Check out this author spotlight for Jan Foster!
You can find all her links furthest down the page, and don’t forget to check out her books!
1. Hi! Welcome to my humble blog of all things bookish! I would like for us to start by getting to know you. Give us a short bio, please!
Jan writes in between being a mum to monsters and a small business consultant. Any spare time is spent stepping back in time, which has fed into her historical fantasy ‘Naturae’ series of novels. Only slightly obsessed with Vikings and Tudors, Jan thoroughly enjoys research trips and burying her head in books to flesh out the details of these time periods in her novels. That’s her excuse and she is sticking to it!
She also volunteers reading with children in her local school and helping them find the joy and escapism in books. Passionate about getting kids active, she writes the Mitch and Mooch series to support children with not only reading and comprehension, but also encouraging them to try out new activities
Jan is based in the North West of England and tries to drag her family and dogs out into the wilds or into windswept castles as much as possible – when it’s not raining! You can follow what Jan is up to on social media @janfosterauthor or check out her website for more details on publications and other articles or short stories written by her www.escapeintoatale.com
2. To get to know you just a little bit better, I’d like to ask you some this or that questions. Answer 5 of these and explain why you chose this or that, or maybe an entirely different alternative!
Winter, spring, summer or autumn?
– Autumn – I adore the changing colours every day when I walk my dogs!
Cat or dog?
– Dogs – I have 2 King Charles cavaliers who are daft and very cuddly
Tea or coffee?
– Coffee – preferably a latte or at least very milky and sweet
Library or museums?
Both – that’s a bit like asking me if I prefer one of my two children, both being completely different and fulfil different sides of me!
Plotter or pantser?
– Plantster….? Have a vague idea on a plot and where I want it to go but sometimes those pesky characters throw me a curveball.
Standalone or series?
Series 100% – when I get to love a character, I want to stalk them for always! The worst thing for me is when I have the end of a series book; it’s always a dilemma of do I read it and know it’s the end or do I put it off? I have been known to cry at the agony of indecision – do I really want to know how it all ends… or can I just pretend it’s still going on in those pages there?
3. When you look for books to read, what trope or type of story will always catch your attention?
I like tropes, and yet I hate tropes. I love to be surprised! I think that’s why for light reading I’ll pick up a thriller, because there is always the possibility they won’t end up the way you think they will. But, what catches my attention in a bookstore or online is anything historical, which will transport me back and allow me to find some relevance to things today.
4. What do you write? Tell us about your current projects and the latest happenings!
I write historical fantasy novels and children’s books. I’m a little obsessed by the Tudor age and my Naturae series is set in certain eventful years during that century when ordinary humans had the order of their world turned upside down. Weaving some magic into their reality, fae, witches, vampires and daemons living amongst the humans try not to upset the course of history (too much!). The series follows two fae lovers who constantly battle their destiny. Already published is a prequel (set in Viking times and the villains’ tragic story), and Book 1 – Disrupting Destiny. Due to launch at the end of January 2022 is Book 2 – Anarchic Destiny. You can probably guess from the title that chaos is a likely outcome in that story!
5. What is your most recent release? Give us a short presentation, cover, and a link for where to buy it!
Disrupting Destiny
www.books2rad.com/disruptingdestiny
Annabella’s secret destiny was never meant to come between them, but after a century of hiding in Tudor England, a violent confrontation with a shadowy figure from her past leaves her heartbroken and alone in a realm she hated.
Once a mortal, when homebody Joshua loses Annabella, only his belief in her innocence and the kindness of strangers keeps him alive. In a dangerous quest through the turbulence of Reformation England to find his love, he thinks he only has to survive long enough to save her. But not everyone is what they seem, and he finds himself questioning his own faith as much as being a fae.
Kept a prisoner, Annabella refuses to comply with the future envisaged for her until a darker secret threatens to destroy the realm and fae immortality. The fate of an entire race rests on their shoulders, but can destiny be changed? Rebellion, danger and intrigue threaten the future in a thrilling journey, weaving Tudor times with magical fantasy.
Disrupting Destiny – forever isn’t certain, trust no-one…
6. What real-life inspiration do you draw from, and what are your primary fictional sources of inspiration (books, authors, films, music, etc.)? Name a few!
When I’m planning (as in, before even plotting!) my books, I do a huge amount of reading/researching into the specific time period I’m interested in writing in. This very happily involves a lot of research visits to places where my characters might interact with a real life person from that era, or, even better when I’m tired, watching films and TV shows set in that period. I think I have probably watched every documentary known to man about the Tudors, and every film or TV show in that period (The Tudors – obvs, Wolf Hall, Reign, Elizabeth etc – there are so many!). I’m also huge fan of Lucy Worsley, Philippa Gregory, CJ Sansom, SJ Parris, Hilary Mantel to name but a few, who write fiction based in the 15th and 16th century. I also use a lot of non fiction reference books as well, for specific details about a place or person; I love a good map or floorplan as well to help me visualise landscape or a route through a house!
7. What is your writing routine? If you have one, give us the run-down!
Get up, get children packed out the door to school, then, AIS (arse in seat) until someone disturbs me with something terribly urgent which cannot possibly be stalled. Happens more often than I’d like when I know what I’m planning to write that day, and never when I have no idea what to write. Weekends – drag myself up and out of bed for coffee before anyone else in the house is awake and bash out some words then. Somehow fit in consultancy work for other people around all that! (Sorry clients, I love you really!). Oddly, I cannot write except in silence. I long to be that coffee shop writer tapping away but I tried it, and nearly ended up shouting at all the customers and staff to please, Be Quiet!
8. If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice as you started out on the path to becoming an author, what would it be?
Why did it take you so long to twig this is what you love doing? Life is short – write more!
9. Last but not least: where can we find you? Drop those links!
Websites: www.escapeintoatale.com (Author Website)
www.mitchandmooch.com (children’s books – also lots of downloadable activities and ideas on there to do with your monsters!)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janfosterauthor
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B084LF154S
Blog: https://escapeintoatale.com/short-stories-and-articles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/escapeintoatale
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20093349.Jan_Foster
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jan.foster.author/
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JanFoster
LinkTree https://linktr.ee/janfosterauthor
Subscribe to my newsletter https://www.subscribepage.com/mailingsubscribe and I’ll send you a free copy of the Naturae Series prequel Risking Destiny (a full length novel set in Viking Age Orkney!) to enjoy!
Fancy getting Advance Reader Copies of all of my books? Join the Launch Team here https://www.subscribepage.com/naturaelaunchteam
