I had the blessing of Janyre Tromp being my editor for my Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. Through that partnership, she became a dear friend. Her debut novel Shadows in the Mind’s Eye blew me away and I am chomping at the bit to read this newest release, Darkness Calls the Tiger, when it releases in just a few short weeks. If you preorder her book from the Faith and Life Bookstore, you’ll receive 25% off, as well as bookmarks and bookplates. If you preorder from Baker Book House, you will receive 20% off, as well as bookmarks and bookplates.
Janyre is also graciously giving away one signed print copy of her new release to one U.S. resident. You can enter by visiting the Rafflecopter at the end of this post.
Now let me introduce you to this stunning author, amazing editor, and wonderful friend.
Janyre Tromp is an award-winning and best-selling writer and editor with a deep love for history. If she isn’t editing or reading, most of the time you’ll find her writing mid-twentieth century historical novels with a healthy dose of deliciously creepy suspense. But she’s also a mom, wife, award-winning editor, and wrangler of all things, who hunts for beauty even when it isn’t pretty. Her books include Darkness Calls the Tiger, Shadows in the Mind’s Eye, O Little Town, and Lovely Life.
You can connect with her through: Website (Download a free novella while there) | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter/X  | BookBub |  GoodReads
Now for the fun stuff! I have to admit I am partial to my Fast Five. 🙂 So settle in as I hit Janyre with rapid-fire.
CC: Pineapple pizza or candy corn?
JT: Candy corn. There is no reason to put fruit on a pizza
CC: Test the waters or dive in the deep end?
JT: Dive in. I can swim like a fish 🙂
CC: Guacamole or salsa?
JT: Guacamole all the way. On chips, on rice, on chicken.
CC: Silly hats or silly socks?
JT: Bring on ALL the silly in all the places. I’m currently wearing an Edgar Allen Poe pop art T-shirt.
CC: Passwords or secret handshakes?
JT: Since I write suspense, let’s go complicated with password coded in a secret handshake. We’ll use Morse code tapped on the hand. And a random note, one of the missionary families I studied for Darkness Calls the Tiger is related to the guy who invented Morse code.Â
That is so cool! And I love the idea behind your complicated handshake password. LOL
What book has most impacted you?
JT: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Lewis was one of the first novels I ever read on my own. I love the imagination, the layers, the themes, and I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of Lucy in me.
CC: That was actually one of my favorite books to do a unit on with my fifth graders when I was a teacher.
What is one book you think everyone should read (aside from the Bible)?
JT: The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van Der Kolk, M.D. Even if you never experienced Trauma, chances are someone close to you has. This book shows the science behind how trauma literally changes our bodies and our minds and gives us the beginning tools to reclaim our lives.
And then, if you have trauma (big T or little t), follow that up with Try Softer by Aundi Kolber, which will give you hands on tools to do something real to help yourself. My copy is dog-eared beyond recognition.Â
CC: I can vouch for Try Softer. That book really, truly has impacted my life in ways I cannot fully express.
When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?
JT: I think I’m a little unusual. I didn’t get the itch to start writing until I was in my late 20s. I was always a storyteller and I loved reading. I wrote short pieces and marketing copy and just somehow never thought I could be an author.
I worked for a publisher in the marketing department and did work here and there for the editorial department. The managing editor is the first person who told me I should try my hand at writing a whole book.
And I did. Then fell in love with it.
CC: I love how story has always been a part of your life and that the push of colleague provided us with a glimpse into your wonderful gift.
What is your writing Kryptonite?
JT: All my stories have romance elements. I, in fact, won the Carol for a romance story. But romance is so incredibly hard for me to write. I often wireframe them and save them for last so that I’m not distracted by wanting to write the intrigue or suspense.
CC: LOL. We are definitely alike on that!
How have you seen God work through your writing journey?
JT: Patience is not one of my strengths.
I tend to have very good reasons for why I want something and when I want it. But sometimes it’s good for me to wait.
I finished writing Darkness Calls the Tiger seven years ago . . . and all the agents and editors raved about how well it was written, but told me they couldn’t sell the concept of a WWII book in a country no one knew anything about.
