Meet Joni Franks

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joni Franks and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joni, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I left the business world eight years ago to begin a new phase of my life. The themes that were prominent in the news at the time were equality, bullying, and environmental conservation. Issues that are very close to my heart. During my business career, being a woman never stopped me from achieving success. I grew up in an era that offered me the freedom to live out my dreams. Every child has been bullied, including me, and I have empathy for those that are caught in the vicious cycle of being bullied. So, I decided to redirect my time and energy into becoming an author and illustrator of books that focus on the themes of equality, bullying, environmental conservation and finding one’s destiny. Living in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado I have witnessed firsthand the consequences of deforestation, the depletion of water resources, and the consequences of environmental disasters like forest fire and floods. I incorporated those themes into a children’s storybook series using my Welsh corgi, Sagebrush, as the protagonist, to tell these stories for the new generation in order to make a difference in the world. My first book series, Corky Tails, Tales of a Tailless Dog Named Sagebrush was born. To date, there are eight books in that series, a Spanish translation and six new books to be published over the next few years.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I thought it was important that I illustrate my own books. I saw the characters and settings vividly in my mind and I knew that someone else would not see them in the same way. I’m glad I stuck with this plan as my books have won numerous awards for art illustration in both my Corky Tails book series, my young adult/adult fantasy series, The Crooked Forest, and my illustrated poetry book., Heart Songs. Recently I was named the 2024 Will Rogers Medallion Award Illustrator of the Year. In October I will travel to Ft, Worth to receive two Will Rogers Medallion Awards for Illustrator of the Year and for Western Young Readers Illustrated Fiction for my Corky Tails book, Holly Berry and Mistletoe. I consider this a great accomplishment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to the art galleries, gift stores and bookstores where my books and my artwork are sold. The Crestone Artisans Gallery in Crestone, Co, the Studios at Bristol in Creede, Colorado, along with the Narrow-Gauge Book Coop in Alamosa, Colorado, the Gift Chateau in Canon City, Colorado and Mirage Trading and Coffee in Moffat, Colorado.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It was my publishing consultant, Travis Black, that encouraged me to turn Corky Tails into a book series. He also pushed me to invest in getting professional book reviews. At the time I was terrified. I remember telling him that I couldn’t imagine what topics I would write about in order to create a book series and the thought of getting professional reviews intimidated me because I was afraid that my stories might not be well received. I am so glad I took his advice! To date my two series of children and young adult/adult books have garnered over fifty literary honors. You can learn more about me and my books by visiting my website, www.jonifranks.com.

Website: https://www.jonifranks.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/corkytails1/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joni-franks-721973183/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/corkytails1/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKPwujQFHPA 

Image Credits
n/a