We recently connected with Barb Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Barb thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

I chose this question because of its challenging nature in today’s times. I love challenges!

As a mother of two successful students – an upcoming college graduate (Spring 2023) and an upcoming high school graduate (Spring 2023), I have always been keenly aware of the educational system, and it’s need for improvement. My mother was also a teacher before she retired and became a homemaker, so I was raised with an understanding of how important education is to a student.

The educational system needs changes, but not changes that continue to tell a student WHAT to think or to hate their peers in a way that brings about a negative outcome. Education should focus on teaching our students HOW to think, HOW to become more independent, and creative and to learn the truth behind all subjects. You can’t erase history – you can’t change what happened, but you can change it by not letting it repeat itself. Students need the empowerment to grow from their education, from socialization, and from others to learn who they are, and how they can contribute to society. My children learn who they are every day by empowerment, guidance, and understanding.

My seventeen-year-old son is faced with a dilemma – he has a choice to follow some of his friends in their way of thinking or to stand true to his convictions, despite the outcome. The situation was a bullying one over a topic in history. I won’t go into details about the topic as it happened in history. His friends said it never happened. He, in fact, calmly and rationally stood to tell his class that it did happen, we can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. He stood by his convictions that the past can’t be rewritten, but we can change the future. A topic he takes to heart, considering our family heritage: my mother is a WWII jerwish survivor, and my father’s family suffered when Hawaii was colonized, so my son was raised with that understanding.

So, the educational system needs to change to allow our students, our future, to become thinkers, to be independent of their own convictions instead of a system telling them what to think,

Barb, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am both a published and self-published author of supernatural thrillers and horror. I write books that build worlds readers can relate to, find themselves completely absorbed in, and leave them wanting more. Currently, I have two series – The Blood Prophecy Series and the new Heaven and Hell Series. My other books will be standalone, but I love being a series author. I began writing at age 9, but have been telling stories much longer than that. Because I love telling stories of the supernatural worlds or scary stories, it took my fourth-grade teacher to encourage me to put my stories to paper. I think part of that motivation had to do with scaring my classmates! All kidding aside, writing is a passion of mine to relate to others to bring them into the worlds I create or to have them relate to the characters I create.

I love working with my fellow authors and supporting them in any way possible. One of the things that I hear from my readers that makes me stand out is that I take a personal approach to involving my readers or getting to know them. I have been known to go to dinner with them, have coffee, or even send birthday cards. Another thing that I do is involve them in the books through contests, etc, where they create characters, bring out a scene, or anything. I feel this allows them to be invested in the stories and encourages them to continue reading the series. I love getting to know my readers and hearing what they think.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There was a pain point in my life that not many people know about but I will share how it made me tougher. While I have been divorced for many years, my ex kept on fighting to the point where our post-divorce matter found us in court for twelve years. The marriage involved domestic violence and abuse, including toward our children. To win in court, he felt he had to destroy me through accusations of parental alienation, branding me into a person I am not. I endured the pain and suffering as well as my children, during that time. But, I stood my ground; my children stood by their truths. This pain had me falling over and over, but my writing was where I found my strength. Hence, the Blood Prophecy series was published through World Castle Publishing, along with the novellas and more. I didn’t let the pain stop me from writing. This strength continues today where in addition to my IT career, and my writing, I am a strong advocate for parents going through what I did to help them get through it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part about being an author is creating new worlds or a story that allows readers to escape their current reality and immerse themselves in it. When I hear from my readers that they love the modern-day plot tied with a historical backstory or certain characters, I am thrilled that I could do that for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloodprophecy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloodProphecyBooks
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blood_Prophecy1

Image Credits
Credit is to both my children – Arianna and Kaiden Jones.