Rhonda Denise Johnson

Biography

I am the oldest child of an oldest child. Born in the Washington, D.C. of 1965, I have lived on thirty-one streets in six different states. Whether my characters are fictional or factional, I like to delve deep into their minds and hearts. My hope is that you will also delve into your own heart and mind and find something unexpected and joyful there.

Rhonda Denise Johnson
The Writer who Paints Pictures with words

Smashwords Interview

How do you approach cover design?
Cover design is a balance between the practical and the artistic.

It's practical because you want to have all the information there—the author's name and the title, and you want it to be large enough to be visible, yet not so large that you can't fit it all. Whether to make the canvas bigger or the font smaller is, at any time, a judgment call

And it's artistic because you have to decide on a balance of colors, patterns and text that are congruous as a whole. Things that look good by themselves may not look good together.

At first, I thought of making it like a collage, with different scenes taken from the book. But that would have created clutter. I'm not trying to tell the story of the book on the cover. I just want to create a mood—an impression and that can be done with a few simple elements.

When you put it all together, if it doesn't work, then you have to decide can you change this or that to make it work or should you toss the whole thing and start anew.

Balance is of the essence in every aspect of cover design.
What do you read for pleasure?
I like anything with witches, dragons and goblins, spaceships, planets and robots. Through in a few pirates and time traveling and you got me.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Rhonda Denise Johnson online

Videos

Rhonda Denise Johnson
Featured novels

A Writer Takes Her Pen
Ever wonder what’s on a writer’s mind when she writes? Thought I’d make this quick video and tell you face to face.

Series

The Nanosia
Nanosia brings fantasy and science fiction together. instead of the normal guy falling into a fantasy world, our magic guys find themselves trapped in a world one billionth their normal size. Instead of magic and science at odds with each other, Jawan searches among the quarks and electrons for a clue to the mysterious ailment that killed his parents in Queen of the Quantum Realm. Loby searches for the secret to his power in Fire Master.To save his magic, iin Mage of the Black Hole, Peanut is duped into helping the queen's diabolical physician to create a new form of human life.
Orisha Series
Two women, Chloe, a 21st century college student at Cal State Los Angeles and Ayodele, Chloe’s 19th century ancestor on a Virginia tobacco plantation. In each novel, the African orisha take them on journeys through time and space where they join in their struggle to be more than is expected of them as African Americans and as women.

Books

Speaking for the Child Bonus Edition
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 84,630. Language: English. Published: July 2, 2021 . Categories: Nonfiction » Biography » Autobiographies & Memoirs
An autobiography and a challenge. Going through public schools with a hidden yet progressive hearing and vision loss was challenging. This is the story that speaks for the child who could not speak for herself. This bonus edition includes the short story The Listening Heart.
Mage of the Black Hole: Book 3 of the Nanosia Series
Series: The Nanosia, Book 3. Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 90,110. Language: English. Published: November 26, 2020 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic, Fiction » Young adult or teen » Adventure
Peanut, from the young adult fantasy novel Fire Master, vows to never use magic again when people around him start to die. But he loves to practice magic with his uncle Pyck and is glad to help the queen's physician in a mysterious plot to destroy death. Now he can practice magic without worrying—or so he thinks.
Fire Master: Book 2 of the Nanosia Series
Series: The Nanosia, Book 2. Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 87,560. Language: English. Published: July 8, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Fantasy
In this sequel to the young adult fantasy Queen of the Quantum Realm, Loby, the journeyman of the late Lord Elveston, plunges into Nanosia, a world one-billionth his normal size, to find the secret to his magic and take Lord Elveston's place as the new fire mage. Loby doesn't want to and isn't ready. King Cestor's diabolical machinations force Loby to get ready in a hurry.
Dinner is Served: A Short Story
Price: Free! Words: 1,800. Language: English. Published: April 9, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Fairy tales
A fun twist on a well-known fairy tale. Albert is in for a surprise when the one woman who answered his discreet ad for a wife comes with her own plans for the evening.
Queen of the Quantum Realm: Book1 of the Nanosia Series
Series: The Nanosia, Book 1. Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 90,610. Language: English. Published: February 25, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic, Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure
Jawan hadn’t been allowed to see his parents in eight years after the powerful Earth mage apprenticed him, and now he never will. They’d been struck down by the deadly purple plague that ravages Hadley Town. When his master’s magic fails to find a clue to this mystery ailment, Jawan embarks on his own search, and finds himself trapped in a world one billionth his normal size.
The First Nine
Price: Free! Words: 1,760. Language: English. Published: May 14, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » African American fiction » General
The great equalizer: How one man can control 100 people with one gun and nine bullets.
Stuporman
Price: Free! Words: 1,760. Language: English. Published: March 18, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Adventure » General
Parody of Superman. It’s a never-ending battle as Stuporman grapples Dr. Hydrobum and his diabolical schemes to plunge California into the Specific.
Tale of the Western Crocogator
Price: Free! Words: 2,430. Language: English. Published: March 8, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » African American fiction » General
The crocogator is an urban legend in the African-American tradition. In The Tale of the Western Crocogator, I take this legendary figure out of his native home in New York's Harlem and send him to Los Angeles. In his adventure he finds out things about himself he had not known and develops a new appreciation for his female companion.
The Listening Heart
Price: Free! Words: 2,910. Language: English. Published: August 17, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » African American fiction » Contemporary woman, Fiction » Inspirational
She can’t hear but she can listen. Listening to the faces of 3 women trouble her because the women themselves are troubled. Though Deafness separates her from the words of the people around her, she is determined not to be separated from their hearts.
Prince Alarming: A Short Story
Price: Free! Words: 2,410. Language: English. Published: August 13, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Short stories
(4.00 from 1 review)
What really happens when Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty ride off on his white steed? Funny you should ask. We thought we knew. But the truth is, while he's wooing Sleeping Beauty, he's still married to Snow White and Cinderella. Things get zany when the seven dwarves show up to have a word with this ladies' man.
Two Women Two Roads One Future: Book 1 of the Orisha Series
Series: Orisha Series. Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 84,880. Language: English. Published: August 13, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » African American fiction » Contemporary woman, Fiction » Women's fiction » General
Chloe doesn’t believe in coincidences, so when strange things keep happening, she seeks the help of a Candomblé priestess to find out what’s what. Oya, the Orisha of the wind, takes her through time and space from 21st century Los Angeles to 19th century Virginia where she and her ancestor Ayodele, a slave on a tobacco plantation, struggle to be more than is expected of them as women and Africans.

