New Weekend -- New Author!

Hi, all of you. Today we get acquainted with June Foster, whose book GIVE US THIS DAY just came out.

DK: When you’re not writing, what do you like most to read? Genre, favorites, etc.
JF: Before I started writing two years ago, I read end time prophecy fiction such as the “Left Behind” series. Since I've begun writing, I love to read in my genre - romance. I want to read the books my fellow authors at Desert Breeze write. I download mostly the inspirational romances. I've probably read six or seven of the authors now. I love Shawna Williams' writing because her characters must overcome their flaws to become more Christ like.

DK: Shawna is one terrific writer. And if you didn’t write in your chosen genre, which would you write? Why?
JF: I'd like to write romantic suspense one of these days. I'd love to allow my imagination to go wild and think of the twists and turns that keep readers turning the pages. And when there's a romance involved, it's all the more fun.

DK: Where do you see the fiction market going in the near-term?
JF: There will always be an interest in fiction. I think the e-book market is going to explode even more than it has in the last five years or so.

DK: You’re right! Its sure going to change things all around. What has been your biggest challenge since you decided to seek publication?
JF: The waiting game is difficult - to see if a publisher will like my work or send me a rejection letter. That's one thing I like about Gail Delaney of Desert Breeze Publishing. She's respectful of authors and answers promptly to proposals she receives.

DK: She is that, to be sure. Name a few of your favorite authors.
JF: Well, I know Deb Kinnard is one of them. Others are Latayne Scott, Mildred Colvin, Allison Pittman, Jerry Jenkins, and Gail Gaymer Martin.

DK: Hey, thanks! That sure is nice to know. Care to share a writing habit you cannot do without?
JF: Praying and asking the Lord to help me every step of the way. I rely on Him for ideas, words, and inspiration for my plots.

Thanks for guesting on the blog, June.

Janet Butler Tells All!

All, that is, about her new Desert Breeze release VOICE OF INNOCENCE. I wanted her to interview here and tell something about how the germ of an idea became the story it is today. And a horking good one, too.

Deb: You’ve always called this book your “400 lb. gorilla.” What made you fall in love with this story?

Janet: Interestingly enough, the thread that made this the “book of my heart” isn’t even in the book now: it was the first scene I envisioned, one that takes place before the book begins. In this scene a young woman, in unrequited love with her older professor, is getting ready to leave a party at his house. She’s in the bedroom, about to pick up her coat, when she pauses and gazes longingly at his wife’s things on the dresser—you know, the hand mirror, the elegant brushes and perfume bottles—and thinks to herself that she’s just a fool, “a fool in a cheap little jacket,” longing for things she can’t have. I knew once I met that young woman, I needed to write this story, as much as the characters seemed to need it told.

Deb: Eeeenteresting! Lachlan is a multi-dimensional character with a heavy load of baggage. How did you make him so appealing?

Janet: Lachlan has always been a polarizing character: people either loved him or they hated him. He was stiffer, more pompous, in previous versions of the book; I’ve loosened him up considerably so we see more of his humor, more of the brightness that wants to come to the surface. He’s actually a fun guy, once he’s past all his troubles. But one thing has never changed with him: at the core, he is a mystic, a poet, and a romantic. What’s not to love?

Deb: Amanda’s struggling under a heavy load as well. How did you make her seem so sane when she was hearing voices almost from the first page?

Janet: I had to give Amanda a much firmer personality to deal with the voices, which did her a big favor. In earlier writing, she was much like Lachlan—more sensitive, more reticent, etc. Then I realized I had two people whose personalities were too much alike. So Amanda and I sat down and talked about it, and she told me she really didn’t have much time for nonsense; she has three brothers, so she had to be practical (and quick, to get her share at the dinner table). You’ll notice that she’s both pragmatic and decisive when confronted with the voices. She resists the urge to fly off into “what ifs” of the type Lachlan would be more prone to, and she’s feisty enough to tell off a (very unwelcome) ghost. Three brothers’ll bring that out of a girl.

Deb: I’ll say they would! And another matter – Carlyle College almost takes on the life of another “character” in VOI. What techniques make this fictional setting come real?

Janet: This is especially flattering to hear, since my intent was to write a very Gothic-toned story with VOI, and one of the keys to good Gothic literature is that the setting becomes a pseudo-character in itself. If Carlyle College, with its red brick and flower beds and manicured green, speaks to you…that’s exactly what it’s supposed to do. It’s supposed to evoke “traditional ivy-covered halls” in the imagination…while hiding deadly secrets and mysteries beneath its surface. Carlyle plays such an important part in the story as well because it represents so many things to so many people: it’s Amanda’s beginning, her first big break; it’s Lachlan’s last chance, the only thing that means anything to him; it represents status and solidity to other characters; and so on. I thought it the best backdrop to my characters’ drama, and in the process, it became the linchpin. (Besides, I love academic settings!)

Deb: I’d love to try one, too, but I’ve never dared. My memories of college are -- shall we say -- a bit misty by now. But how early in the writing of the book did you sense it needed to be a romantic suspense?

