October Featured Author: Janet Clark

 This month’s featured author is Janet Clark, author of Blind Faith, a fictional story about the heartache, pain, and challenges the main character and his family face as a victim of one Roman Catholic clergy’s sexual abuse and subsequent systematic cover-up. Blind Faith was published in 2007 by 1^st World Publishing in Fairfield, Iowa. Janet says, “I wrote Blind Faith in part simply because I wanted to write a book and this is the story that bubbled up from within me.” Blind Faith is intended for those who simply like a good read as well as parents and people who are concerned about child welfare so they can learn about the signs and consequences of child sexual abuse.

Janet began writing at about 12 years old by scribbling in her notebooks. Since then, she dreamed of writing a book one day but didn’t become a professional writer until she was 40 when she mentioned to a friend that she wanted to become a writer. The friend suggested she take a writing sample to the editors of Fort Dodge Today magazine who liked her samples and hired her to be a staff writer where she worked for five years. These days, Janet teaches English as a Second Language to students at Black Haw Community College, including many who are refugees from war-torn countries. She also writes articles for online and print publications, including a recent article in Radish Magazine about the pawpaw, a little-known fruit native to this area.

 

When she is not writing, Janet loves to read and belongs to a book club. She also enjoys hiking and walking with her dog, Sid, and grand-dog, Rose, as well as scrapbooking, crafting greeting cards, cooking, eating, baking, and spending time with friends and family. She enjoys travelling, especially to Colorado, Minnesota, the Boundary Waters area, Seattle, and California.

Blind Faith has received much praise including from Midwest Book Review who gave it five stars and said it is “an involving story about the blind faith of a community manipulated, children betrayed, and the struggle to cope with hopelessly tangled emotions. Highly recommended.” It is available for sale on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, 1stworldpublishing.com and other online retailers. Her website is www.janeteclark.com. Contact her directly to purchase a copy at a lower price than what is typically offered online with an inscription.

For aspiring writers, Janet offers this advice: “When I wrote Blind Faith, I wrote three pages a day, six days a week. I don’t think it matters so much what system you use, but I think it does help to have a system, or it’s too easy to put it off.”