Blog Archives
Help This World Be A Really Cool Place
All People Are Beautiful celebrates diversity and highlights the beauty of our differences. Why was this an important book for you to write?
I truly believe diversity is reality and that children need to know that our differences are what unite us, not divide us. I think this message is so important for kids to be exposed to until it becomes unconsciously integrated — until it becomes a truth they know deep down! I truly feel the conversation of diversity never gets old and can never be talked about too early. I feel our differences help this world be a really cool place to both live and love.
The art in this book is delightful and beautiful. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Cha Consul?
My partnership with Cha was kismet. Cha is an absolutely phenomenal illustrator. By the time we connected, I already had in my mind what I thought the illustrations would look like. Cha took my vision, added her creative flare and gave my words a face.
It was important to me that readers got to see bright colors, different skin tones, features, and faces of children from all over the world in this book. Cha helped me achieve that goal and I’m grateful. It was great to work with her because she loves diversity just as much as I do.
Interestingly enough, All People Are Beautiful was the first children’s book she ever illustrated, so I feel very special.
Because of COVID, locations, and our time difference, we did all the collaboration for All People Are Beautiful virtually from opposite sides of the world. Cha is based in the Philippines and I am based just outside Nashville, Tennessee, so there were lots of virtual video calls to make sure we aligned on the presentation.
I am forever grateful for her artistry and I am looking forward to working together again in the near future!
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your book?
I want readers to take away that everyone is beautiful regardless of what you look like, where you’re from, your culture, your hobbies, or anything else that makes you different. I want readers to know we like different things and that’s OK. Our differences are what unite us, not divide us. I want kids to know that it’s cool to talk about our differences in fun and interactive ways.
Do you plan to write more children’s book on this or other topics?
So I’m a true ENFP and a Creative, so I’m always on the go! I’ve actually recently finished writing a few new stories.
I’ve written a really cool story about a group of animal friends that decide to switch places for a day and realize it’s no fun being someone else. This is definitely another diversity themed book. I’ve also written another book about beautiful rainbows and the things the colors remind us of.
Both are books for early readers so I’m looking forward to sharing these with children everywhere.
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Sisters and the Plight With Boys
Destiny Love Jones Vol 1 follows sisters through two different time periods that face similar challenges with society and dating. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
Great question, thanks for asking. The story of Destiny Love Jones Vol.1 Sisters and the Plight with Boys actually derived from a novel I had previously written which was a romantic satire. Upon completing that original book, my thinking evolved as I began to understand that there were more to women’s lives than romance (not saying that romance isn’t important, because it is), but I wanted to explore additional facets of being a female. I also loved the main characters from that original book and knew that I wanted to explore these complex characters more. Thus leading to my latest novel Destiny Love Jones Vol.1 Sisters and the Plight with Boys. I wanted to dive into the characters’ history so readers can have a better understanding of cultural ideology, generational trauma, and the evolving and sometimes stagnant issues in society that girls and women of colour face throughout generations. I also wanted keep the essence of the original book so there are quirky and entertaining moments as well! I find that if readers can understand where a family and people are coming from, they can understand, empathize and even relate to their circumstance. I also felt that by comparing the past to the present in the story, readers can clearly see that although the times and society have changed, one can ironically question, have the times really changed or is it just systematically cloaked?
Your characters were enjoyable to follow and interesting. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I have a natural ability to empathize with people; it’s a natural trait I’ve always had since I was a small child. Being a fictional writer, it’s easy for me to thoroughly develop a character because I can walk in their shoes. I can see their point of view when no one else around them can fully see or understand. I can do this from the most lovable character to the most grotesque. I believe that by having empathy as a writer, I can develop strong, well throughout, believable characters that are uniquely themselves (even the times when they pretend not to be themselves)!