And so I set it aside. And about a year later . . . about the time the book would have released if I’d found a publisher, my daughter ended up in the hospital fighting for her life . . . and then a few months later the CRUDE hit the world.
If I’d gotten a contract originally, the timing would have been horrific. Not only that, but because I was determined to keep moving, I kept learning and moving and watching. In that way, I released three stories in the meantime and learned techniques that made the book even better.
AND the market has changed so that there’s more interest in WWII Asian stories.
SO . . . if there’s something out there that you’re stretching for and it is just out of reach, don’t give up. Maybe pull back, but don’t be passive. Work on something else, but keep your eyes open. And know that I see you.
CC: What a powerful story in God’s providence and timing and your obedience. I cannot wait to read this story.
Now I’m excited to talk about Darkness Calls the Tiger.
“Evocative and transportive, filled with nuance and spiked with the violence of war, Darkness Calls the Tiger is a story of redemption in the midst of hopelessness.” –Tosca Lee, New York Times best-selling author
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Imperial Japan devours the southern portion of Burma, intent on taking over mainland Asia. Unaware of the coming darkness, Kailyn Moran drifts in her role as the only daughter of a widowed missionary. As whispers of war snake through the Kachin mountains, Kai’s father is convinced God will protect the mission. He entrusts the village to her and the kind yet inexperienced new missionary, Ryan McDonough, while he makes routine visits to neighboring villages.
War descends like a tempest upon the mountain peaks, and an unbreakable bond forms between Kailyn and Ryan as they unite to provide solace to both villagers and the flood of refugees. Despite their tireless efforts, a brutal enemy shatters almost everything they love, pushing Kailyn to embark on a path of unrestrained vengeance.
Afraid he’s losing the woman he loves, Ryan fights to protect Kai from the deadly consequences of her choices. But in the face of destruction, can he convince her of the power and freedom of forgiveness?
Purchase your copy at Amazon | Baker Book House | Faith and Life Bookstore
CC: Where did you get the idea for Darkness Calls the Tiger?
So I did what any self-respecting history nerd does—I researched. And y’all, there are SO MANY stories from the China-Burma-India theater.
But then I stumbled on the story of Father James Stuart, who literally stepped into the dirt path and convinced the Japanese soldiers to go away and not destroy a village. And then the Morse family whose young teenage sons hiked the very dangerous Himalayan mountains to save downed Allied airmen. They were all from the same basic area of Burma. That gave me the beginning part of the story.
JT: The coolest part of my research was stumbling on the main metaphor for the book. That way cool tiger on the cover? It comes from real mountain legends.
Some backstory first: The Hukwang Valley (where Darkness Calls the Tiger takes place in Northern Burma) is, in modern times, home to the largest tiger sanctuary in the world.
Because tigers are so much part of their culture, all the people groups in the area have legends about tiger-people. There’s different versions—some saying people become actual tigers and some saying people become tremendous, tiger-like warriors (kind of like berserkers).
So in the story, the traveling storyteller is a bit spiteful toward the missionaries and basically curses Kailyn Moran when she is a girl and tells this horrible tale of the world falling to pieces and Kai becoming this vengeful, angry tiger-person who burns to ash and dies alone.
It’s the perfect metaphor for a story about forgiveness, and that cover image is spot on for where Kai is in the middle of the book.
JT:Â Hope.
My books are heart-shattering books. But they are also always hope-filled.
CC: I love how powerful fiction is. What a blessing and beacon of hope that God uses to reach so many who otherwise would not pick up their Bibles. It’s time to wrap up our interview with a fun question.
Giveaway Info
Janyre is graciously providing one U.S. resident, 18 years and older, with a signed copy of Darkness Calls the Tiger. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Entries open until 11:59 p.m. EST on April 30.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Looking forward to reading this book. I know little about the Asian front and what i do know is from old movies so may be very inaccurate!
I’m so excited about this book!
This book sounds amazing! Would love to read it! Thanks for the chance!
It is going to be so good. I can’t wait.