Janet: From the get-go. It started out as a “revenge” story in its earliest form—a young woman going to confront the man she thinks responsible for her sister’s death (with all the possibilities for danger that that implies), only to fall in love with him at the end. It morphed through various other plotlines, various other scenarios, but there was always an underlying mystery, a budding and somewhat forbidden romance, and the threat of danger to the heroine. Only recently did it become more fully developed romantic suspense with the additional “woo-woo” element that incorporates elements of danger and attraction for both Lachlan and Amanda. But it was always a “whodunit” with the underlying theme, “Nothing is what it seems to be on the surface.”

Deb: I’ll say you had to “go deep” with this one. During the writing, was the identity of the villain in chief a surprise to you, or did you know it was that person beforehand?

Janet: My VIC (villain in chief)’s identity has changed dramatically from the original! The plot originally had a totally different character involved with Lachlan in the beginning of the book, a letter that explained everything (and which a character brought out at a crucial moment), and even a confrontation between Amanda and the first Mrs. MacAndrews which was rather…interesting, to say the least. It wasn’t until this latest version that I realized who had the most to lose if the hero and heroine win…and why…and what that person would do to stop that from taking place. Then, I had a real villain in chief with a scenario that would make perfect, psychopathic sense (to them). Most of all, I’m thrilled when people have read this in manuscript and said they were surprised at who the “nasty” was; that’s another touchstone of Gothic fiction that I tried hard to get right. I hope I did!

Deb: In spades! Janet, thanks for shedding light on your creative process. Readers, go and get this book – you’ll enjoy the journey as much as I did.

Go Ahead, Win Something

Better still, help me celebrate -- ALOHA, MY LOVE comes out from Desert Breeze tomorrow. To celebrate this e-book, I believe one of you Faithful Minions should win something!

Sound like a plan?

Post a comment. Win one of my jewelry pieces (I design and create jewelry). Most of them are necklaces but I also do earrings for pierced ears. Haven't found any decent findings for non-pierced ears yet. "Findings" are those little extra necessities like earwires, posts, those round springy things that fasten the necklace in back...you get the picture.

Enough of the jargon. Make a post. Win a necklace or whatever you choose that I have (I have some real sweet stuff ready-made).

Celebrate! Aloha.

Cover Art Triumph!

Once again, the wonderful artist Jenifer Ranieri at Desert Breeze has created a great cover. I'm pleased to show it to you here.

This is the fourth of four winner covers Desert Breeze has assigned to my books.

Color me pleased, humbled, and proud.

ALOHA, MY LOVE, a contemporary romance, releases as an e-book in all known Terran formats on December 1.

Fired Back Up!

Writing news today, plus a mini-rant.

The good news is: I'm afire once more. Those peripherals I discussed in the previous post will have to wait -- a story burns!

More than once in the past I've discussed with Janny the idea of a series, centered around a container of some kind that the characters use to store mementoes in -- items that figured in, or remind them of, some sort of crisis of faith. The items can be anything: a rock found on the beach that day they prayed and got answers; a bead from Grandmother's paternoster; a note from a friend thought lost.

The concept was originally the Bag o' Religion, shamelessly borrowed, but it's morphed into an ancient reliquary. PEACEWEAVER, the piece I'm brushing up (and trying desperately to finish) will be the introductory story. After that I'm fleshing out a previously written medieval, set later in the period, for the second book. Working title: THE STRANGER GUEST.

Janny's question was, "Stranger than what?" That needs answer, but not right now!

Mini-rant follows. Those of you who don't care, now's your chance to opt out.

ACFW in their forward-thinking mode has decided that e-books are no longer acceptable as Book Club selections. They selected Shawna Williams' NO OTHER as their first ever e-book. All 'round cyberspace, e-authors were applauding. ACFW "gained face" as they say in the East.

Now that's all over. One e-book was permitted for discussion, but not any more.

C'mon, ACFW. Get with the times. Do we always have to be two years behind the industry? Or this once, can we put on our Big Girl Times-They-Are-A'Changin' Hat and try, at least, to get on a level playing field?

Pah!

ANGEL Takes Wing!

Woot! ANGEL WITH A RAY GUN has found a new home! Desert Breeze Publishing will release it on or about May 1 (this year!) as an e-book.

I'm pleased as can be. I told myself not to get my hopes up too high. Reissues are notoriously difficult to place. My agent says so, and she knows.

E-publishing: been there before, and the upside of this book's release is that e-books are much higher profile now than when I first sold one in '02. The big publishers are starting to realize the potential of this market. And then there's Kindle.

So watch for bigger things from e-publishing. With the economy so uncertain, publishers seem to be re-assessing how they get content out there, and the future of the e-book looks brighter than before.

Good News for the SF Fans

I always like to cyber-party when a new author breaks in, particularly in the science fiction realm. There is never enough!

That fact makes me happy to announce that my cyber-bud Sharolyn Wells has sold her first novel, PLYMOUTH COLONY II, to release March 14 from E Treasures Publishing (www.etreasurespublishing.com).

Here's the blurb: "Earth is gone—destroyed by a group of lizard-like aliens called the Novari. Before they send their meteor ships to destroy Earth, another group of humanoid aliens arrive—the Kelkani. They will save some of Earth’s young people. Are they doing it for themselves or is the group of Elitists doing it for their own reasons?"

Sounds like a winner to me.