My love for writing met my love for youth about two years ago and formed an inseparable bond. For approximately six years, I worked with my church youth department helping to mentor and lead teens. When I decided to take my writing seriously, teens found their way into my books quite naturally.
I’ve seen several situations unfold before me where I’ve had to offer advice and a shoulder to lean on. These situations often find their way into my books. Reaching out to teens through my writing is my number one goal.
For me, being able to tell the stories of those who find it difficult to do so themselves is quite rewarding. I love to tell the stories of those who may be hurting or are forgotten. With every story, my hope is that some young person may find enlightenment or, they may just find the answer to a question they found difficult to ask. If I could touch just one life, prevent one suicide and encourage one person, my job is done.
Nightmare at Emerald High may seem a bit controversial with its subject matter being secret societies and organizations, but in the society that I live, it’s an everyday thing. Our children get tangled up in so many things that warp their thinking and confuse them and their perception of good and evil and right and wrong. My hope is that Nightmare at Emerald High will be an eye opener for both parents and teens.
I will never stop writing for teens or young adults. They hold a special place in my heart because I’ve seen their daily struggles. Several times society has written off those who seem to be going astray instead of reaching out to them. My goal is simply to reach out a hand through my writing.
Book Title: Nightmare at Emerald High
Biography: Joana James is a young Christian author from the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. She is an I.T. professional by day but in her free time she escapes from the logical world of technology into the artistic world. She is an avid reader and her kindle is her favourite piece of technology. Music is her best friend and that manifests itself through her love for dance and singing.
Joana writes stories that portray the reality of her world. Her first book, a two-part short story series called Rise from the Ashes featured the lives of two young girls struggling in dire circumstances.
Her latest book, Nightmare at Emerald High, brings to the fore a world that everybody knows exists but no one talks about.
Book Genre:Christian Thriller
Book Synopsis: Malcolm Drake is one year away from the end of high school when a tantalizing scholarship offer comes his way. Malcolm and several other classmates eagerly join a program called Alternative Science that promises to open their minds to new ways of thinking and of course, help them win that scholarship. Little do they know that this program would change their lives forever. The class is riddled with eerie séances, encounters with spirit guides and a slow desensitization of the teens towards everything evil until they become completely entangled in the world of the occult.
With the program being run by the town’s most influential people, the kids have a hard time getting out. Things take a turn for the worst when Malcolm is summoned to his school where he is bound and drugged in an effort to convince him to remain in the program. Will good prevail over evil?
Website: http://joanajames.blogspot.com
Purchase links:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006HMJQQ4 Available both in ebook and paperback format.
Publisher: Independently Published
Release Date: December 3, 2011
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