Hello, beautiful readers! I am excited to share with you an award-winning indie author, Jan Sikes. I have read several of her stories and have loved them all. Today, she will share with you her newest release. Take it away, Jan!
First, I want to thank Yvette for allowing me to take over
her blog space to talk about my new book, Ghostly Interference!
CAN
READING LEAD TO WRITING?
I can answer that question with an absolute and resounding
YES! Reading can and very often does lead to writing. I’ve never met an author
that didn’t love to read a good story.
Thinking back and trying to remember the first time I read
a book, I realize it's been well over sixty years that I've been an avid
reader.
In elementary school, I loved losing myself in stories,
especially fairy tales. I checked the Grimms Book of Fairy Tales out of the
school library so many times they had to make a new card. Oh, how I loved
getting lost in those fairy tales where everyone lived happily ever after.
Not only did I read the words in books, I lived the words.
In my mind’s eye, I could clearly visualize the characters as the words brought
them to life. I could see the setting where the story took place and literally
put myself there.
Through the written word, I've traveled all over the world.
I've seen Paris, Rome, Venice, Ireland, England, Japan, Australia, Switzerland
and every state in the United States. I learned about sex by reading Harold
Robbin’s novels. I learned about survival from John Steinbeck and Erskine
Caldwell. I got lost in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, where I first
learned about abuse and social criticism. I learned about the inner-workings of
politics by reading Captains and The Kings by Taylor Caldwell. I could
go on and on, but you catch my drift. If I listed all the great books I’ve
read, this blog would go on for pages.
Needless to say, I LOVE to read.
As a child growing up, my parents adhered to a strict
holy-roller religion, which meant we had no TV in our home because it was
considered to be of the devil. My older sister and I literally received our
worldly education through reading. Many nights after Mama called for lights
out, we would huddle under our covers with a flashlight and continue reading
until we fell asleep. As a result, both she and I are authors today.
I always have one goal when I write a story, and that is to
entertain. However, I find that I cannot write a story without a message
contained somewhere in the pages. My passion is writing stories that encourage
people to reach for their dreams, to believe in something greater.
In Ghostly Interference, Jag Peters confesses
to Rena that he’s always dreamed of playing music on big stages around the
world. He doesn’t know where the desire comes from. It’s always been there.
EXCERPT:
“I
told you a little about me. Now it’s your turn.”
Jag
turned toward her. “Not much to tell. You already know where I work. I write
computer programs, make decent money, live in an apartment behind my mom’s
house, and drive a Toyota.”
“Aw,
come on. Tell me something personal. That’s just stuff.”
“Okay.”
Jag pulled his feet out of the water and faced her. “You have to promise you
won’t laugh.”
She
grinned. “I promise.”
“When
I was a kid, I dreamed of being a rock star. I play the keyboard, and I thought
that would be the best life in the world; to be on stage and have adoring fans,
women clamoring for me and men wanting to be me.”
Rena
whispered, “That was a little boy’s dream. What does the man want?”
Jag
lowered his head. “I don’t think about it anymore.”
“What
you mean is that you settled. You chose a life that’s safe with no risks.”
Jag
nodded. “My dad died my first year in college. He never approved of me playing
music.”
***
I’d love to know what inspires you to reach for your
dreams.
BOOK
BLURB
Jag Peters has one
goal in his quiet comfortable life—to keep his karma slate wiped clean. A
near-miss crash with a candy apple red Harley threatens to upend his safe
world. He tracks down the rider to apologize properly. Slipping into a seedy
biker bar, he discovers the rider isn't a "he", it's a
"she", a dark-haired beauty.
Rena
Jett is a troubled soul, who lives in a rough world. She wants no part of Jag's
apology, but even while she pushes him away, she is attracted to him. When he
claims to see a ghost—her brother—can she trust him? And could her brother's
final gift, a magical rune stone with the symbol for "happily ever
after" have the power to heal her wounds and allow opposites to find
common ground—perhaps even love?
BOOK
TRAILER LINK: https://youtu.be/NHaLVSe_flI
BOOK
PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Ghostly-Interference-White-Rune-Sikes-ebook/dp/B08KW1KFMW/
BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ghostly-interference-jan-sikes/1137871003?
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ghostly-interference
iTUNES: https://books.apple.com/us/book/ghostly-interference/id1535082886
GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=PCwNEAAAQBAJ
JAN
SIKES
SOCIAL
MEDIA LINKS
http://www.jansikes.com
https://jansikesblog.com/
https://www.twitter.com/jansikes3
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CS9K8DK (Author Page)
