When it comes to internet dating, even authors have trouble writing the perfect profile.
Fortunately for fiction fans, a last-chance match paired Stoke-on-Trent’s Jan Domagala and Joyce Johnsontogether – launching a powerhouse writing partnership responsible for 17 books, and counting.
It’s staggering feat for the unassuming couple from Stoke who both still work full time and have four children and four grandchildren between them. Jan is a screen printer in the pottery industry and Joyce a family practitioner.
Now about to release their latest books, Jan and Joyce were both avid storytellers before first putting their pens to paper. Although they write separately and in different genres they attribute their success to a relationship that has been great news for both their writing and their happiness.
Jan, who also writes under the pen name Jack Dillon, specialises in both Sci-Fi and fast-paced action thrillers.
Joyce, whose pen name is Aldrea Johnson, writes young adult fantasy and is currently writing the final part of her trilogy, The Battle For The Four Realms.
Said Jan: “We met online in a dating website. I was thinking of leaving the website having had a few bad experiences online with people pretending to be not what they were and we began to chat about the experience. Apparently, Joyce had the same experience. We started to chat and the rest is history.
“We’re not married but because she is also a writer it does help in the simple fact that she understands my need to write. We have similar interests, both of us are passionate about the wriiten word, both of us like comic books, both grew up with interests in sci fi, reading and writing. We quite often take our laptops away with us if we are going on a city break to fit in some writing when the time allows.”
Joyce, who was brought up in Jamaica before moving to the UK and spent most of her adult life in Derbyshire, said meeting Jan was the spark which encouraged her to write.
“It was Jan and my children who finally encouraged me to write. I’ve always held stories in my head, on the odd occasion I’d talk about one of them. The last time I told Jan one of my stories he suggested that I write it down. I began to write to see if I could do it, and got three books out of just one of the stories,” she said.
While it was Joyce’s fond memories of childhood fairytales, epic adventures and comic superheroes that sparked her interest in the fantasy genre, Jan’s love of action comes from his own strong moral compass and a desire for likeable heroes who do the right thing. Both are genres we could all do more with in this confusing modern world.
With 15 of the pair’s total bibliography, and three series, to his name, Jan is the most prolific of the couple.
His latest offering will be called Annihilation and is the tenth in his Col Sec Sci-Fi action. Jan has also written five books under the Jack Dillon.
He said: “I grew up in Stoke-on-Trent in a working-class family. I was an introverted child who didn’t make friends easily. Those few friends I had were local living close by in the neighbouring streets where we all played. But I always had an interest in writing and began writing a few stories around the time my father died as a way of dealing with the loss. I was never satisfied with the results but then I took a favourite author’s advice and wrote the book I’d always wanted to read. That was Ronin, the first book of the Col Sec series.
“My last release was Pray for Death which I consider is my best work to date. I would love to write a worldwide best seller but I would be satisfied if I could retire from my paid job and earn a living from my writing.”
All of Jan and Joyce’s books are available on Amazon.
Jan Domagala (Sci-Fi action):https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jan-Domagala/e/B004F6BRNO/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1540472872&sr=1-2-ent
Jack Dillon (Action): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-Dillon/e/B01C0RTUIS?ref=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000
Aldrea Johnson (Young adult fantasy): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aldrea-Johnson/e/B071FRVFZJ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1536869388&sr=1-1
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Photo shows Jan and Joyce with some of their work
For more information:
Keith Newman
Highlights PR
07814 397951