• Character Interviews,  Fantasy

    Character Interview Mira-nell from Wayfarer’s Road @jfbowdancer #RLFblog #Fantasy

    The Wayfarer’s Road

    Interview with Mira-nell

    Tell us about yourself, please.

    I am Mira-nell and am almost four summers old though Mother says I am threee. I travel with her on the Wayfarer’s Road. Folk think I’m strange, but I know more than most.

    What is it that you want, but cannot have? Authors call this the conflict of the story.

    I want to stop wandering. I long for a family and children to play with.

    What’s your internal limitation? Meaning, what is it about you that makes it so you cannot do what it is you need to do during this story?

    I am too small! My mother wants me to learn her bowdancer ways but there is too much of the world to explore. I just do not want to do it always from the Wayfarer’s Road. Cannot interesting folk come to us?

    What inner doubt causes you the most difficulty?

    I wonder if I will grow old on this road and be as lonely as my mother is. She does not tell me her heart hurts, but I see it.

    What’s your external complication? In the story world your author created, explain what it is you fear most.

    There are mean folk on this road. Mother thinks I am too young to understand, but I know how they look at me and at her. I am afraid that one day she will be gone and I will be alone on this road.

    Tell us about your significant other, that person who makes living worthwhile.

     My mother, Jan-nell, loves me most, but we have met a magical bardsinger on this road who tells the best stories. But he is not as grown up as mother and me.

    What would that person say about you?

    Mother says I am quick-witted and so does Khrin, the bardsinger. He makes me laugh.

    What is your family like?

    There has only been Mother and me. Khrin says we are family but Mother says we are not. I do not understand that. But I would like to live with Khrin. He cannot keep me as safe as Mother does, but he tries.

    What special skills do you rely on?

    Mother has taught me much about wild foods on the Wayfarer’s Road. I observe what herbs she uses to heal people in the towns and farms and to help new mothers bring babes into the world. I have not seen a birth yet, but I have heard many. I think people show who they are and what they intend, not by words but by the look of their eyes or the way they move.

    If someone from your past showed up, who would you NOT want it to be, and why?

    Mother tells me good things about my father—how quick-witted he was and that is why I am so. She tries not to tell me bad things, but I overheard her speak to Khrin about him. I would not wish to meet him on the Wayfarer’s Road. I do not think he is a good man.

    Are you happy with the way your story ended? Why or why not?

    I am gloriously happy. But folks will have to find out for themselves.

    You have the length of a tweet (140 characters) to describe yourself as a writer. Let’s see what you can do.

    I come from a long line of liars and storytellers, and I have an avid curiosity. I collect odd facts and experiences and tie them together in intuitive leaps with words.

    Why do you write?

    I’m a retired freelance journalist. I made a living by writing other people’s stories. I felt it was time to write my own—and not stories about me, but stories from my imagination.

    What do you want to write next?

    I am currently writing, Legacy, the last book of the Ruins Trilogy, my archaeology romance thriller set. Then I have a paranormal series I want to write about a Tennessee herb woman who goes to North Dakota to battle unusual beasties.

    Are any sequels planned for this book?

    The Wayfarer’s Road, where Mira-nell first appears, is the second book in The Bowdancer Saga. The first three books (The Bowdancer, The Wayfarer’s Road, and Warrior Women) are being re-issued by my publisher, MuseItUp Publishing, to join The Lost Song Trilogy, books 4-6 of the series. They will all be under one roof this summer. Later, I plan on three more books—one that continues Jan-nell’s life and one each for her children. (Yes, I did say children.) The entire Bowdancer Saga follows Jan-nell’s life from her village on the plains and out into the wide world as she searches for meaning and belonging.

    Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers?

    I appreciate every person who has read (and those especially who have reviewed my books). An author will write because she (or he) must. But those stories might as well be hidden in a cave in some dark corner of the earth if they are not discovered and read. Only then do they come alive.

    About the Author

    Janie Franz comes from a long line of liars and storytellers with roots deep in east Tennessee. Honed by the frigid Northern Plains and the high desert of New Mexico, as well as a degree in anthropology, her writing skill and curiosity generated thousands of feature and cover articles over a vast range of topics for numerous regional, national, and international publications.

