Janis Owens (born 1960) is an American author. She has written four novels and one cookbook. American Ghost, her latest novel, was published in 2012.
Early life and education Owens is a native of North Florida, born a few miles south of the Alabama/Georgia border in the town of Marianna. She was the last child and only daughter of an Assemblies of God preacher, Roy Johnson, and his wife, Martha Johnson.
When she was a toddler, her father gave up the ministry and became an insurance salesman. From Marianna, the family moved to New Orleans, then Hattiesburg, Mississippi, then to finally back to North Florida. They eventually ended up in Ocala, which is where she spent the remainder of her childhood.
Shortly after graduating high school she married Wendel Owens, a native of Arkansas. In 1983, after the birth of her first daughter, Owens graduated from the University of Florida.
Career After graduating from college, Owens began writing her first novel, My Brother Michael. The novel is set in Marianna, Florida, where she spent her early childhood. She says she "finished in due time...it was received well enough, considering it was a first novel and I was a twenty-four year old half-wit at the time."Owens' website , "About Janis Owens", retrieved April 30, 2011. My Brother Michael relates the story of Gabriel Catts and his lifelong love for his brother's wife, Myra.
Owens then wrote Myra Sims, which tells the story from Myra's perspective. The Schooling of Claybird Catts, Owens' third novel, brings the story full circle and carries it into the next generation.
Owens most recent novel, due for publication October 2013, is "American Ghost" (Scribner.)
Cracker roadshow Another project of hers is the "Cracker Roadshow", which she describes thusly:
Works My Brother MichaelReview of My Brother Michael, Kirkus ReviewsReview of My Brother Michael, Publishers Weekly Myra SimsReview of Myra Sims, Kirkus ReviewsReview of Myra Sims, Publishers Weekly The Schooling of Claybird CattsReview of The Schooling of Claybird Catts, Kirkus ReviewsReview of The Schooling of Claybird Catts, Publishers Weekly The Cracker Kitchen (2009)Review of The Cracker Kitchen, Publishers Weekly American GhostReview of American Ghost by David Kinzer, Southern Literary ReviewReview of American Ghost, Kirkus ReviewsReview of American Ghost, Publishers WeeklyReview of American Ghost by Evelyn Beck, Library JournalReview of American Ghost by Jo Ann Butler, Historical Novel SocietyReview of American Ghost by Brandy Hilboldt Allport, Florida Times-UnionReview of American Ghost, The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionReview of American Ghost by Susannah Meadows, The New York Times
See also Cracker, a pejorative term Florida cracker
References