About the Author

Johanna van Zanten
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Author Info

Johanna lives in Kelowna B.C., Canada, and Ajijic, Mexico, is an immigrant from The Netherlands (1982) and a Canadian citizen. When she started writing short stories in her late fifties, she was a child protection social worker, and discovered her love of writing. A few stories made the shortlist in contests (Glimmer Train, CBC/UBC Short Story Contest); a few stories were published locally. She self-published two novels, and completed two more novels, once of which has recently found a publisher. 

Her first novel is a book-in-stories about life, and dating after fifty: On Thin Ice (2012). Johanna’s second novel Guardians’ Betrayal (2018) is a fictional story about fictional the adoption of older children, suitable for adults and mature new adult readers with an interest in family drama. 

Johanne’s third novel (historical fiction) is set in The Netherlands during World War II about a young chief of police under German occupation, inspired by true events in her parents’ lives. It is scheduled for publication in the fall of 2021 with American publisher Histria Books under the title Between A Rock And A Hard Place.

A fourth novel is a murder mystery set in a small town in Canada, titled Murder In The Strata, written and long-listed for the Three-Day-Novel Writing contest in BC. 

Johanna is currently working on a historical novel inspired by her German-Slavic grandmother, who lived through two World Wars in Germany and in The Netherlands.

Johanna is active on social media and she maintains a blog.

News

Johanna's latest novel will be released on November 30, 2021 by Histria Books's Addison and Highsmith imprint, titled BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE,  a novel set in The Netherlands during World War II. Jacob van Noorden is a military policeman with a wife and two children, and a third on the way. He was just assigned his first job as chief of a crew in a rural town, close to the German border. When the German army invades and moves through his town, Jacob and his crew have no defense. They can only watch the tanks rumble by without stopping on their way to the capital to arrest the Dutch leadership. 

As the Queen and cabinet escaped to Britain, their last direction is for all public servants to stay on their posts, as long as it serves the Dutch nation and the occupier follows international laws.

After Jacob’s boss is replaced by a pro-German who slavishly follows all Nazi laws, all moral guidance must come from Jacob himself and his conscience. As the Nazis open an SS-style prisoners’ camp in Jacob’s jurisdiction and hire Dutchmen to run it, the ordeal begins.

Jacob’s wife, Margaret, is German-born. His mother-in-law is an outspoken admirer of Hitler. Soon he learns that his wife’s twin brother has joined the Dutch Nazi Party. Stuck with his relatives of mixed German-Dutch heritage, he joins the resistance as an informer. He is forced to deal with the increasingly disastrous events of the Nazi regime’s occupation. He learns in the end that every action he takes, no matter how well-intentioned, has enormous, long-lasting consequences to those around him.

 

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