Are you ready for Monday? It is coming up really fast this week. I just got back from going to Des Moines, IA for the Iowa State Fair. So, I am playing catch-up with a lot of things. But, enough about me. Lets get down to why you are here today. Today I am doing an Author Spotlight on Dark Fantasy author Jennifer Ann Schlag. This kind of post is a way for the author to introduce themselves to you, the reader. So, hold onto your butts and lets get to know this awesome author.
Hi, everyone. My name is Jenn and I write dark fantasy stories. Being a fan of fantasy all my life, I always knew I wanted to make fantasy movies or at least write them. After I decided to take my first fantasy screenplay Goval: Parallel Destiny and turn it into a novel, I realized that I could expand on my dark fantasy stories in ways that a movie simply cannot. Having read books before bed as a child, I already had a love for reading, and with writing my short stories and people liking them, writing a novel came easy to me. I am way too critical of my own work, but that’s a good thing. When I am not writing I am obsessed with photography and sunsets. I have a strong passion towards animals so I spend a lot of time with my fur babies. When I need to de-stress myself, which is often as a writer, I play video games, and I pvp in the online game World of Warcraft, as well as play the online game League of Legends. I tend to enjoy movies better when watching alone because I hate being interrupted. I usually write to instrumental music and I can be found singing along to my favorite songs in the car or at the computer. Inspiration is a funny thing. Some writers are inspired by other writers and some are inspired when they watch movies. For me inspiration comes from everywhere. The inspiration for Goval came when I went to England in 2002. Goval is one of those stories that has a deeper, hidden meaning if you scratch enough at the surface. I would consider it my magnum opus. There was a time that I wanted to be an archaeologist or a scientist. My love for philosophy sometimes makes it hard for me to carry on a conversation with someone. My mind works faster than I’d like it to. That’s especially hard when trying to write a scene. My favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride. It literally has everything to offer you. Adventure, romance, humor, suspense, horror, and fantasy. I can’t say that I have a favorite book but my favorite author is Stephen King. I don’t consider myself a trendsetter. I don’t always keep up with fashion because I like the relaxed, casual look too much. If I could live anywhere other than this planet, I’d rather be a travelling soul that explores the universe. I almost forgot to mention wolves. The wolf has been my favorite for a long time. It both terrifies me and exhilarates me. I simply love them. I donate to the wolf conversation in New York.
Something I’ve learned from this self-publishing experience is there’s a lot of competition out there. And you really need to do your research. You should know that it takes a lot more than writing an amazing book. Or having an amazing cover. Don’t do what I did. Write a book and try to find fans. Build your fanbase then give them snippets of your book or give them short stories. How do you find your fanbase? You have to network. Either with other writers or join groups who like read books. Befriend a writer whose books you like. Ask them if they wouldn’t mind mentioning you in their blogs or newsletter. Be kind and tell them you’d love to review their book in return for the favor. Remember, us writers love reviews. Good and bad. I came into this ass backwards. I published my first book Night First: The Divinity of Damien Calla not knowing anyone really. Then I thought people would just find it in Amazon and buy it. Didn’t happen. Network. Market. So, where I am happy to be writing and telling my stories, I do wish to be very successful where I can say I earn a lot of money doing the thing I love most. We all want it. Whether you are a writer, teacher, actor, scientist, or someone shining shoes on the street. We all want to be successful and be able to pay our bills and enjoy life. I hope to touch everyone with my written words, and whether you love or hate my books, I know I have achieved my goal: I got a reaction out of you. Happy reading and do pick up one of my books if you like mystery, fantasy, and not knowing what may happen next. I have plenty more to come.
Connect with the Author
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The Books
Proving her innocence will be the least of her problems
Jennifer Ann Schlag takes reality and smashes it into fantasy and lets things fall where they way. She finds inspiration from all things in life; the light and the dark are not to be feared. She has an infinite amount of love for animals, especially wolves. When not writing she can often be found reading about philosophy and science, taking sunset pictures, and playing video games. Her favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride because she believes it gives you a little bit of everything–making it the perfect movie.
Jennifer Ann Schlag takes reality and smashes it into fantasy and lets things fall where they way. She finds inspiration from all things in life; the light and the dark are not to be feared. She has an infinite amount of love for animals, especially wolves. When not writing she can often be found reading about philosophy and science, taking sunset pictures, and playing video games. Her favorite movie of all time is The Princess Bride because she believes it gives you a little bit of everything–making it the perfect movie.
Proving her innocence will be the least of her problems
I am a dark-fantasy writer that likes to take reality and smash it into fantasy and let things fall where they may. Although I see myself as more of a visual storyteller (filmmaker/screenwriter), I am ultimately a storyteller. I started out writing short stories to entertain myself and my friends, which progressed into writing screenplays. Then, after wanting to expand on my stories and the characters, I decided to try novel writing. My parents did not share my passion of wanting to make movies and writing stories as a career, so I abandoned it for a while. But it came back to me. Some things are meant to be and they will always find a way to be together.