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Author name:  Joanne Kukanza Easley Genre:  Literary Fiction Book:  Sweet Jane What’s your story and how did you become a writer?  I’ve always been an avid reader and have had aspirations to write for years. As a young adult, I started taking classes and workshops. When I retired, I became serious about getting published. Although I was born in Chicago, I call the Texas Hill Country home. My small ranch is  the perfect setting to write. How do you balance your work with other demands?  I’m a retired registered nurse, so I am blessed with the gift of time to write. My three little rescue terriers takeRead More →

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https://sarahlynbruck.com/blog-easley/. Debut novelist, Joanne Easley, visits the blog this week to chat about Sweet Jane, which releases this week. Please tell us a little bit about your book. After a broken childhood, Jane runs away at sixteen right on time for the Summer of Love. Seventeen years later, her return for Mama’s funeral catapults her back to the events that made her the woman she is. What sparked the idea for Sweet Jane? The character of Jane came to me at a writing group at a café in Austin, Texas. The writing prompt—she didn’t get that far—conjured an image of a heartbroken teenage girl hitchhikingRead More →

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https://www.authorsreading.com/book-reviews/joanne-kukanza-easley/sweet-jane/ The author is skilled in incorporating emotional reactions and real-life situations into a compelling, heart-warming story of overcoming childhood trauma. Jane is a believable character who invokes sympathy and understanding. Sweet Jane is a novel that demands a sequel. The way this book is written pulls you into Janie Jennings’ struggles growing up and drags you along for an exciting ride. I highly recommend it.Reviewed by: Carole WRead More →

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Sweet Jane by Joanne Kukanza Easley By R.C. Gibson / February 10, 2020 Janie Jennings grew up in Odessa, Texas, in the 1960’s. She “believed in truth, justice and the American way, just like Superman.” But growing up poor in a home with an alcoholic mother can change a naive young girl. Add in the accidental death of a neighbor, the betrayal of a close friend, a dramatic suicide and some heartbreak, and you have a completely changed person. Now well into adulthood and long removed from her west Texas roots, Jane travels home for the funeral of her mother. Suppressed emotions well up fromRead More →

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Joanne Kukanza Easley, born in Chicago, Illinois, has adopted Texas as her home. She lives in the Texas Hill Country on a small ranch with her husband, three rescue terriers, and abundant wildlife. Retired from a career in nursing—with dual specialties in the cold, clinical operating room, and the intense, emotional world of psychiatric nursing— she devotes her time to writing fiction. She is working on her next novel, Just One Look. Tell us about Sweet Jane. By age six, Jane, a lonely and precocious child, knows vodka makes Mama mean. After years of dodging her drunken mama, Jane runs away at sixteen—during the SummerRead More →

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Meet the Members: Joanne Easley Posted by Writers’ League Staff “I have attended several Texas Writes sessions and each time have come away feeling inspired and ready to write. “ — Joanne Easley   A member of the Writers’ League since January, Joanne currently lives in Medina.  Scribe: In what genre(s) do you write? Joanne Easley: Accessible Literary Fiction.  Scribe: What author would you most like to have a drink with, and what’s the first question you would ask them?  JE: Stephen King. I’d ask him about his nightmares.  Scribe: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what book would you want to have with you to keep you sane?Read More →

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My vision for the cover of SWEET JANE was formed a long time ago. Jane is shown in her fantasy wedding outfit against the backdrop of the West Texas prairie. Jane was certain she and Jeremy would be married one day. It was not to be. She is wearing a pink and white hi-lo tiered skirt and a brown menswear vest with a lace cami underneath. And red cowboy boots.Read More →

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Surrender is inspired by the scene in SWEET JANE when Jane, at her father’s request, selects a dress for her mother’s burial. Jane’s reluctant return to Odessa, after running away at sixteen, catapults her back to the events that made her the women she is. https://anthonywatkins.wixsite.com/btsjul2019/poetry-free-verse Surrender Like forgotten flags from defunct nations I placed them on the bed They fell Limp, synthetic, pastel rags Which should l choose for her burial gown? Pallid florals did not befit the memory of my mother Rather, there should be clothing of Blood red for her anger Midnight black for her depression White for her surrender Rouge, noir,Read More →