Paranormal and Romantic Suspense author Joanne Jaytanie is today's Author Spotlight. Jaytanie has been writing since high school but she started focusing on writing more after she left her business. Since then she has released four books including two part of a collection from various authors, Uncharted Love from the Places to See Collection and the newley released Building Up to Love from the Love List Collection. Jaytanie also her her own series The Winters Sisters. Her books combine the paranormal and romantic suspense elements that are full of twists and turns. An subject she talks about more in our interview. I'm happy to introduce to you today's Jazzy World of E's Bookshelf Author Spotlight on Joanne Jaytanie.
Joanne Jaytanie's Biography
I was born and raised in Sherburne, New York, a quaint village surrounded by dairy farms and rolling hills. From the moment I could read I wanted to explore the world. I slowly crept across the country, stopping along the way in Oklahoma, California, and finally Washington State, which I now proudly call home. I live with my husband and Dobermans, in our home located on the Kitsap Peninsula with a panoramic view of the Olympic Mountains.
I write paranormal and romantic suspense. I love writing about the twists and turns of my character’s lives, the trouble they find themselves involved in, along with building an everlasting relationship. I enjoy a wide variety of books including paranormal, suspense, thriller, and most of all romance.
I am a member of Romance Writers of America, and an active member of Debbie Macomber’s home chapter, Peninsula Romance Writers, where I currently serve as the President.
I have a Bachelors Degree in Business. I spent a number of years in business administration, thirteen of which involved owning our own forensic engineering firm. For the past 30 years I have trained and shown dogs.
I am very involved in the dog world. I have been the president of my local All-Breed Dog Club for a total of nine years. I was nominated as the first American Kennel Club Delegate for this club, and have held this position for nineteen years. I am a member of four other dog clubs and have served in a variety of board positions.
An Interview with Joanne Jaytanie
Your books focus on the paranormal and
romantic suspense, what is it about these genres that inspire you as a writer?
Suspense
has always been a draw for me. I love to immerse myself in a story, the
suspense, tension, danger, and drama, are all pluses in my book. Throw in the
paranormal element and you can create heroines and heroes that are larger than
life. These two genres give me freedom and opportunity to go in any direction.
I have the ability to intertwine a story that you, the reader are never one-hundred
percent sure of where it may take you, and that’s what inspires me.
You have the Winter Sister Series and the
Places to See Collection; can you tell readers about each?
The Winters Sisters Series is romantic
suspense with paranormal elements. The series is about three sisters, all of
whom have ‘special’ abilities that each were born with, but may not be natural.
The main thrust of the series revolves around the sisters working with an élite
group of military men called SOCOM, which stands for Special Operations Command.
The men in this team also possess supernatural abilities. I have slated this
series for five full-length novels, with a possible novella.
Uncharted Love is book
#4 of the Places to See Collection.
Which is a collection of short stories, each written by a different author. It
is a contemporary romance series. Five friends have to deal with the death of
another friend. That friend’s last request is that each woman takes a little
time to enjoy life and go on a vacation. This is a very difficult thing for
these women to do, as their lives revolve around their careers.
My newest
release is also a short story, Building
up to Love, book #4 of The Love List
collection. This series is similar to Places
to See in that it is written by different authors and has a common theme.
It takes place in a small town. Four women become good friends and commiserate
over the fact that they haven’t dated for awhile. They decide to pull their
resources and drop some names of male friends into a basket. One by one the
women draw the name of a man from the basket and must invite this man on a
date.
Was writing
something you always did or was it something you took up recently after having
a business career?
I have
written since my freshman year in high school.
I have always loved to write. After my husband and I decided to close
down our forensic engineering firm I was lost, wondering what I should do with
the rest of my life. I realized that it was the perfect opportunity to finally
follow my passion.
I read that you like writing about the twists
and turns for your characters. Many readers enjoy a good twist in a book. Is it
hard coming up with different scenarios for your characters or do you already
have an idea in mind of where you want the story to go when you start?
Twists
and turns are my favorite part! When I start my book I have my basic story arc
planned, but how I get to the end often changes along the way. If I feel
something is too ‘straight line’ I will throw a curve into it. I love when
someone says to me, “I didn’t see that coming.” That’s what I work for, to
surprise the reader.
Out of all your
books, do you have a favorite?