    She co-wrote two books with Texas wedding DJ, Bill Cox (The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book and The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book), and self-published a writing manual, Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!

    She is a professional speaker and occasionally reviews books, CDs, and concerts. Previously, she ran her own online music publication, Refrain Magazine, and was an agent/publicist for a groove/funk band, a radio announcer, and a yoga/relaxation instructor.

    The fifth book of her Bowdancer Saga, Refrain (the second book in The Lost Song Trilogy), was a Top Ten Finisher for Best Science-Fiction and Fantasy Novel in the Preditors and Editors Readers Poll 2013.

    About the Book

    Title The Wayfarer’s Road, Book Two of The Bowdancer Saga
    Genre Fantasy
    Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R
    Healer Jan-nell and her precocious daughter meet a handsome wandering
    bard, carrying secrets and the hope of belonging.
    The Bowdancer Saga continues in The Wayfarer’s Road. Healer Jan-nell,
    now a woman traveling alone with her precocious young daughter on the Wayfarer’s
    Road, meets a handsome wandering bard. But he is carrying his own secrets along
    with the priceless chance at hope for her and her child to belong.

    Excerpt

    The stranger stepped a bit further
    into the room and pulled back the wet hood of her sodden, brown cloak, revealing
    a delicate, fair face. A thick chestnut braid curved across one suede-covered shoulder
    like a docile snake.
    “It is the changing moon,”
    her soft voice answered. She untied the laces of her cloak and pulled the cloth
    free from her other shoulder, revealing the black curls of a child of three summers
    against her thigh-length tunic. The girl’s little arms wrapped protectively around
    the woman’s brown leggings.
    The traveler shook the water from
    her cloak and asked, “Might I have a dry bed, sir?”
    The innkeeper’s eyes narrowed.
    “We be not offering beds to women alone. This be a respectable place.”
    “I am not alone,” the woman
    answered, smoothing the child’s curls from off her face. “Would you deny a
    child a dry blanket?”
    The innkeeper frowned. “Good
    woman, if that indeed be what you are, it is not seemly to be housed here without
    your man.”
    “I take care of myself,”
    she said and struck her great staff against the floor for emphasis, ignoring the
    customers’ mumbled responses.

