile, at their mountain farm, Leah is weighed down with the responsibility of now taking care of the family. Scavengers, raiders, and bushwhackers are always a threat in the Appalachians, but deserters and slave catchers pose new dangers. Hawk, the Cherokee brave who has long loved Emma, helps ease Leah’s burdens, but nothing can soothe her heartache. Plagued by fears of a husband lost to war, she knows she must lean on God now more than ever, but hope begins to run scarce in these difficult times. (Click to Tweet!)

Love is God’s greatest gift, and sometimes what you’re looking for has been yours all along. When her Aunt Ivy invites Rachel Moretz to come to the family’s Stanly County farm, she jumps at the chance. Though Rachel loves her parents’ mountain farm, she feels isolated there. There are no other teenagers at home, and at sixteen she’d like to finally have some friends her age. She barely remembers her half-cousin, Patrick, though he seems to have intriguing memories of her.

Patrick soon becomes Rachel’s best friend, helping her navigate many uncertainties while introducing her to Stanly County society. The trip down the mountain will bring unexpected friendships, suitors, and dangers. Rachel will have to rely on family for support as she faces unexpected trials and prejudices. Through her circumstances, Rachel must come to realize that the best plan for her life is God’s plan, and that forgiveness comes in many forms. In Transplanted to Red Clay, the final book in the Appalachian Roots series, the Moretz family’s story comes full circle in love. (Click to Tweet!) 

Other Books by Janice Cole Hopkins

When Winter Is Past
With Summer’s Songs

The Farmers Trilogy:

Promise
Peace
Pardon

Mountain Mishap

It All Started at the Masquerade

What’s Up With Janice Cole Hopkins Currently?

I always have writing projects underway and usually in at least two stages – one that’s an unfinished first draft and one that I’m editing. Once I wrote a 101,000-word manuscript (which the editor had me cut to 89,000 words) in three weeks. That’s my record and I doubt if I will break it.

I plan to publish Deceptive Matters, which is a romantic mystery, next. It’s been through the editing process, but I’ll read through it one more time before I publish.

After that, I’m thinking about publishing On the Road to Jericho, my first Christian non-fiction. It’s already written, but I’m still working on getting it to read as smoothly as I want. Besides these, I have 7 manuscripts finished and 8 ideas for others rolling around in my head. I live with characters for a long time, getting to know them and the setting well, before I start writing.

My main goal in writing is to glorify God. In accordance with that, all my profits from the books go to a scholarship for missionary children. (Click to Tweet!)

How to Contact Janice Cole Hopkins

Web page/blog

Email: janicecolehopkins@gmail.com

Twitter: @J_C_Hopkins

Facebook:  (Please like this author’s page)

How to Purchase Books by Janice Cole Hopkins

All book stores can order them for you.

Or you may order from Amazon. 

~ ~ ~

Lord, what a privilege to write for You and to share an author such as Janice with readers. You planted Janice in Appalachian soil even before she was born, and now she’s producing fruit for Your glory in that same rich soil. We thank You for her passion for You, and we pray You’ll bless every word she writes for You.
~ For Jesus’ sake

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