Retired elementary school librarian and author of four books for children, Janice D. Green of Hemingway has her newest books, The Creation, and Jonah: The Fearful Prophet, published in three formats by Honeycomb Adventures Press, LLC. Her Launch Month is August 2020.
Green is a Christian writer whose writing goal is to retell Biblical stories. “Our nation is suffering from a lack of Bible literacy,” Green said. “I write for children, yet the material I draw from, God’s Holy Word, is timeless and written for all ages. In retelling these stories I simplify the language to engage the children and clarify what might confuse them. Well-written stories can engage both children and those reading to them.” Green’s retelling gives more than highlights, while some parents may be surprised to make new discoveries as well. In addition to the retelling, she further encourages dialog between children and their parents with engaging discussion questions.
Green’s three-format publishing concept is multi-faceted. She continues to offer full-color picture books, but also offers more affordable coloring books and e-book formats for each title. All three formats include the link to the downloadable coloring page PDF file that can be used at home or in classroom settings. The coloring book contents are the same as the full-color picture book, except the pictures are black and white line drawings. Puzzles are also included in both printed formats. The e-books are in full color but don’t include the puzzles, except in the downloadable PDF files. “Page dimensions will always be square in Honeycomb Adventures Coloring Books so images can be readily applied to fabric for making crayon colored Bible quilt blocks,” Green said. “A link to online instructions is included,” she added, “with more information about how to make the quilt.”
Jonah: The Fearful Prophet tells the story of the prophet Jonah and how he ran from his God-given assignment. Jonah finds himself in a storm at sea, then at the bottom of the sea, and eventually rescued by a big fish that swallows him. Jonah prays while inside the fish, and is given a miraculous second chance. He obeys and with great success, delivers God’s message to the people he feared. But Jonah still isn’t happy. He has another lesson to learn. Jonah: The Fearful Prophet is illustrated by Kimberly Merritt. Green said Merritt is “… an artistically gifted pastor’s wife who has illustrated over 50 books for children.”
The Creation, presents the day-by-day Genesis account with word pictures and lively illustrations for each creation day. A message is included for parents to help them navigate through issues some Christians face in the debate between the evolutionists and the creationists. Included concepts help to understand and defend the Genesis account as it is written. The Creation, illustrated by Nancy Gordon, is a revised edition of Green’s first full-color picture book, published in 2011. Much of the text has been rewritten, and the coloring pages and puzzles will supply children with hands on learning and review.
For a list of Green’s other books, visit Honeycomb Adventures Press, LLC at www.honeycombadventures.com. Information about making Bible quilts can be found at www.biblequilts.com.
Green said she was bitten by the writing bug almost 50 years ago when she worked at the United Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tennessee. At that time, she sold a short story to one of the take-home Sunday school papers which was eventually published. Discouraged with writing on a typewriter, Green enrolled in a computer class at the local community college so she could use the computers in the lab to do her own writing as well. Eventually she bought an early PC with two floppy disk drives and no hard drive to begin writing in earnest.
Even though she has continued to maintain a working computer and continue writing since that time, Green’s writing got pushed to the side with other cares of marriage, motherhood, Bible study, hobbies, and employment.
Green confessed that she is still often distracted from writing by her other interests, such as sewing and music. She is a quilter, creates her own dress and pants patterns, and refurbishes antique sewing machines. She also takes time to work outdoors on various projects, and enjoys singing, playing her ukulele, and swimming.
Green earned a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology from MTSU in Murfreesboro, TN. Several years later she earned her Master’s in Library Science degree from USC, and has more than 20 years of experience in elementary education, mostly as a school librarian.
Green has considered taking college Bible classes, but has opted to focus on Bible reading instead. She is currently reading through the Bible the 4th time to become fully grounded in the Word which she hopes to apply to future children’s Bible books. Green is a Certified Lay Servant in the United Methodist Church, and has been actively leading Bible study in one form or another for several years.
“With God’s help, I plan to publish additional children’s Bible picture and coloring books in the future. I am re-writing my Christmas book to include more information and pictures, and hope to have it ready within a few months,” she said. “It is hard to choose which stories to write next, and financing the illustrations may slow me down. If this happens, I may continue to write stories as e-books with only one or two downloadable illustrations per story, perhaps adding more illustrations later to create paperback books like The Creation, and Jonah: The Fearful Prophet. ”
Along with other Christian authors, Green is a regular contributor as a blogger at Christian Children’s Authors, www.christianchildrensauthors.com. Green said she has a “catch-all blog … at www.janicedgreen.com with links to my other blogs to pull all these loose ends together.”
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