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
There were numerous themes I included in this narrative because they are all important to mention. But if I were to focus on a few critical ones, I would say the issues of friendship/sisterhood, race, patriarchy, classism, colorism, mental health, relationships (both romantic and platonic), and just being a teen in high school and all of it’s dramas. I believe that all (or most) of these issues intersect in our lives at one point or the other and bringing them to the forefront will hopefully promote healthy duologues and explore ways to address some of these issues in real life.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Happy to say that Destiny Love Jones Vol. Sisters and the Plight with Boys is part one of a seven-series novel collection. With this well throughout series, readers will be able to follow these main characters throughout their life’s journey, mainly into adulthood, and all the adventures, obstacles and twist that will come their way. Volume 2 is due out Spring of 2022 and will be available for pre-order this fall.
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Pearl, Augustine, and Holly are black teens forced to live in the reality of war, segregation, classism, and patriarchy; however, their faith in sisterhood and bond of friendship strengthens and unites them. As they expand their independence as young women, forging their own paths and finding intimate relationships, the predicaments with the men in their lives only seem to exacerbate their situation, and the strength of their friendship and all things they hold sacred is tested to the cusp of utter devastation.
With an impish twist of irony, forward forty years later in the late ’90s, and as fate had once aligned Pearl, Augustine, and Holly’s sisterly bond, so it does with Destiny and her friends Olivia and Tiffany. Although society has progressed since the ’50s, being a black teen girl in modern times continues to present its unique challenges. If the pressures of their fractured home lives and the politics of high school aren’t stressful enough, the trio’s troubles only heighten as they strive to discover themselves, find love, and gain acceptance by those who surround them. Boys of all kinds in the mix only seem to intensify matters as their delicate friendship is continuously challenged beyond their wildest imaginations. Will their sisterly bond be fortified among adversity, or will they be pulled apart like the women of two generations before them?
To Be A Spec Ops Warrior
Serpents Underfoot finds JD Cordell facing a terrorist group that plans to detonate nukes on US soil. What were some sources that informed this novel’s development?
This story grew out of thoughts I have had about what it would be like to be a Spec Ops warrior. I served in the military and spent most of my time overseas. I served in the Army infantry, and when I enlisted, I scored high enough on the ASVAB test to get Ranger School in my contract. Unfortunately, when they discovered I had a slight speech impediment, they would not send me to Ranger School. There were going to let me out because they couldn’t honor their end of the deal, but I asked to stay. Hell, I could still shoot pretty darn well. So, I guess it is, at least in part, a fantasy about what might have been.
Combine that with a lifetime study of martial arts, the political climate at the time, my interest in Asian culture, and you have the birth of this story.
The rest is simply a bunch of “what if” questions. For instance, what if a soldier in Vietnam married a Vietnamese girl who saved his life? What if their son became a Navy SEAL, and what if his team uncovered a major terrorist plot? What if it involved high-ranking US government officials? You get the idea …
JD Cordell is essentially a composite of several people I have known and respected. While I was a bit too young to serve in Vietnam, I was old enough to have several good friends who did. One friend, in particular, served as a medic on long-range reconnaissance patrols in the region the first few chapters of Serpents Underfoot is set in. I also know a couple of former Navy SEALS, one of which recently passed away. He was actually an Underwater Demolition Team member and served in the Mekong Delta region during the Vietnam War. The UDT teams were essentially forerunners of the Navy SEALs.
What were some challenges you set for yourself as a writer with this book?
I guess you could say the writing challenges were pretty extensive, and they essentially set themselves. Serpents Underfoot was my first serious attempt at a book. I am still amazed that I finished it, published it, and have gotten some pretty rave reviews, including Literary Titan’s excellent review and many great reader reviews. It even got a good review from Kirkus.
And I did make a lot of newbie mistakes. It was self-edited, which I learned right away is not a good idea. I used an editor, Beth Kallman Werner, for my second book, Montagnard. She was a great help and worth the investment. But for Serpents Underfoot, there were several frantic re-edits and uploads of the book’s interior as readers pointed out problems or typos to me. I knew nothing about launching a book release or marketing. I mean, in reality, writing it was probably the easy part. It has even gone through four different cover revisions.
