Breathless Press Author Janie Franz

Why don't you start with telling us a little about yourself? What genre do you write in and why?
I’ve been a successful freelance journalist for the past ten years, but I’ve been writing all of my life. However, it wasn’t until December of last year, that I actually had any fiction published, and that was the debut of The Bowdancer, the first book in The Bowdancer Saga. This series of books are in the fantasy romance genre but have broader themes than just whether Jan-nell, my main character, finds love. I enjoy fantasy because it allows me to create my own cultures with their own rules, lifeways, music, songs, dances, foods, spiritualities, and healing practices.

What comes first for you when you sit down to write a book? Plot or Characters?
Usually, it’s characters, but I might have an idea about where I wanted a story to go.

Do you "cast" your characters using pictures or actors to help inspire you when you're writing?
Not really. The characters, all except one, were fashioned as they appeared in the landscape I had created. The one exception was a hunter in the third book, Warrior Women, that will be out in November. I was trying to create different looks for the six master hunters and trackfinders of the sisterhood, and I drew upon a woman musician I had met and interviewed many years ago. She had a most unusual hair style and the way she moved on stage was much like the cat-like grace of Bekar, the hunter, that I created.

How long does it take you to finish a book from start to finish?
The Bowdancer, a novella, was written several years ago and had been tweaked over time. The second book, The Wayfarer’s Road, which is a longer novella, was written early this year and it took me about a month. The third book, Warrior Women, is longer but it took about the same amount of time. The Lost Song Trilogy, which are three full-length novels took me about three months to write and another month to tweak. (It is now being read by another publisher for their print house.)

Excerpt from The Wayfairer's Road-

http://www.breathlesspress.com/erotic/romance/fantasy/the-wayfarer-s-road-bowdancer-book-2.html

Jan-nell strained her ears to hear in the darkened barn. The rain had stopped sometime during their late-night meal so all she heard was the dripping from the trees. The horses snorted and stamped their hooves but did not seem to sense anything amiss. Yet, there was something moving outside, a shuffling in the wetness, and then—there—muffled voices and some shushing like Jan-nell had seen village children do before attempting some innocent prank. If indeed this were such a prank, it would definitely not be innocent.

Khrin had obviously heard the noises too, and shot Jan-nell a questioning look, tinged with something like fear. When Jan-nell bent to blow out the candle and reached for her staff, he stayed her hand, putting his finger to his lips and began to fumble with his cloak and tunic. Before she could figure out what he was doing, he had flung off his tunic, opened his linen shirt, and grabbed her right hand to place on his hairless chest. She tried to jerk her hand away, but he held it fast, whispering in her ear, "Trust me." Then he blew the candle out.

Just then, the latch on the stable door was lifted and the door swung open. A shaft of lantern light spilled over the backs of the horses. Razlo and another man, both well into their cups, entered and came around the first horse’s tail. Their lantern light fell on Khrin who lounged with a bent knee, looking annoyed at the men, as he caressed Jan-nell’s hand on his bare chest.

"That light is frightfully bright, gentlemen," Khrin announced.

Razlo’s drunken companion squinted beady eyes at Jan-nell and Khrin. "Ye be right, innkeeper. She be a whore." He twisted his head toward Razlo. "When be our chance?"

"I am not a whore!" Jan-nell shouted, trying to pull her hand away from Khrin, and attempting to stand.

Khrin jerked her back down. "That is true," Khrin said quietly. "She is no whore."

The beady-eyed fellow cackled. "Then she be giving it away."

"No," Khrin countered. "She has not given anything away." He held up the coin Jan-nell had given him for the meat pies. "She paid me."

This time Razlo sputtered. "Whores! The both of you! Get out of my barn!" The shout unsettled the horses and they started stamping about the stable, making Razlo and his guest step clear of the animals near the door.

Jan-nell glared at Khrin and stood. Then she addressed the two men. "And I am sure your intentions were very pure. Were you coming to bring us an extra blanket or perhaps some scraps from your kitchen?" She harrumphed as she woke Mira-nell. "We have to go now, sweeting."

 "Be gone and take that child abomination with you!" Razlo bellowed, startling one of the animals, causing it to whinny and rear. It pulled at its rope tether, nearly pinning Razlo and his lantern against the wall. The beady-eyed guest fled outside, and Razlo escaped to stand at the open door, supervising their evacuation.