Today I’m happy to host author January Bain on my blog with a guest post and giveaway. January will talk about the value of a penname – I must say that I personally don’t use one, but I do understand why some people prefer pennames rather than their actual name.
The giveaway is for an eBook copy of Forever Man. You can participate by filling in the Rafflecopter widget below this post.
Anyway, I’ll hide in the shadows, and give the stage to January!
The Value of a Penname
Hi, old friends and new! Hope you’re having a good day. This has been such a lovely summer break for me. Years of slaving away (albeit happily) on my computer are coming to the first round of completion. The first novel in the Forever series has been released by Champagne Books: FOREVER MAN.
And what a journey it has been! I cannot thank everyone enough for all the good they have done for my heart with their embracing of my book and my heroine, Ellie. My first novel is a tender love story that gives me a warm feeling still when I think of all the good Ellie can do in this harsh world. Sure, I know that my writing has matured since I wrote it in the first person (I normally write in the third now) and that my editor, Judy Griffith Gill, has taught me much about how to become a better writer, but still it speaks to my heart as she was such a wonderful person to share time with.
Though my first book has just come out I am actually writing my ninth book and find my perspective on my writing style and technique is quickly evolving. The journey is becoming steadily more complex with writing beginning to take over my life. I live to write these days and know I will ride this imaginary train for many years to come if I am so blessed as to get to continue. Human beings are fragile, that I have learned, though very resilient which is what I am counting on.
I’ve just recently realized that some parts of me are not writing as full out as they would do if I had a pen name. So I’m getting one. I’m choosing one of the characters from the Forever Series. Winter Kennedy, a personal favorite, the heroine of my second book, FOREVER WOMAN being released October 1st from Champagne Books. I love her for her intelligence, spunk, belief in true love and her concern for humanity. Writing as Winter will free me up to write stories to the ninth, not having to worry about my day job as a teacher. It’s already working as my writing takes on a new found depth of sexuality I have not allowed myself before this. What a journey this is proving to be. I can only hope to take many of you with me on it!
What does a penname mean to you?
Fondest regards,
January Bain
Storyteller
About Forever Man
Title: Forever Man
Author: January Blain
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Champagne Books
What if you had been given the gift of healing and could save those you loved? And furthermore, discovered you could save the one you love from a vampire’s kiss. There is a catch; of course, the cost of such a healing could mean your own death…
Ellie Hightower is discovering such gifts in the novel, Forever Man by January Bain. She is telepathic, young and bright and has been running from these new found gifts all the way to Nome, Alaska where she encounters the man of her dreams, Mike Stone and an ancient evil force out to take him away from her. Will having goodness and light on her side be enough to save them from Katrianna, a newly resurrected vampire that looks to enslave Mike in her nefarious web?
To find out the truth you will need to read, Forever Man, the first in the FOREVER SERIES by January Bain.
Author Bio
January Bain hails from Ashern, Manitoba, Canada. Married to the love of her life, her husband Don, she has combined her love of romance with her interest in the paranormal and vampires to produce the FOREVER SERIES of books. She teaches English and Computer courses during the day, and writes at night and in very spare moment she has. She hopes to touch your heart with this first book in the series, Forever Man and would very much enjoy hearing from her readers.
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Ahhh, pen names. I too had to take one. It is both freeing and constraining. I look forward to reading more of your works, under any name!
I like the setting for Forever Man. I’ve read many paranormal stories but one in this setting is new to me.