Janet Joanou Weiner grew up in Southern California and studied French despite her sixth-grade teacher’s prediction that she would never use it. Thankfully, she followed her passion. For more than twenty years, Janet has called France home, living in the Alps, the heart of Paris, and now in the village of St. Hippolyte du Fort in southern France, where she and her husband founded the Christian training center YWAM Bridges of Life. Her work in ministry has taken her to more than forty countries, and she has also lived in Amsterdam, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Kona, Hawaii.
Inspired by the rich history surrounding her, Janet writes historical novels based on actual events that took place in her village and in the 500-year-old Château de Planque, where she lives. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys exploring the stories, culture, beauty, food, and wine of France—though she dearly misses her four children and four grandchildren in the United States. Follow her blog, Fig & Vine, for more of her reflections on life, history, and faith.
Visit Janet Weiner online
Shining Bright
Jeanine Bourguet lives in a château in southern France, but her life is far from a fairy tale. Confined to a wheelchair and controlled by a repressive grandmother, she longs to make a meaningful difference in a world increasingly darkened by war. When she takes in a young Jewish refugee, Jeanine’s sharp mind and fierce sense of justice propel her into quiet acts of resistance against the Nazi-backed Vichy regime, despite mounting deportations, shortages, and relentless propaganda. As the danger grows, Jeanine must decide how much she is willing to risk for those she loves. Inspired by the courage of her father, her devoted caregiver, her friends, and her Huguenot ancestors, she embarks on a journey that will test her faith, challenge her limitations, and prove that true strength is measured not by physical ability, but by the courage to act when it matters most.
- ISBN: B0H1ZXXRDY
- Publisher: Indie Published
Interview with Janet Weiner 2026
Bonjour Janet, I've enjoyed so much getting to know you a little through this interview process. Thank you for taking the time to share your book, your process and your heart with us.
What made you want to be a writer?
Reading! From a very young age, I loved to read. I read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series on repeat. My name filled those books’ paper checkout cards in our school library.
Her books taught me to see life as a story. I wondered if my life could be a story. I imagined if Laura were transported to my time, how I’d explain things like the speed of cars, escalators, etc.
It took me a long time to admit to myself that I desired to be a writer. A milestone birthday convinced me it was now or never.
How do you think living abroad has influenced your writing?
I’ve always loved history and majored in it at university. Living in Europe, with its deep roots, inspires me. Moving into a 600-year-old château (a crumbly castle) had me wishing the walls could tell me all the stories. I searched for info on my town and home and discovered incredible true stories that became the basis for The Huguenot Resistance Series.
How did you come up with the idea for Shining Bright? Or what was your inspiration for the novel?
Shining Bright takes place during World War II in occupied France. Our town today commemorates the events that occurred when the SS Nazis arrived and used my home as their headquarters. These events deeply marked the town.
The main character, Jeanine, was a real person who lived in my home during that time. She was a small person and a wheelchair user due to her brittle bones. As I learned about Jeanine from her 94-year-old cousin, who lives nearby and is a dear friend. Jeanine’s character and courage impressed me deeply.
What is special to you about your new release, Shining Bright?
Shining Bright highlights the struggles and the fortitude of real people living through a long, hard war. As descendants of the Huguenots (French Protestants heavily persecuted centuries earlier, see Books 1 and 2), these men and women drew strength from their faith and their ancestry. I’m so glad to have brought their story to light through these novels.
What message do you hope readers take away from Shining Bright?
That anyone can stand up to evil tyranny and truly help others despite external and internal limitations. Above all, significance comes from trusting and following God into His plans for us.
How did you decide to go with an independent publisher? Would you do it again? Why/Why not?
That was quite a process. After much prayer and the advice of a very successful, traditionally published friend, I decided to publish independently. I would do it again and published all three of my books in The Huguenot Resistance Series independently.
The French translation of Book 1 (Malgré les ténèbres) was released through a traditional French publisher (CLC France). Book 2 (Une lueur brille) comes out October 1st.
Tell us something about yourself that is not in your bio.
In the past few years, I’ve become a vegetable gardener, a chicken mom, and an accidental beekeeper. Having grown up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, none of these were part of my upbringing. The learning curve is steep, yet they all bring me great pleasure.