All that being said, I wouldn’t trade anything for the experience. I grew so much as an author during that process. We learn so much more from our mistakes than our successes.
What draws you to the military action-thriller genre?
It is a genre I have always enjoyed reading. I like action thrillers of all kinds and have read a great deal by authors like Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, W.E.B. Griffin, Ken Follett, Greg Iles, Vince Flynn, and Ian Fleming, to name just a few.
I was also a huge Louis L’Amour western fan, so I guess this kind of thing comes naturally. I like stories where despite terrible odds, the good guys win. Louis L’Amour had a great quote I’ve always loved, “There’s no stopping a man who knows he’s in the right and keeps a-coming.” I think JD Cordell personifies that quote.
And I also love reading military history, especially World War II and the Vietnam War. As I mentioned, I have had several friends over the years who were Vietnam Veterans, and I was appalled by how this country treated them on their return to the US. So, I like to write stories that cast American military members in a positive light; who stand on principle and won’t back down.
Serpents Underfoot is the first book in The JD Cordell Action Series. What can readers expect in book two?
Book two, titled Montagnard, is already out. I sort of did this “review thing” out of order. Montagnard also received a 5-Star review from Literary Titan and even won your Literary Titan Gold Book Award for August 2020. I was shocked but very thrilled. I have to give a lot of credit for that to my editor. Beth told me it was good and that I should submit it for review. It was that success that prompted me to submit Serpents Underfoot as well.
In Montagnard, JD Cordell and a few buddies try to rescue his mother, who disappears into Vietnam after traveling there to find her adopted brother. Dish, of course, played a significant role in Serpents Underfoot. JD’s mother, Mai, inadvertently falls victim to an old feud between her adopted brother and a former Viet Cong colonel. During the rescue mission, JD also receives assistance from a half-Thai, half-American nightclub owner, a great character full of surprises.
I am currently working on book three, titled Reciprocity. This tale picks up where Montagnard leaves off. In Reciprocity, JD finds himself drawn into a deadly conflict with a criminal gang trafficking young women forced into lives of prostitution. In this case, two young women you meet in Montagnard. It is a dark topic but, sadly, all too relevant in today’s world. I hope this book, while fiction, will help bring this topic to more people’s attention.
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JD Cordell believes in freedom, honor, and hard work. The son of a Vietnam veteran and his Vietnamese wife, the Navy SEAL is proud to serve as SEAL Team 5’s K9 handler with his dog Ajax. But when his team uncovers a deadly terrorist plot in Afghanistan, he never expected a cover-up that could reach as high as the White House itself.
As JD gets drawn in deeper, he unmasks a mastermind hell bent on detonating nukes on U.S. soil. When an assassin working for the terrorist strikes close to home, JD’s fight to save America gets personal.
Can JD protect the American way of life, or will sadistic terrorists turn America into a nuclear wasteland?
Serpents Underfoot is the first novel in a nail-biting military thriller series. If you like patriotic heroes, fanatical conspiracies, and action-packed adventure, then you’ll love D.C. Gilbert’s tale of SEAL action and suspense.
A President in Waiting
I enjoyed how Victoria Pierce’s character evolved throughout the story. What were some driving ideals behind her character’s development?
Vera/Victoria’s character development were important in many respects primarily to make her believable so as to deliver to the reader the theme below (described below) so the reader would ask, “So this could actually happen?”
The USA is primed for the election of a woman president who will no doubt be a strong woman. What I envisioned years ago with Victoria has now actually happened with Kamala Harris who does not have a clandestine past but could very well succeed to either the president or acting president under the 25th amendment. I had many strong women in my family that informed Victoria’s character.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The themes that were important to me (besides the 25th Amendment) are the role the press plays in politics under the 2nd amendment. Under the constitutional provision regarding the Electoral College, originally the Vice President was the one who finished second on the balloting. Now the vice president is selected by the party’s candidate. There is considerably more vetting that goes on today than before so the likelihood of selecting a VP that has a clandestine past is now more remote. But, nevertheless, remains a concern as we know that the vice president is really a president in waiting.