Rhonda Denise Johnson's favorite authors on Smashwords

Smashwords book reviews by Rhonda Denise Johnson

  • Fat Cat on July 26, 2023

    Everybody in the room looks shady as Charlie tries to solve the murder of a human woman without alerting human authorities to the fact that her kind exists at all. She’s the marshal of a pride of werecats and must maintain her professional cool to keep her predominantly male world from erupting in chaos. But her emotions threaten to get the best of her as it becomes more and more apparent that she herself had once been a victim of the killer. She wants closure. The grieving widower want satisfaction, but every time they find a suspect, they can never be sure he’s the right guy or if the real killer is still out there. Charlie must keep order in a world that doesn’t bow to human laws of justice. Vincent seamlessly intwines plot and character to weave a story that kept me engaged with the characters and as eager as they were to find out whodunit. I highly recommend reading Fat Cat.
  • Saint's Passage: A Paranormal Mystery Romance on July 29, 2023

    Lupe, a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant, seems to be getting the best of elemental vampires Carwyn and Brigid. Her mother hired them to find her after she ran away from home. But every time they follow a lead to her whereabouts, they arrive to find she’s long gone. When they finally catch up to her, instead of bringing her home, they wind up helping her break into a heavily guarded military base to rescue more than a dozen children from an immigrant detention center that turns out to be something much more nefarious. Hunter is a master of believable surprises. None of the characters in Saint’s Passage fits into well worn stereotypes. The playful teasing between the vampire couple doesn’t hide the depth of their love. Just when it seems that the most sensible thing for Lupe to do is give up and return home with Brigid and Carwyn where her worried mother is waiting, she pulls together an impossible team whose initial reluctance to get involved is transformed by her determination to save the children. I highly recommend Siant’s Passage for your next good read.
  • Blind Tiger on Aug. 02, 2023

    When a council of old school men decide to control Robyn’s future for her own good, she escapes their custody by insinuating herself into the life of Titus. Her presence endangers his efforts to win the council’s support. Establishing an officially recognized territory for stray werecats has been his dream for years. But just when his dream is within his grasp, he discovers that his younger brother has been turned into a werecat and is going around spreading the infection with no idea what he is doing. In the council’s eyes, ignorance of the law is no excuse for this capital offense. Titus sacrifices his own dream and lets people think he is the one infecting others rather than let his brother be executed. Robyn and Titus hunt for the brother and uncover a nefarious plot to destroy Titus and usurp control of his territory. In this riveting whodunit, Vincent keeps us wondering. But the story is more than that. It is also the story of one woman’s struggle for respect in a male dominated world. Robyn’s refusal to settle for less keeps Titus frustrated and makes his life more complicated than he would like, but in the end, her determination proves instrumental in helping him achieve his own dream. I recommend Blind Tiger to anyone who loves to read good books.
  • Martyr's Promise: A Paranormal Mystery Romance on Aug. 05, 2023

    Two Teenagers are missing, and one of them, Summer Mackenzie, happens to belong to a family with strong vampire connections. Her disappearance does not go unnoticed. In their search for the teens, Brigid and Carwyn uncover the diabolic plans of Ivan, a rogue vampire who’s been kidnapping hikers for five years. THEY TEAM UP WITH Russian vampires who control the north Pacific territory. Faced with two separate goals—capturing Ivan or rescuing summer—Brigid and Carwyn are determined to do both. In Martyr’s Promise, Hunter creates a realistic world populated with realistic people. To the point that I now have to remind myself that there is no such thing as a vampire. I recommend Martyr’s Promise for a good read, if not a goodnight’s sleep.