Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Janyre Tromp. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Janyre, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Taking a risk

I’ve worked in the publishing industry for more than 25 years. Part of that time I worked in marketing, part of that time in editorial, and ALL of that time, I worked for a traditional publisher. I’ve lost track of how many books I’ve acquired and edited. I’ve even lost track of how many went on to win awards and become bestselling titles.

The bottom line is that I loved helping other people tell their stories. But then a few years ago, a friend suggested I try writing my own book.

Though most editors aren’t storytellers and most storytellers aren’t editors, her idea actually made sense. I’ve always been a storyteller at heart. Mom says I used to walk the woods behind our house, chattering to the characters in my head. So I sat down and started telling stories.

Two of my books are Indie published, two are traditionally published, and those have earned awards and bestselling status. I even have another book, Darkness Calls the Tiger, releasing in May 2024. It was easy for me to fall in love with the privilege of telling stories that people enjoy.

Life should have been perfect. But it wasn’t.

The publishing world is an interesting place to work. It’s a job that requires passion and dedication . . . and massive amounts of time. Time that I increasingly needed for my writing and, most importantly, for my people.

It took me nearly a year to make the decision to leave the job I loved to make more space. I’m still editing. But editing as a freelancer gives me the flexibility to be available for my family and, my readers will be happy to know, more time for writing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have distinct memory of hiding beneath my covers, flashlight in hand, reading: myths, fantasy, historical, classics, whatever I could get my hands on. It’s not really a surprise that I’ve dedicated my life to books.

The industry tells me I’m a little bit of a unicorn in that I’m both an award-winning editor and an award-winning and bestselling author. I guess it isn’t normal to be able to help an author rework a book and be able to weave your own words and vision into a cohesive whole.

I simply view myself as a shepherd of story–whether it’s someone else’s book or my own.

My books are mid-20th century novels with a healthy dose of deliciously creepy suspense. But, as a nod to my early love of all genres, I tend to drizzle other genres into my work and am heavily influenced by legends and myth and, oddly enough, poetry.

So Shadows in the Mind’s Eye is influenced by Frankenstein’s monster, my novella in O Little Town smacks of A Christmas Carol, and the heroine of Darkness Calls the Tiger devolves into the real legend of tiger-men from the mountains of WWII Burma.

While my writing tends to explore the difficult side of life, I’m also a firm believer that beauty exists even when life isn’t pretty.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I often tell people that if my goal is to write things people will read, social media is a great place to meet my goal in small snippets.

Think about it: Where else would I be able to talk about books and the goofy things my cats do with thousands of people 24/7?

I truly view social media and my newsletter as a way to tell stories and spread beauty . . . even if it isn’t always pretty. If anyone would like to join me, I’m on most social media platforms as @JanyreTromp

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Science tells us that there’s an incredible power in story.

When you hear a fact or figure, it triggers the information side of your brain. But if I tell you a story that presents the fact, it triggers the information side of your brain AND the experience side of your brain.

That means story is able to make you feel like you’ve experienced something for yourself!

Isn’t that just incredible? Story is one of the best ways to make the world a better place.

And so I move around my life collecting truths and wrapping them in beautiful words and intriguing stories. I collect interesting words, impressions, metaphors, bits of dialogue, historical events, truths about overcoming life’s difficulties . . . anything that intrigues me. Then I turn around and use those observations in my books.

Basically I view my job as a creative to discover parts of the world other people miss and introduce the two: “Interesting world, meet my friend, the reader.”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.JanyreTromp.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janyretromp
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanyreTromp/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janyre/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanyreTromp

Image Credits
Images by Jennifer