Barbara Joe Williams

I am in Barbara Joe Williams anthology How I met My Sweetheart

Barbara, you’ve been described as the “hardest working woman in self-publishing” and a “marketing guru.” What made you decide to become a self-published author?

Honestly, I tried the traditional publishing route, and it just wasn’t working out for me. So I decided to do some research on the publishing industry. After learning that several of my favorite authors started out by publishing themselves, I decided to give self-publishing a try. Now five books later, I’m still happy with the decision that I made because it has allowed me a tremendous amount of opportunities. I’ve been able to meet a host of published authors, aspiring writers, and travel around promoting my books by speaking at conferences and conducting workshops.

Tell us, what is your inspiration for writing?

My inspiration for writing comes from the love of the written word and romance novels. I’ve always loved to read, and I read everything, but romance has a special place in my heart. After searching the bookstores for romance novels focusing on married people and being disappointed, I decided it was time to write one of my own. So my first two books titled, Forgive Us This Day and Dancing with Temptation, are about married couples that have been together for years and the problems are beginning to surface.

Tell us about your latest release and how you came up with the idea to write about a female minister.

Well, I’ve met a lot of single female ministers, and they seem to be having the same problems as other single women regarding relationships. So I wanted to write a story showing that their trials and tribulations are the same as other women. Sometimes the pastor is looked upon as being all-knowing, very spiritual, and untouchable, but they’re human too, and that’s the side that I wanted to show. Pastor Karema Wright, the main character in Falling for Lies, is a wise woman who happens to fall in love with the wrong man for the wrong reasons. And she loses almost everything before she even realizes what’s going on because she’s falling for lies.

What are your goals with your writing career?

My primary goal is to continue writing and publishing books for myself until I can secure an agent and a writing contract. And I enjoy publishing books for other writers under my company, Amani Publishing, LLC. So my other goal would be to continue helping other aspiring authors reach their dreams while continuing to pursue mine. And since I have several books coming out within the next year, you can check out my website at: www.amanipublishing.net for more details and contact information.

Barbara Joe-Williams resides in Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband, daughter, and dog. She’s published three novels and two non-fiction books including an anthology titled How I Met My Sweetheart and a handbook titled A Writer’s Guide to Self-Publishing and Marketing.