Author Spotlight – Jan Sikes

Welcome!

1.            When did you start writing?

I began my writing journey after my husband passed away in 2009. For years, people would come into our home and our lives and say to us, “Someone needs to write your story.” We always agreed and thought someone would. I awoke to the realization one day that if someone else wrote it, I would have to tell them the whole thing. So, I got busy, took writing classes, and dove into the project. It took four books to tell it. Then I published a book of poetry and art and thought I was done. Wrong! Six novels and ten short stories later, I can’t find a way to stop.

2.            What motivates you to write? 

Story ideas are my biggest motivators. It is my belief that when I am given the inspiration for a story, it is my duty to the Creative Gods to do something with it. As long as the story ideas keep coming, I will keep writing.

3.            What genre do you write in and what made you choose this particular genre?

This is a hard question to answer. The first four books I wrote were biographical fiction – true stories told in fiction format with fictitious characters. Then I launched into writing short stories in varied genres. I experimented with everything from sci-fi and young adult, to a western. My current series is in the romance genre. Ghostly Interference is a paranormal romance and Jagged Feathers is romantic suspense.

4.            What is your goal in writing? Do you have dreams where your writing should take you?

My writing goal is simply to affect someone’s life, to perhaps give a different perspective on situations. Each story I write has a theme or message. I like to make someone stop and think “what if?” My dream is to get my true story made into a movie. That would be amazing!

5.            Do you ever suffer from writer’s block and if yes, how do you deal with it?

I can’t say I have ever suffered from writer’s block, but I have hit some brick walls. Often, I find if I stop and take a walk or listen to music, I find where I need to go with the story.

6.            What advice would you like to give new, hopeful authors? 

Write! If you have the inspiration for a story, write it. Then what you do with it is up to you, but the most important thing is to just start. Statistics show that most people who venture into writing a book do not finish it. It is not easy. It requires the 3 p’s, patience, preservation, and persistence.

7.            Please, tell us about your work.

The White Rune Series is my latest work. Book 1, Ghostly Interference, was published in December 2020. I actually got the idea for this book when I was writing book two of my true story series. But, I couldn’t stop what I was doing at the time, so took some notes and wrote one chapter, then put it aside until I completed the true stories. After I finished Ghostly Interference,  I decided to try and find a publisher for it instead of self-pubbing. I pitched for three years before the Wild Rose Press picked me up. That was a huge day for me and a big step in my writing career. It is a paranormal romance, with the paranormal aspect being that of a ghost.

The second book in the White Rune Series is Jagged Feathers and is romantic suspense. The release date for Jagged Feathers is January 31, 2022. This book deals with some big subjects like PTSD and amputation as well as psychic visions.

The third book in the series is Saddled Hearts and I have finished it and signed a publishing contract for it. It should be released later in 2022.

I’ve started a new series I am calling The Magnolia Series. It is different from anything I’ve ever written and look forward to the challenge. The first book in the series will be entitled, Bitter Magnolia.

Thank you for being my guest. It was such a pleasure to have you here!!

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Connect with Jan:

WEBSITE: http://www.jansikes.com

BLOG:   http://www.jansikesblog.com

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/jansikes3

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks

PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/jks0851/

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7095856.Jan_Sikes

BOOKBUB:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-sikes

LINKEDIN:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jansikes/

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Sikes/e/B00CS9K8DK

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Jan’s New Book:

Vann Noble did his duty. He served his country and returned a shell of a man, wounded inside and out. With a missing limb and battling PTSD, he seeks healing in an isolated cabin outside a small Texas town with a stray dog that sees beyond his master’s scars. If only the white rune’s magic can bring a happily ever after to a man as broken as Vann.  

On the run from hired killers and struggling to make sense of her unexplained deadly mission, Nakina Bird seeks refuge in Vann’s cabin. She has secrets. Secrets that can get them all killed.

A ticking clock and long odds of living or dying, create jarring risks.

Will these two not only survive, but find an unexpected love along the way? Or, will evil forces win and destroy them both?

UNIVERSAL PURCHASE LINK:

https://linktr.ee/Rijanjks

BOOK TRAILER LINK:  https://youtu.be/CwGRyRVMyLE