We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joey Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Joey, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

If you told me in high school that I would one day become a successful novelist, I would have laughed. I failed English in the 11th grade and feared I wouldn’t graduate with my class. However, as a young adult, I stumbled upon a genre of novels that quickly engrossed me. If you told me in college that I would one day write love stories, I would have laughed even louder. Seven novels later, I realize that our God-given talents can surprise us. I remember sitting on my front porch reading books that made me feel as though I was a part of the story like I knew the characters personally. I felt their emotions and saw what they saw, and when the story ended, I wanted to know what happened next in their lives. I enjoyed reading so much that I decided I wanted to write. I immediately fell in love with writing, even more profoundly than with reading. I loved the idea of taking readers on a journey where they could experience life with the characters and settings I developed. I discovered a creative side of me that I didn’t realize existed. As I wrote, I worked full-time in the marketing industry, and it took me almost 15 years to share my first novel with the world. Looking back, I wish I shared it the day I finished writing it. But I was afraid. Afraid that people wouldn’t like it, that the book and I would be a failure, just like when I failed high school English. Little by little, I started letting people read my debut novel, A BRIDGE APART. The feedback from family and friends was so overwhelmingly positive that I decided to face my fear. With every release I gained confidence. My novels began to spread throughout my area, my state, and eventually the entire United States and beyond. Now my novels are compared to the work of the most well-known authors like Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson, and Richard Paul Evans. This reminds that there is no limit to what we can accomplish when we follow our passions.

Joey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I think my bio answers these questions best:

The writing style of Joey Jones has been described as a mixture of Nicholas Sparks, Richard Paul Evans, and James Patterson. USA Today Bestselling Author Jeff Gunhus compares Jones’ work to Debbie Macomber, Nicholas Evans, and Sparks. New York Times Bestselling Author Kristy Woodson Harvey describes Joey Jones’ writing as “lyrical” and proclaims “he effortlessly pulls readers into the souls of his characters.”

The ratings and reviews of Jones’ novels A BRIDGE APART (2015), LOSING LONDON (2016), A FIELD OF FIREFLIES (2018), THE DATE NIGHT JAR (2019), WHEN THE RIVERS RISE (2020), and WHERE THE RAINBOW FALLS (2022) reflect the comparison to the aforementioned New York Times bestselling authors. Readers can expect the same from ALONG THE DUSTY ROAD (2023).

Joey Jones fell in love with creative writing at a young age and in his early twenties decided to write a book. His debut novel A BRIDGE APART is a suspenseful love story that was years in the making as he tinkered with the manuscript off and on while working full-time in the marketing field. In February 2016, Jones became a full-time novelist and published his second novel LOSING LONDON later that year. The average rating of Jones’ novels is 4.7 out of 5.0 Amazon stars.

In his spare time, Joey enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, working out, reading, and embarking on adventures. His favorite meal is a New York-style pizza with sweet tea. He won the 8th-grade spelling bee at his school, but if you ask how many students participated, he might say, “Such minor details are not important!” He currently lives in North Carolina with his family.

Joey Jones earned a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College where he graduated with honors (2006). He was the owner of a full-service advertising agency and taught business and marketing courses as an adjunct college instructor.

Jones invites you to connect with him online to find out more about his upcoming novels, book signings, giveaways, exciting news, charities, and more: www.Joey-Jones.com / Facebook.com/JoeyJonesWriter / Instagram.com/JoeyJonesWriter

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a novelist is the family of readers that have grown from my work. I have the pleasure of interacting with my fans at events, on social media, and in many other walks of life. The stories of their experiences with my novels never cease to amaze me. Readers from all over visit the locations in my novels. They eat at the restaurants where the characters ate. They walk the paths the characters walked. They fall in love with the books. They tell me they don’t want each novel to end and can’t wait until the next is released. They share the stories with their family, friends, and complete strangers. My followers really have become like a family over the years. They even interact with each other on social media and at events and form friendships, book clubs, etc. The reach of my novels has more than amazed me.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I worked in the marketing industry for 17 years before diving into the deep end when I decided to become a full-time novelist. Before making the transition I bought and sold gently used sports equipment on the side to save up money to fund my new career. When I first became a novelist, I was making pennies. I invested almost every dollar back into funding my passion. I often tell people I eventually made enough money to put dinner on the table, and now I am working on adding appetizers and desserts!

Contact Info:

• Website: Joey-Jones.com
• Instagram: @JoeyJonesWriter
• Facebook: @JoeyJonesWriter
• Other: https://amzn.to/3thzo50