If you could have coffee/tea with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? And what would you order?
So hard to choose! So many come to mind!
I’ll go with CS Lewis. His ability to convey truth through brilliant images and stories amazes me. His capacity to reduce difficult theological concepts into succinct, clear sentences is unparalleled.
I would order good English tea, as would he, I imagine.
What book(s) are on your TBR list right now?
Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar, Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox, and The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks.
What does your writing routine look like? Do you have any idiosyncrasies that keep you going?
I write six mornings a week, aiming to get in two to four hours before lunch. I start with prayer, inviting Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit to be fully present and flow through me, guiding me in all I do. All with Him. All for Him.
A good cup of coffee and Dan Musselman’s piano worship are faithful companions.
I start each writing session by rereading what I wrote the previous day. I edit lightly and then carry on into new material.
What is the most difficult part in the process of producing a novel for you? How have you worked through that?
Great question. There are aspects to each step that are challenging and rewarding. While I enjoy the drafting process, fatigue can set in. It’s a marathon. I set daily word goals and “force” myself to meet them. Once I get going, I often exceed the daily goal.
Editing and reediting feels like the almost final leg of the race. Will this ever be done? rotates through my mind.
Finally, the flurry of details to take care of when publishing independently can be overwhelming. Step by slow step wins the race.
What advice would you give to new authors, or authors who are not new, but have struggled to keep at it in the face of obstacles?
As mentioned above, slow and steady progress adds up. Setting a small, reasonable goal, such as writing for one hour a day or 500 words— whatever works for you—then meeting and/or exceeding that goal, is satisfying. It all adds up.
What did you learn about God while writing Shining Bright?
Each of my main characters in the Huguenot Resistance Series struggles with an aspect of faith. Writing Shining Bright deepened my understanding that “success” is being faithful to what God asks us to do, in line with how He made us. Also reinforced was the truth that we can all contribute to the needs around us, no matter our real or perceived limitations.
Are there questions you would like to answer that I haven’t asked?
I’d like to encourage all new and/or struggling writers to keep at it. Write five to six days per week. If possible, aim for the same timeframe. Many days when I was tired or not feeling well, I sat down and just started. The muscle memory, fueled by the Holy Spirit, kicked in, and off we went.
When you don’t know what to write, write anything that comes to mind. I love Ann Lamott’s encouragement to write “terrible” (she used another word!) first drafts. Just write.
For a season, I wrote short essays every day on anything and everything. These will never see the light of day, but at least I was exercising my writing muscle.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Terri Lynn Thompson writes fiction that demonstrates God’s beauty in the muck of life—where light breaks through darkness and hope rises out of hard places. Her recent novel, Story Magic, is the first in a three-book series. Each one features a real nonprofit organizationthat Terri discovered through her family’s foundation: H. G. Clay Foundation (www.hgclayfoundation.org). Journey to Thélo is a YA Fantasy novella, in which Peter discovers the benefits of life in the light and learns to fly.
Find Terri at. . . linktr.ee/terrilynnthompson"
What made you want to be a writer?
Reading! From a very young age, I loved to read. I read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series on repeat. My name filled those books’ paper checkout cards in our school library.
Her books taught me to see life as a story. I wondered if my life could be a story. I imagined if Laura were transported to my time, how I’d explain things like the speed of cars, escalators, etc.
It took me a long time to admit to myself that I desired to be a writer. A milestone birthday convinced me it was now or never.
How do you think living abroad has influenced your writing?
I’ve always loved history and majored in it at university. Living in Europe, with its deep roots, inspires me. Moving into a 600-year-old château (a crumbly castle) had me wishing the walls could tell me all the stories. I searched for info on my town and home and discovered incredible true stories that became the basis for The Huguenot Resistance Series.
How did you come up with the idea for Shining Bright? Or what was your inspiration for the novel?
Shining Bright takes place during World War II in occupied France. Our town today commemorates the events that occurred when the SS Nazis arrived and used my home as their headquarters. These events deeply marked the town.
The main character, Jeanine, was a real person who lived in my home during that time. She was a small person and a wheelchair user due to her brittle bones. As I learned about Jeanine from her 94-year-old cousin, who lives nearby and is a dear friend. Jeanine’s character and courage impressed me deeply.
