Women Who Inspire: Jolene Navarro

Here at Christian Women Living Magazine, we are always searching to find a good author to inspire our readers. This last month we came across an author from Texas with wonderful stories of faith and love. Meet Jolene Navarro, author of The Cowboys of Diamondback Ranch Series.

Cyndi Kay Green: Will you please introduce yourself to our readers and give us a little background information?
Jolene Navarro: My husband and I have been together since 1986. We connected one night while cruising main street in Leakey, Texas. Population 410 if you count the horses. Small town romance is in my blood. We have four kids. They are all in their 20s now, so I have more free time, but we still do a great deal together. I’m a seventh generation Texan and love the state my ancestors settled and shaped. I love being outdoors and art. When I’m not writing, I teach high school art at a non-traditional high school in downtown San Antonio, but I live north in the Texas Hill Country and the beauty of the sunset alone makes the forty-five-minute drive to our country home worth it.

CKG: Can you give us a summary on your journey with Christ – a short testimony?
JN: I was blessed to be born into a family of faith. Talking to God was an everyday thing we did. But when I turned ten, I had a little melt down. Fear of getting older and my parents dying hit me hard. LOL None of my other birthdays affected me this way and I’m fifty now, so mid-life crises hit me early. My Grandmother told me that God was always with us even during the hard time and we had to allow him to hold our fear because he was stronger than anything this world does to us.

She told me to pray and ask God into my heart and take my fear. I had grown up knowing God, but when I prayed for him to take over my life that day it felt different. It hasn’t always been a straight path. I can look back and see times when my faith became stronger. A high school bible study group, a small group of young parents we studied with, and my grandmother all played a part of growing my faith. Writing Love Inspired books have caused me to dig deeper into my faith as I tackle issues head on.

CKG: Tell us a bit about your Love Inspired book series. Who or what was the inspiration behind these books? Is there a certain order to read them?
JN: The series I’m just about to finish up is The Cowboys of Diamondback Ranch. We go to the Texas coast every year. Did you know we have over 400 miles of shoreline? I’m a hill country girl but I love the beach. Some friends of ours own recreational fishing boats and sight seeing boats. A few years back they added a pirate ship to their fleet. We were sitting on the porch of our sea side cabin and watched it come in to dock. The idea of a coastal ranch with one of the cowboys owning a pirate ship was too fun. The De La Rosa family was created.

It’s a mix of siblings and cousins that grew up on the family ranch with a head of the family being a mean drunk. He had taken in his sister’s kids but didn’t treat them well. They are all broken in different ways but one by one they find healing with God and the family connections become stronger.
The pirate ship makes an appearance in each of the books.
The Texan’s Secret Daughter is the first, but they are all written as a stand-alone.

CKG: How hard has it been to virtually teach art over the past school year?
JN: Oh man. God has gotten me through this year. To be completely honest there were days I would cry on the way home. Expectations from our administrators were high, but the students were not showing up. So, we were on the phone a great deal, trying to locate them and get them to turn in work. Zoom was a whole new way of teaching and we had a new platform to learn, Canvas. It was a lot. I know it was stressful for the students and parents also. But I also think we learned and adapted in ways that will make it better as we move back into normal classes. We also lost two students to gun violence this year so that added to the stress and feelings of being disconnected.

It amazes me when I see our students become stronger and overcome obstacles I can’t even imagine. I spent hours in prayer on my drive and in the classroom.

CKG: How does your faith influence your books and the characters in them?
JN: I start with prayer and a verse. My goal is to deal with real life problems in an organic way that shows the grace of God. We are all flawed and make mistakes, turning control over to God is never easy for me, and my characters have to deal with that over and over, because I’m still learning that lesson. Ultimately it is about hope. Without faith, we always have hope.

CKG: What is the most practical thing that keeps you focused on God and His calling?
JN: Prayer and journaling.

CKG: As a writer, what is your biggest fear or concern?
JN: To bore my readers.

CKG: What advice do you have for someone who might feel the calling to write but doesn’t know how to begin?
JN: To find a group that knows the industry. They will guide you through the process so you don’t fall prey to scammers. There are groups out there that will take your money and tell you they will publish your book. Don’t pay anyone that also takes your rights.

CKG: What has been the biggest change in your life since the release of your first book?
JN: This is a really good question that I have not reflected on before. First, my faith is stronger because I’m writing about the miraculous way God loves us. I have gained confidence in my abilities to set a goal and do the work to achieve it.