My concern about the 25th amendment is the ambiguity surrounding how to proceed against an acting president that needs to be removed from office for wrongdoing or becomes incompetent. There is not a high probability this may occur but the book explores that possibility. There are other themes that will be explored in the sequel such as utilizing the president’s war powers, utilizing prior restraint of the press when subject to impeachment, the role of the press and potential military intervention.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Besides the sequel to MVP (at this point only in outline), I am working on a manuscript concerning the Gospel of John….to be entitled, Reading Between the Lines of the Gospel of Saint John. I am not a theologian so the concentration is dealing with what Christ faced in the real world as fully human, and his human response to those events. But the work is anchored in the actual verbatim scriptural passages that describe the events according to John’s Gospel. I am over half way through the first draft.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
Some of Her Greatest Difficulties
Perseverance: How It All Began follows a woman caught between two men that challenge her in more ways than one. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I enjoyed the challenge of laying out a story where love was not an easy process for the main character. The thing that inspired me the most in setting up this story was using Cadence’s circumstances to help peal back the layers of her character. That inspiration really came from my own experiences in getting to know other individuals. There is so much depth to be found in other people and I wanted to write a character that I could explore that process with.
Cadence is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
I wanted Cadence to be exceptionally honest, loyal, and display a deep rooted concern for others. I wanted her to be a character that had a natural inclination toward living with integrity, but I didn’t want to make any of these attributes easy for Cadence to choose consistently. One of the beautiful things about Cadence is the depth of her care for others, but it is also one of the things about her that makes her run into some of her greatest difficulties.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I really wanted to explore the consequences of pain and how it manifests in life in ways that are not always easy to identify. I also wanted to highlight how significant a single choice can be. While both of those concepts were important for me to explore, I wanted to lay out the intricacies of love and what it looks like to overcome the things that can hold a person back from taking their next step forward.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
After publishing Perseverance: How It All Began, I then published Perseverance: Rise Of The Trials. I am now putting the final touches on Perseverance: Descension To Hell, which will be released September 3rd, 2021.
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Loving him was my secret. Mine alone. I never let anyone come remotely close to accessing that part of my heart. Not even myself, except on rare occasions. Trystan was simultaneously the source of my greatest love and the source of my greatest heartache. He never knew how I felt about him. I’d never told him how deeply and profoundly in love with him I was…and still am. He had always considered me a friend so that was the position in his life that I desperately struggled to maintain. I couldn’t let him know, but I also couldn’t let him go.
I tried to put Trystan in my past. To some degree, I was able to achieve just that. He lived so far away and only came back to visit on occasion. But every time he returned, it was like reigniting a smoldering inferno within me.
Then I met Blake.
Arguably the most eligible man in Hollywood. Wait, did I say Hollywood? I meant the world. He is the epitome of what every female dreams about. Falling in love with Blake was seamless. Trystan was rarely around and after spending years feeling like I was suffocating, being with Blake was like breathing my first breath of fresh air. It was a much needed reprieve for a wounded and tattered heart like mine.
Then an ordinary trip leads to extraordinary events. Extreme circumstances usher in changes in me and in my life that I could never have dreamed were possible. And a love I thought was beyond my reach is suddenly right within my grasp.
Past love collides with future love and there is nothing I can do to escape either.
Follow Cadence as she begins her travel into the unknown.
Paint Pictures With Words
Natyre Boy is a vivid collection of thought-provoking poetry on nature. What inspires you to write a piece of poetry?
It’s usually something I’ve experienced, been part of or seen which provides that wee creative spark of inspiration. I guess to some extent I’m an observer of life in all its forms and I try to capture those fleeting and precious moments as best I can in poetry.
It’s really important to me to convey both the visual scene and the feelings experienced in those moments too, to make them as near as I can to a shared experience with the reader. I always hope I can paint pictures with words. That probably sounds pretty pretentious, but it’s really not meant be, more of a mission statement than anything else.
My favorite poem from the collection is ‘Autumn Seas’. Do you have a favorite poem in this collection?
