A Prisoner of Hope: Good-book alert! Waking Up Joy by Tina Ann Forkner

I met Tina several years ago when we both rode the same shuttle from the airport to a writers conference. We've been friends ever since. She's one of the kindest, most encouraging women you'd be blessed to know.

I've loved Tina's first two novels, and couldn't wait to read this one. It didn't disappoint! Tina's warm, southern voice creates worlds I can only visit in a book. Her writing is beautiful.

Here's the blurb about Waking Up Joy:

When adored town spinster Joy Talley ends up in a coma after a peculiar accident, she is surprised and incensed to hear what is being said in her hospital room, including plans for her funeral. When she finally wakes, her family thinks she’s off her rocker, but Joy has never felt more alive. WAKING UP JOY is both a heartwarming love story and a humorous tale of family, secrets, and what happens when one woman decides once and for all to set the past straight.

When I invited Tina to my blog, I asked her a few questions so you could get to know her.

What's your favorite season and why?

My favorite season is summer when I can get out and dig around in the garden or go with my family for a hike, but my favorite part of the season is when my daughter and I visit family in Oklahoma. We love being able to live in flip-flops and spend our days on the side of the pool or at the river, all while sipping on iced-tea and gossiping with the aunts and the cousins. It’s probably not all that surprising to my family that I set WAKING UP JOY in Oklahoma, since I spend so much time there.

Which compliment related to your writing has meant the most and why?

Receiving an endorsement from Chris Fabry has definitely been one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. I have long loved Chris’s books and he is one of my favorite novelists, both in terms of story and technique. His books have always given me hope as a person, but also as a writer. The way he writes a story without censoring truth in all its beautiful glory reminds me that I shouldn’t hold back in my stories. That he would take the time to endorse WAKING UP JOY meant a ton to me as a person and as a writer.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

My biggest road block is probably self-confidence. When my first book came out, it just seemed to flow, probably because I didn’t think it would ever be published. Writing for publication causes me to freeze up at first. I’ve been reading Claire Cook’s new book, NEVER TOO LATE, and she talks about how she has to psyche herself up before writing a new novel. When I read that, I thought, “It’s not just me!” Getting started is difficult, but once I discipline myself to sit down and write, the story finally starts to flow. After that I rewrite the first 50 pages or so over and over, which takes time, but I’m finally learning to trust my process. It might not be how every other writer writes, but we can’t be like all the other writers. We need to be ourselves, and that’s the only way we will produce unique stories.

What would you like to tell us about the featured book?

WAKING UP JOY is my “coma book.” I wrote a little bit about that over at Novel Rocket back in October when the novel first came out, and Joy’s time in her coma continues to be one of the most intriguing aspects of the book for many readers. I think most of us find it interesting to hear stories from people who have been through a coma, and especially if they’ve had any kind of a near death experience. We want to know what it’s like to have glimpsed the other side, but for Joy, the experience ends up being more about waking up and changing her life. For me, the miracle aspect of the book is my favorite part, and I think readers want to believe miracles are possible, or they’ve witnessed a miracle themselves and are able to relate to Joy, even though her family doesn’t believe her.