The biggest change is the people in my life. Before I started writing as a career, I didn’t know anyone that was a published author. Now my best friends are all writers. We do so much together and support each other. I have a huge community of friends on Facebook. Even though I never met some face to face, I feel as if we are really connected. Some of them are readers that have become friends. I love traveling but wasn’t able to do it for a while. Because of my writing career, I’ve been to New York several times, San Diego, Florida, Colorado, New Orleans to name just a few. I get to call Jodi Thomas a friend, and I teach at a Writer’s Academy she started a few years back.

I could go on with all the blessings that have been brought into my life because I took the risk to be published.

CKG: What is the earliest memory of church that had an impact on your life?
JN: Church was always there. The biggest impact was summer camp at the Baptist Encampment Alto Frio in Leakey Texas. God really opened my heart and eyes to his love for me and all of humankind.

CKG: Tell us about a time that God directly answered a prayer.
JN: Even when the answer was no? LOL. Prayer is very personal and meant as communication with God. We should do more listening than asking. I learned this from my mother and grandmother, both strong prayer warriors. A great example is when my mother was rushed to the hospital at the age of 59 with a stroke. When my sister and I arrived, she reached out and tried to talk. I told her we could talk later for her to relax and let the meds work. We left the room so she could be prepped for transport to San Antonio. We stood outside her door and my grandmother (her mother) told us to join hands so we could pray. I was between her and one of my sisters. Two aunts, my other sister and an uncle were there too. As we stood in a circle my grandmother led us in prayer. She asked that if Cindy was meant to go, to take her without pain. She prayed for acceptance of God’s will and for our heart to be open to him. I remember wanting to scream at her, NO. Pray for healing. Pray for a fast recovery. I wanted my full-of-life, vibrant mother back. On the way to the SA hospital my sister and I planned for her recovery. Where she would live, how we would support each other. Once at the hospital, we were told she was brain dead. And they went through the options. Both of my parents had said they wanted to be organ donors. I realized then that to be an organ donor you had to arrive to the hospital alive and with a healthy body. My father had been killed in a plane crash ten years before so that had not been an option. A peace that had to be from God settled over me. Organ donation was the way to go.

There were so many people that had come to the hospital for my mother, that they had to find a place to meet so the doctor in charge of the organ donation could talk to us all. They believed if you cared enough to be there you should hear how it would work. The only place big enough for the 40 plus crowd was the chapel. I have a clear memory of standing in front of the stained-glass room and looking at the people gathered. There was nothing but love and peace in the standing room only chapel. The sun was setting so the colors washed over the people filling the pews and standing along the walls. My grandmother’s prayer was answered. Till this day fourteen years later I still miss my mother, but I have a peace deep in my heart and the joy of knowing I had her in my life.

Prayer is a personal action for me. I lift my family up and I ask for those in pain to be wrapped in love.

CKG: At what point did you know that you wanted to write on a professional level?
JN: I have dysgraphia (form of dyslexia) so even though I was always reading and making up stories, I assumed I would never be able to publish a story. My grandmother had tried. She had written several stories. One she even submitted to Harlequin back in the 80s. But after the early deaths of both of my parents, I figured there was no reason not to try. They would have supported the idea. My grandmother did. I was 37. I went online to find info on how to publish a romance. I found RWA, Romance Writers of America had a local chapter. They were doing a workshop on how to Build a Book. I went, and three years later I had an agent. There was a lot to learn about the industry, but as much as my high school English teachers wanted me to believe that without perfect spelling and grammar, I didn’t deserve to be an author, I found the story is what people want. The other stuff can be fixed. I’m still very hard on myself, and do more editing than anyone I know before I turn a book in. But it’s worth it. Even if some mistakes still slip through LOL.

CKG: Which book was your favorite to write? Read? Which character is your favorite?
JN: The one I’m starting. The start of a new book is so exciting. Getting to know the characters and how their life will unfold. So right now, Her Holiday Secret with Bridges Espinoza is my favorite. It will be out the end of September. It’s up for preorder. I love this hero. He is a police officer back home recovering from a shot gun wound. His mother and older sisters are a little smothering. I love big families and the Espinozas are one of my favorites.

CKG: How can our readers order your books and get in touch with you?
JB: I’m on Facebook as Jolene Navarro Author and Jolene Guinther Navarro. Here’s a link to my books and my blog: https://jolenenavarrowriter.com/
And here’s a link to my books on the Christian Bookstore:
https://www.christianbook.com/apps/easyfind?Ntk=author&Ntt=Jolene%20Navarro
You can also get them through directly through Harlequin or at Amazon books, Barnes & Noble, and other book platforms!

Thank you Jolene for taking time to let our readers get a glimpse of your world.