By Janie Franz (Guest Blogger)
There
is a saying—or threat—among authors that if you make us angry
enough, we’ll put you in one of our books and kill you off in a
most horrid but satisfying manner. Well, I’ve never put anyone in
my books and killed them off—in fact, I’ve only killed two people
off in all of my 12 titles. However, I have put people I know into
my books.
In
Sugar Magnolia, my contemporary about the music industry, I
got permission to put hip-hop artist Deploi and music legend Dr. John
into cameo spots with speaking roles. These were small parts but
depicted what I had seen in both when I had interacted with them at
different times of my life. They were both positive showcases.
I
have also crafted characters around people I’ve met and who I
appreciated their appearance or energy. In Warrior Women,
book 3 of my 6-part fantasy series about the Bowdancer, I created one
character from someone I know and shaped her into who she became and
later had her appear in three more Bowdancer books. The character
Bekar, the fearless master hunter, came from an encounter I had with
Canadian multi-musician Lyndale Montgomery. I’d arranged for her
and her partner Ember Swift to appear at a local coffeehouse on their
way to another gig. This was a sing-for-gas-money gig and necessary
for them to get to their next bigger playing gig. I’d followed the
band for a bit and was happy to help.
Lyndale
showed up with Ember and another woman who played drums, and I was
struck by how she had changed her appearance. She had long hair and
had shaved half her head on one side. It was a startling look. When I
crafted Bekar, I put in that look, except the warrior woman’s hair
on the other side was shorter, and I embued her with Lyndale’s
energy—or what I perceived of her at that time. Many years later, I
admitted to Lyndale that I’d put her into one of my books.
The
inspiration for the next-door neighbor in my horror short, The
Neighbor, was someone I actually lived next door to. I had
wondered when I lived in that building whether that woman was trying
to become me. Thus, the story was born years later.
In
The Premier, another contemporary but about Hollywood, I
fashioned the male love interest on an actor I had admired. It wasn’t
him in the book but my take on a what-if moment if I’d been a
writer who’d met someone like him.
And
the rock star wanting to make a comeback in Sugar Magnolia was
based very loosely on a 60s performer and then was given a whole lot
of nasty qualities. He was fun to write, though creepy at the same
time.
My
Ruins series began with the shaping of the character Paul in
Discovery. I’d seen this native or Hispanic gentleman at a
convenience store in Arizona 40 years ago. I was intrigued by his
appearance and quickly wrote a novella with him in it that later on
became Discovery. I had not yet gone back to school to get my
anthropology degree and knew very little about the science of
archaeology when that first draft was written. It remained in a
drawer for 30 years until I pulled it out and expanded it into a
full-length book, which was eventually published. Artifacts came
on the coattails of that book and had no further inspiration from
people I know, except I had a stronger understanding of archaeology
then.
The
most recent book in the Ruins series, Legacy, came out in
September, and it has three people in it that I know. I crafted
Dutch Acuna, the lady owner of the horse ranch where most of the
action takes place, on my good friend Ann. That character is so like
Ann it really could have been her doing all those things in the book.
But Dutch has knowledge Ann doesn’t have. Dutch is a midwife and
knows herbs. Ann knows herbs and does a lot of homeopathic remedies,
but she’d never feel as comfortable as Dutch does around a pregnant
woman.
Another
minor character is Isaac Wichowski, the big angelic, Hispanic farrier
in Legacy. He’s based on my good friend Alexander who is
indeed a farrier and who gave me so much great information about
horses for the book. Isaac and Alexander are just as cheeky, but kind
to a fault!
Finally,
there is Toni, the love interest in Legacy. She’s native and knows
about the politics of academia. She’s also deeply spiritual. I
based her character on a woman I met for 20 minutes 6 years ago. That
woman’s energy was so spiritually positive and so very old inside a
young body. I was impressed and began to weave a character based on
that energy into this book. She wasn’t even an original idea for
that book but, as I did research and sat with the story line, she
came to it and walked its pages. I’m glad I put her into the book.
I
do have another Ruins book I’ll be working on soon, and I’m not
sure who will inspire me. I do have a law enforcement friend I’ve
been threatening to put into a book and make her a womanizing
sheriff. We’ll see.
As
a tribute to people I know I’ve put in books, I’ll be giving away
a digital copy of Ruins Legacy to one lucky winner who posts a
comment about this blog.
Blurb
Kate
Ferguson’s life is crumbling around her as she is shoved out of her
ten-year-old son’s life as he prepares for his testing to be the
next shaman. Relegated to babysitting a pregnant woman she doesn’t
even know in an unfamiliar place, she is bombarded by her son’s
growing abilities and her own, dark secrets, strange revelations,
spiritual trials, and an intriguing female ranch hand who challenges
everything she knows.
The
book is still on special at all of these locations:
MuseItUp
Publishing (You
can get all formats here in one download.):
Barnes
and Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ruins-legacy-janie-franz/1128841982?ean=2940155562153
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ruins-legacy-janie-franz/1128841982?ean=2940155562153
If
you live in Australia, you can get the book at Angus & Robertson:
About
the Author
Janie
Franz comes from a long line of liars and storytellers with deep
roots in East Tennessee. Her
anthropology degree is a refection of her wide curiosity.
She is an author, a professional speaker, the US acquisition editor
and a content editor for MuseItUp Publishing, an academic editor,
ghostwriter, and reviewer. Previously, she published an online music
publication (Refrain Magazine) and was an agent/publicist for a
groove/funk band, a radio announcer, a yoga/relaxation instructor, a
music festival publicist, and private chef. She is the author of twelve titles with MUSE, a freelance writing manual, co-author of two wedding how-to books, and a self-help book. “Refrain,” Book 2 of The Lost Song trilogy, was a Top 10 Finisher, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy, 2013 Preditors & Editors Reader Poll. She lives in Santa Fe where she writes fantasy, archeology thrillers, paranormal, and contemporaries—and can be found on a dance floor.