That’s a
tough one. Definietly the Winters Sisters is my favorite. I’m not sure I have a
favorite of the two. I love Chasing
Victory because it is the first and set the premise of my series. I love Payton’s Pursuit because I feel it has
more action.
Do you have any current works in progress
that you can tell us about?
I am
currently working on book #3 of the Winters Sisters. This is Willow’s book. I
have also jotted down details and started the first couple chapters of book 4
and 5.
I just
submitted my Christmas short story, Christmas
Reflections. It is book #1 of the series Forever Christmas.
As an author what
has been the best part about writing and publishing your books?
The best
part is when a reader tells me they love my book and can’t wait for the next
one! That has to be the all-time best part of writing. Sharing something that I
love to write and having others love to read it.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
Clive
Cussler
Sherrilyn
Kenyon
Douglas
Preston and Lincoln Child
Too many
romance authors to name…
When you’re not
writing, how do you like to spend your free time?
I like to
spend time with my husband and my Dobermans. Take a walk, go camping, or just
sitting out on my back porch. I love to read, work on stained glass, go to the
movies and spend time with my family.
In 10 words or less can you tell readers why
they should read your books?
This is not your mother’s romance…
Is there anything else you would like to say
to your fans or readers who are new to you?
I hope
you will give me a try. If you do, please tell me what you think. I love to
meet and chat with new people.
Books by Joanne jaytaine
UNCHARTED LOVE - Book 4 in thePLACES TO SEE COLLECTION
Nine years ago, Ellie’s now ex-boyfriend was the finance manager of her publishing house. He drained all her bank accounts and disappeared. Since that time, she has not made any effort to pursue a new relationship or even date. Her life revolves around her growing business and small group of women friends, who are all single, about the same age, have no kids, and are driven to succeed in their careers.
Jax’s one serious attempt at love ended in disaster. While stationed on a destroyer and out to sea, his fiancée fell in love with his childhood friend. They emptied his house and his bank account never to be seen again. From that day forward he promised himself that he would maintain course and follow his charted life plan.
To fulfill a promise to a dead friend, Ellie books a cruise aboard Jax’s ship. They are thrown together after someone breaks into Ellie’s stateroom and steals her ring and family heirloom. Can a small town girl and a globe-trotter find common ground and discover their uncharted love?
CHASING VICTORY - Book 1 of The Winters Sisters Series
Doctor Doolittle in female form creates X-Men on steroids. Murder, kidnapping, and blackmail follow as world-renowned geneticist Victory Winters is forced to pursue her research on canine DNA. Victory is kidnapped and taken to a satellite facility of Biotec, owned by a shadow conglomerate known as The Kaleidoscope Group. To her horror she is presented with human test subjects, two military men who have been injected with this foreign DNA.
Tristan Farraday is a naval officer assigned to a clandestine division of the armed forces, known as SOCOM; Special Operations Command. His primary goal is to expose the players behind a plot to create indestructible soldiers and to secure this research at all costs.
Victory is suspicious and untrusting of Tristan because their initial friendship was built on lies. However, she realizes that in order to save herself and her family she will need his help, and Tristan goes undercover as her research assistant. Working together they fight to save the men injected with the foreign DNA. While inside the Biotec compound Tristan attempts to contact Wyatt telepathically, but is unable to reach him due to a hi-tech security grid. Tristan stumbles upon the fact that Victory has her own telepathic abilities, along with a rare gift of being an amplifier–someone who enhances others’ abilities. Victory is not aware nor does she believe that she possess these abilities. They rebuild their friendship, and as the danger surrounding them escalates, the passion between the two ignites.
PAYTON'S PURSUIT - Book 2 of The Winters Sisters Series
Payton Winters is thrust into the position of CEO of The Winters Corporation after the sudden death of her parents. Confronted with the knowledge she was born with special abilities, she finds herself in the dilemma of being a grounding force to people who possess psychic powers. She has unwillingly become the mental anchor to the one man she wants no part of, Collin McBain. While on a routine mission, Collin is drugged, tortured, and injected with wolf DNA. Now believed dead, he is secretly assigned to the Winters Campus.
Faced with the reality that her life is based on half-truths, Payton is on a pursuit to uncover her mother’s scientific research. She desperately needs to understand why she and her two sisters were genetically altered before birth. Payton’s path to discovery is littered with danger as she finds herself embroiled in a world of secrets, lies, kidnapping, and murder. She struggles to understand the events of the past in order to cope with her future. Will Payton’s pursuit for the truth be her last?
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