User:Joyce Crawford, Christian author/sandbox

Joyce Crawford is a new American author of Christian historical fiction. She readily admits to being a “cradle Christian,” born March 1, 1949, in a Gainesville, Florida and grew up in Hawthorne, Florida. Her parents, Victor and Vivien Burton, both born-again Christians, were strong believers in God and Jesus Christ. When Joyce was seven years old, she, officially joined the ranks of “a child of God.”

Starting in fourth grade, Joyce noticed something was wrong. Reading was laborious for her, and she could not finish an assignment. Not until she retired, did she discover "cross craw," a brain imbalance linked to hand eye coordination. She continues to struggle with reading, but she now finds great satisfaction in writing. A neighbor quipped, “How can you write when you can’t read?”

This author is a great proponent of children receiving help with reading disorders and dyslexia. Exercises are available, and if caught early, these children can be helped.

Shortly into her retirement, Joyce began her writing career by writing the children's chapter book, the Thelma Thistle children’s chapter book series. She shared that her inspiration comes from God and her own dreams and memories. The stories always have social lessons and moral stories.

Joyce states, “What makes my Thelma books unique is that I add a vocabulary and emotions list to my books in addition to an index. “I want to make it as easy and impressionable as possible for the children to learn.”

After reading the third book of Thelma Thistle, a retired Air Force officer, exclaimed, “I did not know that a raccoon is the cousin to the bear!” Joyce considered that a victory for her writing.Her books employ second-grade vocabulary that introduces her young readers to emotions common to all children. Among others, these emotions include fear, anger, envy, courage, distrust, and prejudice. Among her story topics, Joyce discusses ecology, thunder, erosion, insects, bats, spider eyes, death, the change of seasons, where forest creatures sleep, and the story of the Nativity as told by an eye-witness.

In 2022, this author transitioned from children’s books to young adult/adult Christian historical fiction. Her first novel, published in 2022, was The Warehouse. Joyce tells us the inspiration for this novel was from an anecdote she heard in church when a teenager. The story line begins in 1817, when Florida was still a wilderness territory, and extends through the 1960s. Part one of the book tells of a tiny community’s growth and building a storehouse, which later became a community center during wartime.

After several generations, the pioneer’s great-great granddaughter becomes one of the protagonists that connects parts one and two of that book. Part two of the book describes how a new manager changes the warehouse, restoring it to its former glory. This becomes an almost mystical gathering place where people find peace, wisdom, and God’s gifts just for the asking.

The author intersperses the pages of her books with Bible scriptures and sacred hymns, apropos to the stories. She also shares that her personal memories and family oral history color her writings.

Joyce Crawford's reason for writing is that her stories might help people find and know the unchanging love of God.

This Christian author continues to write. Her second novel, The Train, discusses faith, dependency on God, physical handicaps, spousal abuse, anorexia, and family relations. She chose a more significant challenge for her third project - a trilogy based on her Burton ancestry—The Royal Order of the Last Coin, Jamestown – A New Life, and Kentucky to Missouri.

To date, this author’s Christian historical novels have won awards and accolades from NABE, The National Association of Book Entrepreneurs Feather Quill and, through the efforts of Books To Life Marketing, The Royal Order of the Last Coin has attracted the attention of movie producers in the UK.