What is special to you about your new release, Shining Bright?
Shining Bright highlights the struggles and the fortitude of real people living through a long, hard war. As descendants of the Huguenots (French Protestants heavily persecuted centuries earlier, see Books 1 and 2), these men and women drew strength from their faith and their ancestry. I’m so glad to have brought their story to light through these novels.
What message do you hope readers take away from Shining Bright?
That anyone can stand up to evil tyranny and truly help others despite external and internal limitations. Above all, significance comes from trusting and following God into His plans for us.
How did you decide to go with an independent publisher? Would you do it again? Why/Why not?
That was quite a process. After much prayer and the advice of a very successful, traditionally published friend, I decided to publish independently. I would do it again and published all three of my books in The Huguenot Resistance Series independently.
The French translation of Book 1 (Malgré les ténèbres) was released through a traditional French publisher (CLC France). Book 2 (Une lueur brille) comes out October 1st.
Tell us something about yourself that is not in your bio.
In the past few years, I’ve become a vegetable gardener, a chicken mom, and an accidental beekeeper. Having grown up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, none of these were part of my upbringing. The learning curve is steep, yet they all bring me great pleasure.
If you could have coffee/tea with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? And what would you order?
So hard to choose! So many come to mind!
I’ll go with CS Lewis. His ability to convey truth through brilliant images and stories amazes me. His capacity to reduce difficult theological concepts into succinct, clear sentences is unparalleled.
I would order good English tea, as would he, I imagine.
What book(s) are on your TBR list right now?
Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar, Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox, and The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks.
What does your writing routine look like? Do you have any idiosyncrasies that keep you going?
I write six mornings a week, aiming to get in two to four hours before lunch. I start with prayer, inviting Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit to be fully present and flow through me, guiding me in all I do. All with Him. All for Him.
A good cup of coffee and Dan Musselman’s piano worship are faithful companions.
I start each writing session by rereading what I wrote the previous day. I edit lightly and then carry on into new material.
What is the most difficult part in the process of producing a novel for you? How have you worked through that?
Great question. There are aspects to each step that are challenging and rewarding. While I enjoy the drafting process, fatigue can set in. It’s a marathon. I set daily word goals and “force” myself to meet them. Once I get going, I often exceed the daily goal.
Editing and reediting feels like the almost final leg of the race. Will this ever be done? rotates through my mind.
Finally, the flurry of details to take care of when publishing independently can be overwhelming. Step by slow step wins the race.
What advice would you give to new authors, or authors who are not new, but have struggled to keep at it in the face of obstacles?
As mentioned above, slow and steady progress adds up. Setting a small, reasonable goal, such as writing for one hour a day or 500 words— whatever works for you—then meeting and/or exceeding that goal, is satisfying. It all adds up.
What did you learn about God while writing Shining Bright?
Each of my main characters in the Huguenot Resistance Series struggles with an aspect of faith. Writing Shining Bright deepened my understanding that “success” is being faithful to what God asks us to do, in line with how He made us. Also reinforced was the truth that we can all contribute to the needs around us, no matter our real or perceived limitations.
Are there questions you would like to answer that I haven’t asked?
I’d like to encourage all new and/or struggling writers to keep at it. Write five to six days per week. If possible, aim for the same timeframe. Many days when I was tired or not feeling well, I sat down and just started. The muscle memory, fueled by the Holy Spirit, kicked in, and off we went.
When you don’t know what to write, write anything that comes to mind. I love Ann Lamott’s encouragement to write “terrible” (she used another word!) first drafts. Just write.
For a season, I wrote short essays every day on anything and everything. These will never see the light of day, but at least I was exercising my writing muscle.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Terri Lynn Thompson writes fiction that demonstrates God’s beauty in the muck of life—where light breaks through darkness and hope rises out of hard places. Her recent novel, Story Magic, is the first in a three-book series. Each one features a real nonprofit organizationthat Terri discovered through her family’s foundation: H. G. Clay Foundation (www.hgclayfoundation.org). Journey to Thélo is a YA Fantasy novella, in which Peter discovers the benefits of life in the light and learns to fly.
Find Terri at. . . linktr.ee/terrilynnthompson"
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