I do, I have a couple. The poem/ rhyme which makes me smile the most is ‘Entomology – Lesson 1’. It was such fun to write, and captures a fair bit over its eight short lines.
The other favourite is ‘Revelry.’ It is both very recent, so recent in fact it was a stop the press moment, and it was an incredibly spontaneous response to a photograph a friend posted on social media. The photo appeared and around thirty seconds later the poem popped. I love it when that kind of thing happens, the real spontaneous stuff, you know?
What are some poetic devices that you like using?
That’s a really interesting question. I don’t consciously set out to use any of the poetic devices, they just kind of invite themselves in depending on a poem’s topic. Rhythm, rhyme, metaphors and a bit of alliteration, I do use others but those would be the main ones. The other thing I try to do, which comes from my musical background I guess, is I consider how a piece would be performed. For example, would a series of words on a single line of poetry be delivered in one continuous stream or would it be split with pauses between words to accentuate, or create dramatic effect. So I have that strand in the back of my mind, sometimes I ‘hear’ the poems more as a performed lyric if that makes sense.
Do you plan to write and publish more works of poetry?
Yes, thanks for asking. There’s a third volume in this collection, also being published by the lovely folks at 8N Publishing with a planned release in Fall 2022. It’s progressing well, I’m happy to say. Like ‘Noir [or When The Night Comes]’ and ‘Natyre Boy’, there is a core theme that runs throughout this third volume and once more the cover has been created by Jane Cornwell so the three volumes are a suite as it were.
I’m also working on a short novel, which was unexpected, so we shall see where that goes in due course.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
chilling winds to
the warmth of
summer’s mellow breeze
the natural world can
in time, heal all
it sees.
Majestic and inspiring
with colours that astound
take heed of these moments
and the beauty all around.
Decades of Studying Dogmatism
Thief of Reason follows a college student in a dysfunctional family who seeks counseling which sets the stage for starkly contrasting views. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
As far as I can tell, the perilous influence of dogmatism, particularly in politics and religion, isn’t going away anytime soon. That awareness plus three decades of studying dogmatism (the research focus for my M.Sc. thesis and Ph.D. dissertation), motivated my first nonfiction book, What’s So Wrong with Being Absolutely Right: The Dangerous Nature of Dogmatic Belief (Prometheus Books, NY), which was written for a niche market of psychology professors. During the several talks that followed, I was delighted by my academic audiences’ engaged fascination wth the topic, especially during the Q&A. Their response motivated my attempt to reach a broader audience with a fictionalized account of dogmatism. Because Canada has its share of closed-minded extremists, I wanted to alert Canadians to the dangers of this personality trait, but I confess that Donald Trump’s MAGA followers ignited a timely sense of urgency for Thief of Reason, particularly as I watched the divisive, polarized debates and recrudescence of racism throughout the four years of Trump’s administration. (Please excuse my blatant partisanship here, but my parents were born and raised in the USA so I have American relatives who are increasingly grateful for their mental tranquility now that Trump is out of office.)
Although Rick, the bright, 28-year old male protagonist, was deeply injured by his father’s authoritarian, dogmatic beliefs and behaviours, he yearned for personal insight and growth—a drive intensified by Liv, the new love of his life. Unlike many men in similar circumstances, he was not drawn to dogmatic, reactionary groups of angry protestors looking for a powerful leader who could provide an outlet for their frustration, and group identity that assuages alienation. I also wanted to show the impact Rick’s mother’s and sister’s steadfast love and support had on him, and Dorothy’s (the mother) questioning of her submissiveness to her husband and the Catholic church portrays a skepticism and open-mindedness that facilitated Rick’s gradual, more expansive understanding of his father.
What were some ideas that were important for you to personify in your characters?
