DAWNSINGER - Janalyn Voigt - One Free Book

Bio:

Janalyn Voigt's unique blend of adventure, romance, suspense, and fantasy creates worlds of beauty and danger for readers. Beginning with DawnSinger, her epic fantasy series, Tales of Faeraven, carries the reader into a land only imagined in dreams.

Janalyn also writes western romance novels, and will publish in that genre under Janalyn Irene Voigt. She is represented by Barbara Scott of Wordserve Literary. She serves as a literary judge for several national contests and is an active book reviewer. Her memberships include ACFW and NCWA.

When she's not writing, Janalyn loves to find adventures in the great outdoors.

Welcome, Janalyn. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

I draw my characters from my own perceptions and experiences. As an example, the heroine of DawnSinger is jealous of her sister’s mundane existence. Shae’s feelings draw directly from my own struggle to accept my role as an author. The hero, Kai, has to overcome feelings of divided loyalty in order to choose his course. With my time split between family obligations and a writing career, sometimes the edges blur and I have to make a similar choice.  

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

As a former member of the Society for Creative Anacronisms, I dressed in medieval clothing and performed period music in a group of minstrels.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

I credit my love of books to my father reading bedtime stories to me. I began inventing my own stories at night after I went to bed. (That’s still the time I work out story details.) It wasn’t until a teacher pointed out my ability to write that I seriously considered a writing career. I was twelve.  

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

As an eclectic reader, I enjoy a wide variety of books. Some of my favorites are medieval epic fantasy (like DawnSinger), time travel stories, historical romance, and biography.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

Define sanity. :o) Seriously, I couldn’t accomplish half of what I do every day without following a series of schedules. Balance for a writer looks a little different than it does for most people. When on deadline or if we overbook ourselves we can go through stress akin to college finals week. It’s important to counter busyness with times of rest. I go on an annual writing retreat but also schedule time away from writing.

How do you choose your characters’ names?

Sometimes they just pop into my head. Other times I find them by searching historical records or through baby naming sites.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Writing and finding a publisher for DawnSinger took many years of struggle. I can point to its release as proof positive of God’s faithfulness.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

I’d be a winged horse like the wingabeasts in my Tales of Faeraven trilogy. What could be better than flying?

What is your favorite food?

I love loose leaf Irish breakfast tea. There’s nothing quite like it.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Fear. I had to conquer fear of success and failure. If I hadn’t decided to surrender my fears rather than let them rule me, I’d not be a published writer today.

Tell us about the featured book.

DawnSinger is an epic story of freedom through sacrifice. Here’s the back cover blurb:

The High Queen is dying… At the royal summons, Shae mounts a wingabeast and soars through the air to the high hold of Faeraven, where all is not as it seems. Visions warn her of danger, and a dark soul touches hers in the night. When she encounters an attractive but disturbing musician, her wayward heart awakens. But then there is Kai, a guardian of Faeraven and of Shae. Secrets bind him to her, and her safety lies at the center of every decision he makes. On a desperate journey fraught with peril and the unknown, they battle warlike garns, waevens, ferocious raptors, and the wraiths of their own regrets. Yet, they must endure the campaign long enough to release the DawnKing—and the salvation he offers—into a divided land. To prevail, each must learn that sometimes victory comes only through surrender.

Please give us the first page of the book.

A crosswind caught Kai’s wingabeast as lightning flared too near. Shrilling, the winged horse tilted in flight, and Kai’s stomach lurched. A gust snatched the hood from his head and roared in his ears. He blinked to clear the stinging rain that drove into his eyes. Thunder boomed like a timpani, shaking the air. Flecht shuddered beneath him, and Kai placed a calming hand on his wingabeast’s straining neck. He did not like this long flight through the wild night any better than did Flecht.

An image rose, unbidden—Lof Raelein Maeven, Faeraven’s High Queen, upon her deathbed, her sea-green eyes surging with life. As a guardian of Faeraven and as a friend, he would die to appease the hope that had flared in those eyes.

Wind howled and lightning flashed close enough to blind. Kai wondered if his own death neared. He would not—could not—halt his journey, although it took him into the teeth of danger. Necessity drove him as he pushed onward, past endurance. If he survived the storm, he would deliver Maeven’s last summons.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Author site for Janalyn Voigt: http://janalynvoigt.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanalynVoigt

Google+: https://plus.google.com/116196255776925920184

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanalynVoigt

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3439922.Janalyn_Voigt

Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002685172/Janalyn-Voigt/

Thank you, Janalyn, for sharing your book and life with us.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.

DawnSinger - paperback
DawnSinger (Tales of Faeraven) - Kindle


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