January was one of those: a high school poet. Now, married to the love of her life whom she credits for her interest in big time romance, she has combined this love with an interest in the paranormal and vampires to produce the FOREVER SERIES of books. Forever Man, Forever Woman, Forever Clan and Forever Angel are all published by Champagne books. She teaches Business, Technology, and English during the day, and can often be found engrossed in writing early in the morning and in every spare moment humanly possible. She writes in many genres: paranormal, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary exotic romance under a pseudonym.
January enjoys blogging for Science Fiction Musings, Worlds of the Imagination, and The Writers Vineyard each month. She hopes to touch your heart with her stories and very much enjoys hearing from other writers and readers alike. She loves living in the country and communing with nature while time travelling in her mind. Oh, and she’s a firm believer in positive karma, one of her favorite quotes being, to forget oneself is to be happy by Robert Louis Stevenson.
***
SEVEN SPOTLIGHT QUESTIONS:
#1: What do you enjoy the most about writing?
The actual-writing-at-the-computer-keyboard-moment when you are literally holding on for the ride created by the characters that have come fully to life in your mind. It’s those hours that make writing the most amazing adrenaline rush I have ever experienced short of falling in love.
#2: What was your earliest writing experience?
Becoming a teenage poet was my start. A special teacher I remember with great fondness would take my words and read them aloud in the staff-room giving me my first audience. What a blessing! They gave me such hope.
#3: Describe a day in your writing life:
My favorite day is Saturday or Sunday. I get to stay in bed for a few hours after waking and write to my heart’s content drinking a bottomless cup of coffee. I usually manage three or four thousand words that will need editing later, of course.
#4: What authors influenced you and how?
I had a voracious appetite for reading as a child that followed me into adulthood. I’ve read many genres and many, many authors. All have helped me in my writing journey. The running joke growing up was that I read all the available books at the public library in our town.
#5: What are some things you learned to help with your success?
I’ve learned that first class fiction is characterized by memorable characters, unique premises, story worlds instantly real, plots that grip even when slow, gorgeous writing, and themes that surprise, challenge and change us, to name just a few. It’s always about the quality of the writing.
#6: Describe your writing method:
For me it’s important to go with a story that captivates me and fills me with the driving passion to write it. Then, I write full out the first time round. I flesh out my characters as they become real for I experience them as actual people. (I see a movie unfolding in my mind and I sometimes just feel like the recorder.) I open multiples word files to fill the self-titled book folder with character names and studies, research, hook lines, plot, story arch and ending if it’s come to me yet. Often, it does not, but unfolds in real time with the characters. I think I like that best, though it’s also scary because you worry if the story will become the right one to share with others? And yet, I don’t want to lose all the spontaneity by structuring too fully before starting. And it’s always a wild, glorious ride!
#7: Tips for aspiring writers:
Write, write, write. Learn from others. Don’t be afraid to edit your words, they’re not written in stone and can always use improvement to better explain what you are seeing and experiencing to your readers. Try to say things different from other writers. Be an original. Develop enough of a skin to handle criticism, but don’t become so immune that you won’t fight for what’s right for your book. Always be kind. One of my favorite things to say to my students is, “It’s hard to be human.”
***
About January’s Book Forever Clan:
- Will the love of a human for her vampire mate be enough to save their child?
Sunday Rose’s soul mate is a vampire. If that isn’t difficult enough to deal with, she’s pregnant with a child that prophecy states can either help or destroy the vampire race. And there are those that fear either outcome. If she is to protect her child from those who would exploit the prophecy, she must awaken unknown abilities and call upon her guardian angels to buy the time necessary to get her family to safe harbor.
Excerpt:
“I think reading all those vampire romance novels you love so much has addled your brain, Sunday Rose St. Clair. First, it was Grandma Rose and her faeries, and now you and your vampires.” Her mother remarked without rancor as she deftly rolled out the piecrust for the fifth pie of the morning. Sunday Rose was lagging behind her mother in peeling the Macintosh apples she was in charge of, causing her mother to give her a stern warning with eyes that plainly stated to hurry it up, we don’t have all day.
She sighed, “But ma, to be able to live forever, just imagine!”
The older woman brushed back a wayward strand of still-bright auburn hair that belied her years with a backward sweep of a flour covered hand and looked at her last born child, though her expression softened as she took in her long shining titan hair and striking emerald green eyes that were the exact color of her late grandmother’s, a legendary beauty in her own right.
“I think I’ve done enough baking and cleaning and doing for others in this lifetime. No thanks to continuing this indefinitely.”
Her mother’s practical answer drew an exaggerated eye roll from her daughter who was picking up the pace on the cleaning and cutting up of the fragrant apples into the large tin basin positioned precariously in her lap. A second warning look had sent the clear message her mother was fast losing patience.
“It’s not a practical matter. It’s about being able to have endless time to live and love and learn and—to just have more.” Sunday Rose’s voice was full of yearning as she tried to explain how she felt about the subject.
“What do you know about love? You’re just a chit of a thing.”
“I know that I’m going to find someone that will love me no matter what—who’ll love me unconditionally.”
“That’s pretty hard to find child. Sounds more like the love of a parent for a child.”
***
Buy Forever Clan:
Champagne Books: http://www.champagnebooks.com/januarybain.htm
***
Connect with January:
Webpage: http://www.januarybain.ca/
Twitter: @JanuaryBain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/january.bain
Fan email address: jbain@xplornet.com
***
A Fantasy Writing Journey 
Interesting interview! I so enjoy reading other writer’s journeys!
It’s lots of fun for me too to learn from other writers. Thanks for your comment.
Thanks Angelina! Me too!