I met Jan Sikes on my return to Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC) after a three- and half-year absence that could not be avoided.
I got to know Jan Sikes better during a Zoom event that she sponsored. It clicked between us. She’d gone through many situations, and like mirrors, they reflected problems I’d had in my own life too.
Thus, it is a great pleasure to have her as a guest today at my author’s website. I rejoiced with her. I’ve read some of her stories and can testify that they are, as Tony the tiger on the Frosty Flakes commercial says, GREAT!!!!
Welcome, Jan. It is an honor to have you here. Take it away.
MY WRITING JOURNEY
My writing journey began in 2010 after my husband passed away in 2009. I never had any ambition to be a writer, although I’ve been an avid reader all my life. From the time I could decipher words, I have devoured books. But I never dreamed of being a writer.
During the years I was married to Rick Sikes, I wrote and recorded songs, and before that poetry, but never in my wildest dreams did I think of writing a book.
Let me back up.
The story of my life with Rick was one that could fit the definition of “truth is stranger than fiction.” Over the years, many people who passed through our doors would make the comment, “Someone needs to write your story.”
I agreed that someone should. But I never thought it would be me. I awoke one morning to the thought and realization that if I didn’t write our story, I’d have to tell the entire thing to someone else. So, on that day, I decided it was my job to tell it.
The first writing class I took at a local community college was a screenwriting course. I thought I was going to write a movie script. Within the first fifteen minutes of the class, I realized the story was too big for a movie. It would have to be a book.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the course and learned that scriptwriting and novel writing rules are the same. You can apply the same three-act play structure to books. You need a beginning, a setup (Act One), a middle (Act Two), and a conclusion (Act Three). The ‘show don’t tell’ rule also applies to both forms of writing. So, the class was definitely not a waste of time or money. I learned a lot.
From there, I wound up taking other creative writing classes both in Texas and Colorado.
I tackled the story, which spans over a forty-year time-period.
While writing a true story doesn’t require world-building or plotting, it requires fitting many puzzle pieces together.
I started writing the story in first-person POV and got stumped right away. Because the story was so personal, I couldn’t write it that way. So, a friend suggested I create fictitious characters to tell the story through. It was a lightbulb moment, and thus the characters, Luke Stone and Darlina Flowers were born.
It then became more comfortable to back out of the story and let the characters live it.
It took four books to tell the story from beginning to end. All four have won awards, and I’m super proud of them.
I often tell people that if Rick Sikes hadn’t left me such a big story to tell, I most likely wouldn’t have embarked on this writing journey that has now consumed my life.
To date, I have published five novels, a book of poetry and art, and ten short stories. You can find them all on my Amazon Author Page.
I see no end in sight. I love telling stories and entertaining people!
Ghostly Interference is my first fiction novel. I would be honored if you’d pick it up, read it, and leave me a review!
Jag Peters has one goal in his quiet comfortable life—to keep his karma slate wiped clean. A near-miss crash with a candy apple red Harley threatens to upend his safe world. He tracks down the rider to apologize properly. Slipping into a seedy biker bar, he discovers the rider isn’t a “he”, it’s a “she,” a dark-haired beauty.
Rena Jett is a troubled soul, who lives in a rough world. She wants no part of Jag’s apology, but even while she pushes him away, she is attracted to him. When he claims to see a ghost—her brother—can she trust him? And could her brother’s final gift, a magical rune stone with the symbol for “happily ever after” have the power to heal her wounds and allow opposites to find common ground—perhaps even love?
BOOK TRAILER LINK: https://youtu.be/NHaLVSe_flI
BOOK PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Interference-White-Rune-Sikes-ebook/dp/B08KW1KFMW/
BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghostly-interference-jan-sikes/1137871003?
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ghostly-interference
iTUNES: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ghostly-interference/id1535082886
GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=PCwNEAAAQBAJ
JAN SIKES
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CS9K8DK (Author Page)
Thank you, Jan for visiting. I look forward to reading Ghostly Interference this week.
All the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia