Writing Journey

Author and Speaker Janalyn VoigtThe story that became Tales of Faeraven, my epic fantasy trilogy, began as a fairytale I made up for my bored young daughter while on a car trip. Long after my daughter had forgotten the people and places of Elderland, they lived on in my imagination. Any writer might hope for such deep inspiration, but there was a problem: after a series of disappointments (including a book contract that fell through), I had given up on writing.

Years passed, during which I attempted a hodgepodge of careers that were far removed from my calling to write. I delivered mail, studied music and performed in operas, worked in a real estate office, and even spent several years on the top floor of a Seattle skyscraper as an assistant underwriter for an insurance company. Although I was successful in every endeavor, nothing stuck and I always moved on.

Meanwhile, the world of Elderland evolved. The story simply would not let me go. It took a recommitment to my Christian faith to make me see that nothing could substitute for what I had been called to do. I needed to return to writing. More specifically, I had to write DawnSinger, which became book one of Tales of Faeraven. My manuscript might never see publication, but that didn’t matter as much as taking this step of faith and releasing the story that had haunted my thoughts for so long.

DawnSinger’s journey to publication was almost as rocky as its inception, but it released with Harbourlight Books (Pelican Book Group) in 2012. WayFarer, book two of the trilogy, releases January 3rd, 2014, and I’m currently completing DawnKing, book three.

My agent at Wordserve Literary and I are also putting together a proposal for a romantic suspense novel set during modern times in a castle.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

escape into creative worlds of fiction