An Author’s Kiss with Sara Troy and her guest Janna Brooke Wallack, on air from April 15th
“Naked Girl is a story of the enduring power of love in a family of lunatics,” says Janna Brooke Wallack of her debut novel, a poignant piece of literary fiction. Though not autobiographical, it reads like a memoir. Wallack’s enduring voice and fresh vision evoke the storytelling of masterful novelists like Ann Patchett, Kristin Hannah, and Zadie Smith. Naked Girl is a captivating and moving story that explores the dysfunction of a family, the struggles of ‘fitting in’ and the power of hope, humor, and imperfect love.
Growing up motherless in 1980s Miami Beach, Sienna and her little brother, Siddhartha get by with their charismatic and capricious father, Jackson Jones. When a small windfall relocates them to a condemned mansion on the water, the siblings are forbidden traditional schooling and left to live off the land. As Jackson uses their new home to create a communal cult, the siblings are forced to raise themselves in a carefree, chaotic oasis. Living amidst the vagrant seekers who take up residence in Jackson’s utopia, Sienna and Siddhartha strive to protect their unconventional family.
Janna Brooke Wallack writes with warmth, compassion and comic brilliance in Naked Girl, an enthralling debut novel brimming with the adventure, resilience, humor and heartbreak of growing up on the fringe of decency and longing for the unattainable comfort of home.
| ITunes | Spotify | Soundcloud |
| Amazon | YouTube Music | iHEART |
| Podvine | Podcasher | Podcast Addict |
| Mixcloud | Radio Public. | FM Player |
| Odysee | Youtube | Opodium |
| DO | ENJOY | THE WISDOM |
Janna Brooke Wallack’s debut novel, Naked Girl, has been named a semifinalist for the 2024 Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize in fiction. She also received recognition from Book Viral’s Golden Quill, Book Reader’s Association Group’s BRAG Medallion, and a silver medal in the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Award for Literary/Contemporary Fiction.
Her stories have been published or shortlisted by literary publications such as Hobart, Upstreet, Glimmer Train Press, American Literary Review, and many more. Her short story “Campaigning” was a finalist for the Lascaux Prize in Short Fiction. This novel’s prologue, “Five Pictures” was a finalist for Glimmer Train Press’s Short Story Award for New Writers, and her story “Cat and Rose” received a Pushcart nomination by The MacGuffin.
In addition to her writing career, she’s worked as a grant writer, a substance abuse prevention counselor, a wetlands manual editor, a theatre production assistant, and an actress. After spending a couple of years in Hong Kong, she moved to Hoboken, NJ. She raised five children and moved to Stone Ridge in the Catskills of New York, where she ran a permaculture gentleman’s farm.
“In Wallack’s novel, a brother and sister survive a shocking upbringing of drugs, cults, and neglect.… “An endearing and fascinating perspective on a uniquely volatile and dangerous childhood.” —Kirkus Reviews
https://jannabrookewallack.com
www.facebook.com/jannabrooke.cohen
FIND MORE SHOWS OF ILLUMINATION HERE
Discover the sites we share on linktr.ee/saratroy
BE OUR GUEST AND SHARE THE WISDOM
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation; if you enjoyed this show, please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support. Thank you. Please support Our Forgotten Seniors anthology and help to bring this book to awareness.
You must be logged in to post a comment.