That’s me when I’m writing - stuck for choice. There are so many stories I want to write, fizzing around in my brain. I write mostly as Anna Jacobs (historical and modern novels, three a year), but I also write fantasy novels as Shannah Jay, hence my presence here on DSDU.
Sadly, there aren’t enough hours in the day to explore all my story ideas, whether it’s Anna or Shannah writing them. Could someone please invent a way to sleep only 4 hours per night?
My first fantasy novel written as Shannah Jay was ‘Quest’, the start of a fantasy saga in three parts, only it went to four. It was published only in Australia/New Zealand.
I created a world where people had developed psychic talents, instead of relying on technology. I come from a family who see ghosts so this was no big stretch of the imagination for me. Creating a world is absolutely fascinating, but you have to take notes every time you invent a plant or animal or mysterious alien, so that you’ll remember the details. I had a huge file of notes after four novels.
The last book in the Chronicles of Tenebrak, ‘Price of Wisdom’, was shortlisted for the Best Australian Fantasy Saga Award in 1996, but sadly for me, someone else’s book won.
As time passed, I began to wonder how my planet had started off, so I wrote Book 1 of the Second Chronicles of Tenebrak in between my other commitments, just for pleasure. You can’t persuade a publisher to take you seriously if you can’t guarantee at least a book a year, and Anna is so busy, Shannah can’t do that.
I’ve now published ‘Tenebrak: the Founding’ electronically and it’s for sale at Amazon and on my website. I so enjoyed finding out how that planet was settled! I didn’t know till I wrote it because I don’t plan stories - they just seem to happen.
And then there was ‘Envoy’, my own favourite Shannah Jay book, which takes a look into what the peacekeeping processes of the future might be. It’s hard to describe the exact genre. It’s more SF than fantasy, a military, psycho-drama cum romance, plus a big dash of Ministry of Dirty Tricks.
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| original cover |
There’s a copy of it to give away for someone commenting on this post.
It was such fun to write ‘Envoy’, which is a complex story. I kept thinking of new twists in the middle of the night and creeping into the en suite to take notes. Then as I crept back to bed, my husband would ask, ‘What have you thought of now?’ and we’d both lose some more sleep.
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| ebook cover |
Happy reading!
Shannah
Shannah
I hear you on the not enough hours in the day, Shannah! LOL
ReplyDeleteOh lord yes, it's hard to find the time to write all the things that you want to write. And then you make a choice but then you wonder if you've made the wrong choice and then ...
ReplyDeleteAh, being a writer does bring you to madness, regardless of the route :)
As with my Magic Thursday post last week can attest too, I can understand on the choice thing. There really is so much.
ReplyDeleteSo glad your books have a new lease on life Shannah with the ebook age.
Hi Shannah,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if it makes it easier to write the different genres by having another name to print under? But both areas or your writing sound interesting, it is just too bad about the issue of not enough time.
Skye
I'm curious as well about the different pen names for different genres...
ReplyDeleteI've always said that if I had a superpower, it would be the ability to stop time all around me so I could do all the things I want to do - including write all the stories I want to write!
You need different pen names for different genres, because of reader expectations - especially if the genres are as different as mine are. If someone picked up a Shannah Jay book expecting a fantasy novel and found a historical romance, they would not be happy.
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