Rising Stars: Meet Joanne Fisher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanne Fisher.

Hi Joanne, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born in Toronto, Canada from Italian immigrant parents. After college, we decided to go back to Italy and we settled in northern Italy, just south of Lake Garda (the largest lake in Italy located between Venice and Milan). A couple of years later, I married a local man and had three children. Once my father passed, we started talking about going back to Canada because we never really liked living in Italy. It is a wonderful country to visit but a very hard country to live in.

In 1997, we returned to Canada for good but my ex-husband suffered the uprooting from his home country, so in 2005 we divorced. He returned to his beloved Italy and I married Dan who was a police officer in Palm Bay, FL. I had to wait for immigration to give me the green light to live in the US and in July of 2006 we moved here. We had our challenges, blending a family, working, paying bills especially during the financial crisis. But we persisted and made it through. Our children left the house, one by one, each taking their own paths in life, and we became happy empty nesters but not quite. We adopted two dachshunds, Wally and Bella and I finally had some time to pursue my passion, writing. Around the time we married, I had already written a good part of my first book, “With All of Me,” and in 2017, it was complete. I had it published by a vanity publisher and I joined a couple of writers groups: the Space Coast Writers Guild and the Space Coast Writers of Romance (an affiliate of RWA). Joining these groups was the most important move of my writing career because I learned a lot about the writing and publishing industry. From then on, I self-published 11 books and am now writing my 12th book, “The Melbourne Connection,” which is also my second murder/mystery. In 2019, I became the President of the Space Coast Writers’ Guild and enjoying every minute of it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenges were blending our families. That was by far the toughest, but our faith and perseverance got us through it. Another challenge was money. We were underwater with our mortgage for over ten years but again, hard work, patience and endurance helped bring us to a comfortable place right now.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When it comes to work, I still work full-time and I hopefully will retire in five/six years. Since 2000, I’ve worked in corporate America, varying from Administration to Customer Service to Reception and I’ve enjoyed the several jobs I’ve had throughout these years. Before working in an office, I worked in retail. When we first returned to Canada, I worked at a major supermarket behind a deli counter. Then I worked at Sears Canada, then I worked at the Bay (which is the oldest department store in Canada). I loved working in retail, but I felt like I needed to improve myself, so I took a few courses and began working in an office.

When it comes to writing, I write anywhere and every moment I can. I have a notepad on my nightstand so I can take notes if I have a dream about something I may want to write about. Or if I hear a name of a person I like to use in one of my books, I’ll jot it down. I love to bring my writing pad at the beach, where I am inspired to write. Don’t know why. Maybe it’s the calming waves breaking at the shore, maybe it’s the long walks, or just enjoying the Florida sunshine but I’m very prolific when writing on the beach.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I’ve learned not to believe everything I read or hear on the news or on social media. I’ve actually learned to vet my information sources carefully regardless of what side they are on.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://joannesbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joannes_books_2018/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReadJoannesBooks/
• Twitter: @JoannesBooks
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCxfgBhEOo6MX0Ad0JKXE-EQ/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D

Image Credits
Photographer: Daniel B. Fisher