It’s Pen Pal day on my blog, and this time I’m interviewing Janette Harjo. Janette is going to be venturing into indie publishing with the re-release of her romantic fantasy trilogy, CONNECTIONS. As a hybrid author myself, I love supporting other indie and small press authors. Janette, I’m always curious how others branch into writing. Tell us a bit about yourself and your background, please!
I am thrilled to be here as a guest on your blog today, Mae! Thank you so much for allowing me to be here to talk to everybody about me and my work. I’m an overnight success after 24 years. LOL! About 10 years before that time, I suffered a near fatal injury in an auto accident. The injury left me very depressed and unable to do much of anything. After that decade; I finally decided enough is enough and I prayed for happiness. The day after that prayer I found myself inspired to write. I’ve been happy ever since because of my writing! The inspiration I received was a True answer to my prayer. 🙂
That’s fantastic! I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer. It sounds like you definitely found an outlet for inspiration and happiness with writing. When it comes to plotter vs. panster, I think even plotters veer from their outline to a degree during the writing process. When you finish a novel, how closely would you say the end product resembles your original concept — 100%? 50%? Something else entirely?
My novels end in generally the same fashion as I imagined them when I began. Of course, they all experience their own growing pains and new events tend to happen. 🙂 I’d venture to say they resemble my original concept at about 75%.
That’s a strong finish. Which do you develop first, characters or plot?
I would have to say I develop plot first because stories come to me pretty much fully developed when I’m inspired to write them. I put them on paper/computer monitor and then they go through the 2 things I mentioned above, on their own or with some input from critiquers, and the story’s written!
Isn’t it interesting to see how our books develop? I’m a character-first writer and sometimes struggle to wrap a plot around the people who pop into my head. I need to flesh out my plots more solidly in advance like you do. Can you share the plot of your next release?
I have a romantic fantasy trilogy I am working to Indie Publish. It involves spirits cast about through the centuries in their search for one another. There is also the curse of medieval sorcery which follows them through time. They must overcome the evil in order to reach their Happy-Ever-After.
Star-crossed love affairs make such great stories. This sounds like a wonderful read between the scope of time, the curse and – of course –endless love. How did you choose the title?
The title of my Trilogy is CONNECTIONS. That title came to me because their connection is what they seek through the entire trilogy.
Since we’re talking about the past and centuries, let me pose an off-the-cuff question: If someone gave you a working time machine tomorrow, where would you visit and why?
I would go into the past and meet my ancestors to hear the stories they would tell. 🙂
That’s a great answer. I love history and listening to stories of long-ago and yesteryear. I would love to meet my ancestors.
Let’s say you have a fairy godmother and – because fairy godmothers are so incredibly awesome — she’s decided to gift you with a trip anywhere you’d like to go. Where would you choose?
A trip around the world! I toured Europe for a month once, and that was NOT enough time to see all I would have liked to! I came home to find the travel bug bit me and I now want to be a world traveler. 🙂
And a fairy godmother can make that happen. Now we just need to find one, LOL.
What is your favorite season? My favorite season is by far and beyond summer. I love warm weather. 🙂
Favorite color? Pink.
Favorite type/flavor of yogurt? Greek Yogurt is my FAV type! I like all flavors, but I have to say my FAV flavor would have to be a new yogurt I have discovered that has Chocolate Chips in it! YUM!
Favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate, of course. 😉
I’m going to have to look for that yogurt. Greek is my favorite too but I generally get the plain and add strawberries and granola. Chocolate chips sound yummy!
Thanks for being my guest today, Janette. I know your books aren’t ready yet, but I’ll be looking forward to checking them out when they are!
BLURB FOR CONNECTIONS:
A Romantic Fantasy about two cursed souls who search for each other – amidst the curse they are under – throughout time. A child’s soul searches for his parents in the same centuries. All three need to find each other before they can destroy the evil they are cursed under, and the evil one who torments them.
AUTHOR BIO:
Janette Harjo is a previously, but no longer, published romance author. She currently has a romantic fantasy trilogy – CONNECTIONS – and will soon have it Indie Published. Her next published work will be a Historical/Time Travel based on the Modoc War of 1872/73, followed by a Vampire romance. Many other stories will be quick to follow those two novels.
To connect with Janette Harjo, look for her at the following haunts:
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
From the Pen of Mae Clair 
Great choice – meeting the ancestors. I’d love to know more about my own.
Best wishes, Janette.
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Thanks for visiting, Emma!
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Thanks for stopping by to comment, Emma! The past would be a great place to visit, but then you’ve got all the theoretical possibilities involved – like changing time. “/ Still, I would absolutely adore knowing my parents as youngsters and those relations who came before them, and others, like Socrates, too. I decided Socrates was my hero when I “met” him at the University of Washington. 🙂
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Hi Mae and Janette, I love meeting all these writers. We seem to have so much in common. I eat Greek yogurt almost every morning with sunflower seeds in it. I’d love to go back and meet my Portuguese ancestors even the recent ones, because there is so much my father hasn’t told us. A
I love the premise for this book. And I love all the stories you have waiting to be written, now if we had a time machine that stopped time for a little so we could write and still get everything else done too! I want to put Connections on my to be read list for sure. Good luck.
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Another fan of Greek yogurt, LOL. I’ll have to try it with sunflower seeds. That sounds yummy. And I would love that time machine too so I could spend many hours reading and writing!
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Yes, Mae; Greek yogurt is the BEST! You’ve gotta try it. And I’ve got to try Mary’s idea of sunflower seeds on it! Thanks for stopping by with your comments and for putting CONNECTIONS on your future TBR list, Mary! I hope to hear your thoughts after your read bc I LOVE to hear from my readers! My email for those thoughts is JanetteHarjo@gmail.com 🙂
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Janette, it sounds as if we have similar interests in writing. I have added yours to my TBR and I’ll follow you on the social media. I love how writing came in answer to your prayer for happiness and how you’d love to meet your ancestors. Best of luck. Thanks, Mae, for having this author.
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Thanks for stopping by and for your follows and TBR, Flossie! I’ll do the same. I’ll be sure to keep my social links posted with developments on my novels. Let me know your thoughts after your read, at JanetteHarjo@gmail.com 🙂 I love to hear from my readers!
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