Spotlight Saturday: Author Interview with Janine Rosche

Welcome, Readers! I am beyond thrilled to introduce today’s Saturday Spotlight author, Janine Rosche! Janine writes rustic contemporary romance that will inspire you to go on a cross-country road trip (or at least visit Montana!). Stay tuned for info on a giveaway at the end of this interview.

You’re always posting fun content on your social media about celebrities and pop culture. I’m curious to know, if you could compare your latest novel to a tv show, what would you choose?

Glory Falls has a very similar feel to Netflix’s Virgin River (based on the Robyn Carr novels). Both are set in rustic mountain towns where the tight-knit community causes both help and heartache to the main characters. Like Mel Monroe in Virgin River, Cecilia “Blue” Walker is on the mend following a tragedy. And like Jack Sheridan, Thomas Beck is a quiet hero struggling with PTSD and guilt. Jack and Thomas even drive the same Ford Bronco! Both stories balance the angst and romance with deeper issues to bring all sorts of emotions out! If people like that show (or those books), they may like my writing style.

I very much appreciate stories like that that delve into deeper issues. There’s so much opportunity as an author to create nuanced characters readers can really connect with. What about movies? If you could pick, which book of yours would you want adapted for the silver screen? Who would play the main characters?

Oooh. This Wandering Heart is a swoony road trip romance that travels through the Badlands, Grand Teton NP, Rapid City, West Yellowstone, Twin Falls, Lake Tahoe, Southern California, Alaska, and the Galapagos Islands. Can you imagine the cinematography?! Sam Heughan would make a great Robbie Matthews, and Emily Tennant would be perfect to play Keira Knudsen/Kat Wanderfull.

Somebody in the movie magic industry, make this happen!!! Now that we’ve chatted about your writing a little, I’m sure our readers would love to know more about you as a person. Where did you grow up, and do you use this setting in your novels?

I’ve moved 16 different times in my life and I’ve lived in eight different states, so I don’t really have a place I grew up. But of all the places I’ve been, my favorite is West Yellowstone, Montana, located on the western entrance of Yellowstone National Park. My family and I have vacationed there for years, and to me, there’s nothing better than sitting by a campfire next to the Madison River or cruising through the park and experiencing with every breath.

The town is also the location of one of the largest and most deadly earthquakes in the country (the Hebgen Lake Earthquake in 1959). The top half of a mountain slid into the Madison River Canyon, blocking the river, burying campers, and flooding the land. It has always struck me as so tragic, but when you read the accounts of the survivors, you see how the community came together to rescue those who were trapped, rebuild what was destroyed, and then memorialize the lost souls. That is a town I want to write about.

That’s an amazing story, and the type of town that readers want to read about, too. What about work? A lot of authors have a day job other than writing. Do you, and if so, do you feel like that job helps or hinders your creativity with storytelling?

I teach college courses for the University of Colorado in the field of Human Development and Family Relations. My favorite courses to teach are the ones that focus on love, marriage, and relationships. I love researching and presenting on the strength and resiliency that individuals and couples have when dealing with various real-life issues. Those issues such as depression, abuse, assault, eating disorders, adultery, suicide, and loss have all appeared in my novels and brings a certain depth and realism to each character.

And I think that’s one of the reasons your current series has resonated so much with readers. They’re looking for that hope beyond the storm of everyday life, and your books provide it. Along those lines, do you have a “life verse” from the Bible that’s significant to you? Do you find yourself exploring this theme often in your work?

My life verse is Psalm 34:3- Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. While I’ve never specifically used that verse in any of my books so far, I do feel it about my characters, as silly as it may sound. Through their stories, I get to exalt God for his grace, mercy, and unconditional love. It’s also an invitation for my readers to live lives that magnify the Lord so others might learn of his goodness.

I can’t think of a better message to put into the world than that. Janine, thanks so much for agreeing to be on the blog today. It’s been wonderful to talk with you! I know our readers will want to know where they can connect you online, so I’ll go ahead and post your social links below:

• Website: http://www.JanineRosche.com
• Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/janineroscheauthor
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/janinerosche
• Author Newsletter Link: http://janinerosche.com/the-love-wander-read-journal/
• Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/janine-rosche
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/janinerosche
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/janinerosche

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Janine’s current release is Glory Falls, the third book in the Madison River Romance series, and she has kindly offered to give away ONE SIGNED PRINT COPY to a US resident. Leave a comment below before 8 am CST on Monday, January 25 for a chance to win!

Two people scarred by past trauma have a chance to write a new chapter in their lives, overcome loss, and find love in the third entry in the Madison River Romance series.

Screenwriter Cecilia “Blue” Walker is victim to life’s worst plot twists. Having lost her daughter to the depths of the Madison River and her husband to the arms of another woman, she finds herself yearning for something to restore her brittle faith and once-vibrant career.

Hope arrives in the form of her childhood friend, Thomas Beck, a firefighter with a legacy of larger-than-life rescues who doesn’t see himself as a hero. Haunted by his past, Thomas only agrees to a movie adaptation of his story if Blue, his longtime crush, is the screenwriter.

However, as Blue and Thomas work together to bring his heroism to the big screen, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood threaten to shed light on secrets that could tear their fragile relationship and their lives apart.

(And if you just can’t wait to get your hands on Glory Falls, you can also snag a copy on Amazon.)

Keep reading!

Shaen

*Featured post image by Matt Thomason on Unsplash.