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Meet the Redeemed Reader Team
Janie Cheaney, Editorial Advisor and Senior Staff Writer
J. B. Cheaney (Janie to her friends) became a reader early on, but never thought she’d become a writer. As a shy, skinny kid growing up in Texas, books were her best friends. Sometime in her mid-twenties, she thought she might try writing one. While waiting to get a book published (20 years!), Janie turned her writing practice into Wordsmith, a series of creative writing workbooks to help kids discover the joys of competent writing for themselves.
Now that she’s overcome her shyness, books are no longer Janie’s best friends. But a well-crafted story or poem still moves her to tears or laughter or constructive disagreement or deeper understanding of herself and this endlessly fascinating world we live in. That’s the value of a good book. If you’re reading this, you probably want your own children or students to discover that value for themselves. So every single week, Janie shares her ongoing book-reading adventures with you, right here on Redeemed Reader.
Janie has written six novels for tweens and teens: My Friend the Enemy, In the Middle of Somewhere, Somebody on This Bus is Going to Be Famous, I Don’t Know How the Story Ends, The Playmaker, and The True Prince. She is also a long-time and well-respected contributor to WORLD Magazine. If you want to learn from a real author, check out her Wordsmith creative writing curriculum. Otherwise, you’ll find her right here, reading ahead for you!
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Betsy Farquhar, Managing Editor and Staff Writer
All great stories point to THE story of Christ redeeming his people. Betsy loves helping people find those stories and know how to talk about them. To date, she’s helped hundreds of children and teens (and their parents and teachers) discover great reads. One of her young friends calls her, “The Good Book Lady.” When she's reading ahead for you, she does so with sticky notes (instead of book darts) and willfully dog ears pages. She's a fan of George MacDonald, robust book discussion, and the Oxford comma.
After earning a BA from Covenant College and an MA (in children’s literature) from Hollins University, Betsy taught middle and high school English. She later earned an MSIS from the University of Tennessee and worked a short stint as a school librarian. Betsy has also served on state book award committees and the World Children’s Book of the Year committee. She lives with her Renaissance man and their three children in the Southeast where they serve in their local PCA church, go hiking whenever they get a chance, and play board games regularly (when they're not reading, that is).
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Megan Saben, Associate Editor and Staff Writer
Megan loves nothing more than discovering Truth and Story in literature. She’s always reading ahead for you because good books are meant to be shared, and writing stories and poetry because playing with words is irresistible. She is the author of the independently published picture book Something Better Coming and has another book under contract.
Megan is quite particular about which pottery mug is best suited to her favorite hot drinks throughout the day.
Megan earned a BA from Covenant College, an MA (in children’s literature) from Hollins University, and a MLIS from the University of Iowa. She spent four inspiring years as a children’s librarian in Illinois, applying her passion to matching readers with books, and now enjoys knitting and sharing literary discoveries with her friends and church family. She enjoys serving on literary committees such as the WORLD Children’s Book of the Year Award or Jefferson Cup Award, because they broaden her reading choices. She now lives happily ever after with her own Prince Charming and their five sons in Virginia, surrounded by more books than she will ever have time to read.
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Hayley Morell, Executive Assistant and Staff Writer
Hayley was born in a library and raised by books. Will your children say the same thing someday? Born into a book-loving family, Hayley grew up loving books. She’s now known as “the babysitter with the bookbag.” Hayley’s specialty is children’s literature: from picture books to young adult fiction, particularly anything British.
Hayley’s been known to recommend books to people in the checkout line at Trader Joe’s, on a train in the middle of France, and anywhere a potential reader is hanging out. She’s reading ahead for you, too, even if she doesn’t get to meet you in person!
Hayley loves traveling, learning about other cultures, and trying new food. She lives in Wisconsin with her book-loving husband and works with children and with words as a freelance writer.
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