Monday, January 9, 2017

Interview with Jean Williams and #giveaway!!!

Today we welcome Jean Williams to my blog. Jean is graciously offering a copy of her book God's Mercies After Suicide to one commenter. Be sure to include contact information! 

Jean, Where did you grow up and attend school? Are there any other authors in your family?

I grew up and attended school in the tiny community of Selma in Southern Oregon. To my knowledge there are no other authors in my family or extended family.

How did you get started writing? How old were you? What made you want to start? What did you enjoy reading as a child?

To get started in writing, I checked out a stack of books from the library and learned the craft of writing when I was 40 years old. I started writing when I was in a debilitating car accident and couldn’t move very well. It was a secret dream of mind to become an author, and I was bored from sitting around and so I wrote. As a child I enjoyed reading the Nancy Drew Mysteries.

How and when did you and your husband meet? Was it love at first sight? What does he think about your being an author?

I met my husband through his cousin, when his cousin married my aunt. I was eleven years old. It was not love at first sight, because he acted like a snob. We married a few weeks before my seventeenth birthday. My husband had to drive me to the library and helped to carry my books if I was going to learn about writing. So yes, he has supported my work as an author from the very beginning, over twenty years ago.

 How old are your children? Do they read your books? Have any of them got the writing bug, as well? 

My children are ages 45, 44, and my youngest passed away at age 25 by suicide almost 13 years ago. My daughter, the oldest, reads my books but none of my children write themselves.

How do you research the communities and people you write about? Do you find yourself having to do a lot of research?

I research by talking to people, googling on the Internet, and reading books. I don’t do a whole lot of research, though.

Which is your favorite book? Do you have a character in your books you identify with the most?

My favorite book so far is my current work-in-progress, ROAD TRIP OF DELUSION, a humorous YA about three sisters and their great-granny on a road trip together. This book releases April 2017. I do indentify the most with my character ClaireLee in Just Claire, my first book and an upper middle grade novel. Just Claire came out as an e-book January 2016. Just Claire will release in paperback within the next two months by Clean Reads publishing.

God’s Mercies after Suicide

Blurb: What if your child shot himself while you were in the next room? What if you held him as his heart beat for the last time? What if Satan whispered in your ear, “Now where is your God?” Find out how Jean Ann Williams reached out with her spirit and mind to the one true Father. Discover how the Lord God answered her, and walked alongside her in the most difficult grieving journey of her life.

Available at:





10 comments:

Jean Ann Williams said...

Thank you so much for hosting me here on your blog, Laura. Your blog is bright and inviting! God bless you. Jean Ann

Marilyn R. said...

Thank you for the interview with Jean Ann Williams. God's Mericies after Suicide sounds like a perfect book for survivors from losing someone to suicide. I have worked with individuals who's lives were impacted by suicide abd seen first hand the heartache and questions it creates. Hugs, Jean Ann for sharing your heart. God bless you and Laura.
marilynridgway78[at]gmail[dot]com

Jean Ann Williams said...

Hi Marilyn! It's heart warming to read about someone like you who works with people who've suffered suicide loss. It's a hard job, no doubt, but your heart carries you through. Thank you for commenting! All the best. Jean Ann

lollipops said...

entering for Christy Miller

Unknown said...


This sounds like a book that should be read by those in Christian Counseling, Ministry or those with a heart for others in need of compassion as well as those who have experienced the suicide of a loved one. I am in the last category.

May God bless you for writing this book and being a blessing to others.

Adam's mom said...

Thank you for sharing.
Erica Ganson
Ericaganson@gmail.com

Jean Ann Williams said...

Unknown, thank you for commenting. I'm always sad when someone tells me they have lost a loved one to suicide. And, I hope God is your strength and your courage as He has been for me in my life. God bless you, dear one. Jean Ann

Jean Ann Williams said...

Thank you for reading this post, Adam's mom, and God bless you! Jean Ann

lollipops said...

Congratulations, Erica!

beerangi.blogspot.com said...

Suicide can't be the end to life! On a re-think of the problems, a solution will emerge as a beginning of a new life as the emergence of Hollywood Studios would prove. God created us, for He knows we can live successfully on this Planet. If God helps us, it is because we have faith in Him. If He does not, it is because He has faith in us (in our capabilities)! This is what I repeat while working with people with suicidal tendencies, as a motivational speaker.

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