Q & A with January Bain!

Hello January!  Thank you so much for visiting Written Butterfly with me today!  It’s such a pleasure to chat with you. 

And me with you! Thanks so much for the invite to visit with you and your readers today!

So tell me…

Q) How did you dream up the dynamics of your characters?

I start by creating a backstory. 90% of which I won’t use! But the better I know them, the more I can flesh their personalities out in my stories. And then, after I create the plot outline, I leave room for these 3-D characters to grow and take over! And yes, they surprise me too sometimes. Usually for the better! 😊

Q) Is this book part of a series?  If so, can you tell us about it?

All my books seem to turn into series! And yes, Chasing Lacey is part of the Brass Ringers Sorority series for Totally Bound Publishing. Book number 2. The third one, Romancing Rebecca, is also finished and will be released February 18, 2019.

The series is about a group of 8 women who met in University and hooked up. They made a pack to support each other for life, and to make one of each woman’s wishes come true. Each book deals with one of the sorority sisters, and her adventures on making her fondest dreams come true! Usually with a lot of hilarity and high stakes.

Q) Can you give a fun or interesting fact about your book?

I like to think it’s kind of neat that my books are set in my home country of Canada, at the university I also attended, and that my beloved Ringers get to travel the world!

Q) What do you think is your strongest asset as a writer? …what is your weakest factor as a writer?

My willingness to realize that the craft of writing takes a long time to learn. That study and dedication is essential. My weakness loving to do research to the extent it sometimes consumes me for hours before I get to using the tidbits in the story. But I like to think it also brings an authority and authenticity to my storytelling. Only readers can tell me if it works!

Q) Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?

Both.  I never want my readers to be disappointed or feel let down. They are who I write for, but I think todays’ reader is more discerning than ever before, and expects twists and turns to the plot that bring originality to modern storytelling.

Q) Do you plan all your characters out before you start a story or do they develop as you write?

Again, both. No matter how much you plan, there is an organic growth to writing. Things feed off each other, even events and emotions going on in my life feeds into it.

Q) Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

I want each book to stand on its own merit, but I want to build a body of work for each series that demonstrates connections. My series are of different genres, so the connections might be less clear, though I do hold some universal truths about life and living that I hope resonate with readers.

Q) What are your upcoming projects?

I’ve begun a brand-new series, a cozy supernatural mystery series, Manitoba Tea & Tarot Mysteries The first book is titled: Marijuana, Magic & Mayhem. And it’s because <ahem> marijuana will be legal in Canada come October 17^th. The café in Snowy Lake I write about, is needing to find a way to bring in more cash, and this seemed like the right time! I am having a blast writing it!!! The antics of this crew would test a saint 😉

Thanks so much for having me visit with y’all today! Any questions about my work, please ask. I’m on facebook most days:    https://www.facebook.com/january.bain

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Lacey-Brass-Ring-Sorority-ebook/dp/B07CVCPWNL

https://www.totallybound.com/book/chasing-lacey

Blurb for Chasing Lacey:

Lacey Cameron, private investigator and treasure hunter, takes being headstrong and passionate to a whole new level. It takes exactly one morning in a school teaching young minds for her and her identical twin sister to break the whiteboard pointer in half, throw their keys on the teacher’s desk, and heed the seductive call of wide open spaces and awesome adventures.

William James Thornton Ш, a renaissance man and warrior poet who defended his country in Iraq and Afghanistan, knows he’s got his hands full trying to get Lacey to see him as more than just a friend. He’s ready to settle down, marry the woman of his dreams, and make his mother a happy grandmother. Hell, he’s got enough treasure in his bank account for two lifetimes.

And then things go from normal craziness to extremely dangerous in a heartbeat as hired killers are sent after Will and Lacey to prevent them from discovering the truth. They stumble on such an unexpected twist to the story that no one in their right mind would believe it  or have suspected. If Will can get them out of this mess, he vows to lay all his cards on the table with Lacey. Get her to recognize what they can share as a couple. Passion. Love. And a commitment to blending her wild nature with his own—the perfect spicy blend. Even if it looks like it might just be the death of him.

Part madcap caper, part serious treasure hunting, the Brass Ringers never fail to entertain or get their way!

Bio for January Bain and links:

January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create a series that features strong women who don’t take life too seriously, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope the stories of her beloved Brass Ringers will capture your imagination as you follow their exploits as much as they did when she wrote them.

If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with two furry babies trying to prove who does a better job of guarding the doorway. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.

If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook, twitter and writes a weekly blog about her journey on Blogger. Oh, and she loves to talk books…

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanuaryBain