Dishin' It Out: Janet Lane Walters 'guest' at Dishin' it Out

I'm pleased to introduce to you Janet Lane Walters- my guest author today. Please get to know her a little bit from the below interview and feel free to make a comment - she would love to hear from you. :) Rita

Janet Lane Walters: I've been published since 1968 and that was in short story. As the short story market dried up I expanded to novels and was finally published in 1972 with "sweet" nurse stories. Having four children, came the need to help send them through college so I returned to work as a nurse. Finally returned to writing around 1990, had a book published for a line that promptly died. Then I discovered electronic publishing. Still have many copies of the little discs of the first published books. This was 1998 and I've never looked back.

I live in a village on the scenic Hudson River. This has been the venue for a number of my books. Being someone who reads about everything, I write the same way. A lot of my stories are romances, but there are mysteries, suspense and fantasy for adults and YA.

Once upon a time I wrote poetry, even had some published and was paid in money for one. I used to compose music, but this was difficult since I play the piano with one or two fingers. For a number of years a friend and I did Astrological charts for people, earning enough money to take a trip to Ireland. Now I'm a grandmother with seven grandchildren ranging in age from 5 to 24. Four are biracial and 3 Chinese. We definitely have a mixed up family and I love that.

Book Summary/Blurb: Lines of Fire

To honor a promise made to his dying father, Alric trains as a Defender. For some reason the Swordmaster wishes him gone and his first two bondings end in failure. A failed third one will see Alric banished. His meeting with the older daughter of the Swordmaster reveals a double heart bond, but she has been promised to Petan, the Swordmaster’s favorite. A duel is fought and though Alric can read Petan’s lines of fire, the other dueler cheats and nearly kills Alric. Petan is banished but he knows secret ways into Defenders Hall. Kalia, his now bondmate’s lines are tarnished. Not only do Alric and Kalia need to find Petan, they must learn how to cleanse her lines.

What inspired you to write this book? For Lines of Fire I'm afraid a vivid imagination was what spurred this story. I was doing a bit of bedtime meditation when a picture formed and it showed a man with red lines over his body. Some strange thought hit me. What if there were people with lines of fire that showed on their skin and there were people who could read them. Also I knew they had fled their home land and had entered the mists with other guilds and common people to escape some evil men. From there, the story took off.

If you had to sum it up your book in 30 or less words, what would you say? Fantasy romance with sword-fighting and adventure. A pair of bonded mates opposing some nasty villains.

Do you have a favorite character in this book? Who and why? The hero Alric is my favorite. He is a man who keeps his promises to the dead and the living. Doesn't hurt that he's tall, broad shouldered and handsome.

What has been your greatest challenge in writing this book? Getting back to my sword-fighting days when the moves are much impeded by the aging process. Sometimes I act things out to get the proper wording.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series? Someday there will be two more books in this series. One will be called Tainted Lines and the other I have no title for. There could also be three other trilogies in the over-all Guild House world.

What has been your greatest pleasure in writing this book? This book? I'd have to think. I enjoyed the sword fighting parts and also seeing the characters develop. I really just love creating situations and people to fill them.

Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite? I'm fickle. My favorite book I've written is always the one I'm working on.

If you could meet any writer, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you want to know? Perhaps Tolstoy. To ask him why he turned Anna Karenina into such a tragedy. Remember reading this in third grade, and wrote a book report that says the heroine was dumb. Was nearly suspended from school but my father took on the teachers. Also was great when I was allowed to go to the adult section of the local library to pick books.

What was the last truly great book you read? That's so hard since I read a book every few days and I also re-read books, especially when an author on my keeper shelf has a new book. Right now I'm reading Cherryh's Foreigner series from start to finish. I'm on book 13. Just love the alien culture and the characters.

Did the plot of the book turn out the way you planned or did something change during the process of writing it?

In Lines of Fire, the plot stayed pretty much the same as I planned, but then I'm a plotter so while there can be small surprises, the projected end is always in sight.

Is your book in Print, eBook or both? Both

Where can your readers find you?

Website: http://www.angelfire.com/stars4/kswiesner/jewels10.html