Above all, I hope readers will recognize the importance of trying to open-mindedly understand others before judging them, as difficult as that often is. I also hoped to illustrate dogmatic characters’ lack of conversation skills and provide suggestions that readers might want to consider in their own conversations, especially when discussing cherished beliefs they defensively and emotionally protect—a reaction that is fairly common even among non-dogmatic people. Finally, I hope readers will consider monitoring the habitual use of extreme words that may accompany their beliefs and ongoing experiences. Are they able to tolerate ambiguity without becoming unduly anxious? What would it take for them to change their mind about beliefs they fervently uphold? How have their childhood experiences shaped their personality traits, and how malleable are those traits?
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Themes of: 1) genuine, openminded reasoning in contrast to closed-minded certainty, 2) respect for self and others, 3) self-awareness, 4) a generosity of understanding imperfections and weaknesses in one’s self and others, 5) authentic relationships, 6) the need to have, or appear to have, certain answers to life’s most difficult questions, 7) the normal need for social connection, dignity, and personal safety.
At times I thought it would be easier to scale Mt. Everest over the noon hour than personify so many themes in a literary style that didn’t sound preachy or self-righteous.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I’m considering authoring an edited book in which chapters focus on dogmatism in politics, economics, religion, science, education, business, marriage and the family, and perhaps art (poetry, music, and literature, among others). I’ll write the introduction, which briefly outlines the features of dogmatism, and contributing authors can apply these features to their own understanding and experiences in those domains.
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Thief of Reason opens with a gripping scene of rising tension during a family dinner conversation. Polarized viewpoints spark a heated argument between an intolerant, dogmatic father and his son, Rick, a bright, twenty-eight-year-old university student who’s determined to understand his fractured relationship with his father and capture the heart of his new love-a political neophyte who, unlike himself, is devoutly religious.
With a lively injection of humour, Johnson skillfully contrasts closed-minded characters with those who are more open-minded, respectful, and inclusive-those who get second dinner invitations. Readers will think of people they’ve met or are related to, partners they’ve loved and left, bosses and coworkers they’ve endured, or candidates they’ve unwittingly voted for.
Compelling, insightful, and unforgettable, Thief of Reason peers through a powerful psychological lens that’s delightfully original and life-changing.
The Friendship Between Man and Dragon
The Roar of a Dragon follows a soldier who discovers a far future ruled by an ancient evil and grapples with the choice to save the past that exiled him. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
From conception to completion, this book took ten years to formulate and write. The movie Dragonheart was a major inspiration. I loved the idea of exploring the friendship between man and dragon. What I mainly struggled with in coming up with a story for the book was the antagonist. Once I came up with Sirak and the Ther-lor, the story really started to come together. As far as Aidan goes, I love a dark, brooding protagonist–a character that begins with a more happy, conventional backstory, and then something major and traumatizing happens and then they’re a completely different, darker character. I love things like that.
Aidan is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind his character’s development?
Aidan always dreamed of being a knight. In the first half of the book, he believes strongly in the ideas of honor and sacrifice, and all the other things you would expect a knight to believe in. In the second half of the book, Aidan is much more bitter and believes he’s been betrayed. Deep down, he still believes in all the ideals of a knight, but now all these other emotions are pulling him in different directions. As with most main characters, I think most authors put a lot of themselves into them, and that’s certainly true here.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Friendship was first and foremost. As I said earlier, Dragonheart was a major inspiration for this book–I loved the relationship between Bowen and Draco in that movie. I really wanted Aidan and Iskandor to have that same kind of relationship. The friendship theme is also explored in the relationship between Aidan and Derrick. They have a very different dynamic, but the same type of bond. Betrayal is another theme, of course. I think it’s fascinating how different people can deal with things like that. Closer to the end of the book, the theme is love is explored, and it goes more in depth in The Treachery of a Weasel and The Cry of a Raven.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
With The Roar of a Dragon series done (and there will be more in that world to come, so stay tuned!), my main goal is to finish the zombie apocalypse book that I’m currently working on. I made characters for my two boys in it, so it’s very important for me to finish it. The tentative title of the book is All We Have Left, though that’s likely to change since there’s already a well-known book by that name. As to when it will be available, I’m shooting for the end of 2021, maybe early 2022.
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LITERARY TITAN 