    Buy This Book

    MuseItUp Publishing
    Bookstore:
    https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/romance/fantasy-romance/the-wayfarer-s-road-detail
    Barnes & Noble:
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wayfarers-road-janie-franz/1118924589?ean=2940045767378
    Reviews
    “There are few things more pleasant, after doing battle
    with the real world, than to sit down in the company of a talented storyteller and
    allow yourself to be carried away into another world. Janie Franz’s rustic tale,
    “The Wayfarer’s Road,” book #2 of the Bowdancer Saga, does just that.
    There is great comfort immersing yourself in a mystical world not your own, and
    Ms. Franz is an excellent guide. The tale of the bowdancer Jan-nell, her precocious
    daughter, Mira-nell, and the mysterious troubadour Khrin, draws the reader in and
    holds him/her closely until the end. I look forward to the next in the series.”—
    Doren Grey, author of the Dick Hardesty mystery series and the new paranormal Elliott
    Smith mystery series.
    “Set amid a clash of cultures and gender, Janie Franz paints
    an enchanting story of creating alternative families. When three outcasts – a woman
    warrior, her precocious daughter, and a gay troubadour – are inexorably drawn together
    to escape the brutality of men on the Wayfarer’s road, a journey begins that will
    sweep the reader along with them. These memorable characters and their passage to
    something beyond themselves will stay with you a long time.” — Alan Chin, author
    of Island Song and The Lonely War.
    “A charming tale of love and acceptance. The Wayfarer’s
    Road reminds us that the things we seek are sometimes found in the unlikeliest of
    places.” – Stuart Clark, author of Project U.L.F and Project U.L.F: Reacquisition.
    “There is richness to this story. The richness of the tale
    is evident in the author’s detailed plant knowledge which is effectively displayed
    in almost every major scene in the story. The richness of the tale is evident in
    the emotional journey of Jan-nelle and Khrin as they find that dream of happiness
    and home that everyone wants in life and they both want for Mira-nell. It is a rich
    tale that I found satisfying and I think you will too.” — Justine, Ebookaddictreviews.com
    Janie Franz
    “Fully enamored with The
    Bowdancer
    , the first book of this saga, I looked forward to reviewing The Wayfarer’s
    Road with great anticipation. Once more, author Janie Franz did not disappoint.
    Not in the least. Her writing, characters and plot are exquisite…..While Jan-nell,
    Mira-nell and Khrin couldn’t be more different, they complement each other well
    and, in a short span of time, they learn they are not so different after all. Aside
    from a life deeply rooted in song (but for young Mira-nell whose only interest to
    learn is on an as-needed basis), each is misunderstood, longs for belonging, and
    only cautiously trusts the other.
    With childhood innocence, curiosity and honesty that cuts to
    the quick of social construct, young Mira-nell is instrumental in teaching Jan-nell
    and Khrin to question the comfort of their ingrained perceptions, including those
    of sexual orientation…..Khrin’s intentions and Jan-nell’s ponderance of their possibility
    reveals that one must honestly assess inner desire and realize that there are no
    rules of engagement but for those imposed upon us. If the interaction between these
    complex characters seems eerily confusing, the author is simply asking us, in a
    not-so-subtle way, to challenge the comfort of our own limiting assumptions.”
    Kim Clune, The Pagan and the Pen Book Reviews
    “Though this is a short novel, it is packed with adventure,
    suspense, and even romance. Janie Franz has created a society that could be anywhere
    and any time in a society before technology. She delineates the character of her
    main characters, digging deep into their own pasts to give us a true picture of
    each person. Away from her village, Jan-nell is a different person and I enjoyed
    meeting this new one who is a mother and must scrounge for food at times. She is
    feisty, but she can take care of herself too…. What I liked most about this book
    is the relationship between Jan-nell and Khrin. As they gradually become friendlier
    and friendlier the two of them get into giant scrapes, but as they travel The Wayfarer’s
    Road they get closer and closer to their own goals. And as the story unfolds there
    is no way to know what the ending will be. I just enjoyed traveling the road with
    Jan-nell, Khrin, and Mira-nell. After reading this I feel like I truly know these
    people. With a straightforward yet slightly old fashioned way of writing and vocabulary,
    this book speeds along in the world that Janie Franz has created in The Bowdancer
    Saga. If you are looking for a way to escape from the modern world where you are
    constantly connected, reading The Wayfarer’s Road will bring you to a time when
    traveling was fraught with danger and communication required face to face interaction.”
    Barbara Ehrentreu, Barbara’s Meanderings, author of If I Could Be Like Jennifer
    Taylor.

    List of other books

    The Bowdancer (Book
    One of the Bowdancer Saga)
    Warrior Women (Book
    Two of the Bowdancer Saga) (coming this summer)
    Verses (first book of
    The Lost Song Trilogy, Book Four of the Bowdancer Saga)
    Refrain (second book of The Lost Song Trilogy, Book Five
    of the Bowdancer Saga)
    Coda (third book of
    The Lost Song Trilogy, Book 6 of the Bowdancer Saga)
    Discovery (Book One
    of the Ruins Trilogy)
    Artifacts (Book Two
    of the Ruins Trilogy)
    Sugar Magnolia
    The Premier
    The Neighbor

    Books coming soon

    Warrior Women (Book
    Two of the Bowdancer Saga) (coming this summer)
    Legacy (Book Three of
    the Ruins Trilogy–work in progress)

    Contest

    A lucky reader will
    receive a copy of The Wayfarer’s Road in whichever format you require: PDF, epub,
    or kindle. Just post a comment and I’ll select one reader at random. Feel free to
    read about my books or connect with me at any of the links below.

    Author Social Media

    Blog (to read about my favorite hot authors): http://desireandcraving.blogspot.com/?zx=a58c7d1dc0587f08
    Blog (to read about
    my favorite authors): http://janiefranz.wordpress.com/

    Amazon
    Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Janie-Franz/e/B00IT45VYY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1