An interview with Janet Lane Walters and Forgotten Dreams

Please welcome Janet Lane Walters and her book, Forgotten Dreams!

NA: How did you come up with the idea for your book?
JLW: The idea for Forgotten Dreams was an interesting journey. Since all the heroines in the series have a Cancer birthday and the heroes are of different times. The time had arrived for a Leo hero. After reading a bit about the Leo man in a variety of astrology books I own, I decided since he is fire, he needed action and since he was a Leo, he would like the spotlight. Thus the hero was born. The heroine and he were friends and had spun dreams of forever when they were teens. My question became what would happen if he’d forgotten those dreams and came to a time when he wanted them back.

NA: What sort of research did you do to write this book?
JLW: Much of the research was in my astrology books and also my background as a nurse. Had some fun looking up how bone fractures could be treated and also thought of patients I’d known and their treatment. I looked at a lot about action figures and happen to be a fan of that kind of movies.

NA: What is the main thing you want readers to take away from your book?
JLW: That love lost can be regained but it takes work and understanding.

NA: Do you have a day job? What was your job before you started writing full time?
JLW: Years ago, I was a nurse and worked on an orthopedic unit. I’ve been retired for thirty years and have been writing steadily since then.

NA: What started you on the path to writing?
JLW: Years ago, I had pneumonia and had to take two weeks from work. Being bored, I read. My sister-in-law sent me a bag of books. Most were medical romances. There were only a few good ones. Most of the writers knew little about hospitals and medicine. I wondered if I could write a better book. That brought back memories of my teenage scribblings on books I never finished writing. I began with short stories since they seemed easier. One day an editor told me my short story sounded like the synopsis for a book and I began the process of learning how to tell stories in my imagination into books.

NA: What do your friends and family think about your being a writer?
JLW: My father was my biggest fan and he pushed my books to everyone he met. My first books where hardback and ones sold mostly to libraries. His pushing his daughter’s writing I believe was responsible for receiving money beyond the initial payment. My husband thinks of my writing as an obsession he doesn’t want to cure. He’s a psychiatrist. My children and grandchildren are proud but only one granddaughter is a real fan. As for friends, these days most of my friends are fellow writers. They are a great bunch and we encourage each other and even buy each other’s books.

NA: Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
JLW: Absolutely plan my books ahead of time. Now I don’t have a written outline, just a sketch of what I want to be in the book and then I divide into chapters. Usually two people chapters with viewpoints from hero and heroine. Once this is done, I start to write and here it’s where the plan takes me. I’m a plotter.

NA: Do you have quirky writing habits?
JLW: Not really quirky to me but I write my rough draft and usually two more with pen and paper and type them into the computer adding notes as I type. I write faster than I type.

NA: What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
JLW: When I’m not writing, I spend time critiquing other people’s writings, watching crime shows and the Cooking Channel and reading. I also care for a semi-invalid husband and sometimes do a bit of housework.

NA: Why did you choose the shirt you have on?
JLW: I pulled the first thing from the drawer and put it on.

NA: First thought when the alarm goes off in the in the morning?
JLW: Time to get moving. Will be a busy day.

NA: What errand/chore do you despise the most?
JLW: Grocery shopping. Not so much the shopping as the putting things away when I arrive home. Folding laundry comes in as a close second.

NA: What are you working on now?
JLW: Lines of Fire Challenged – the second book in a romance fantasy trilogy.

NA: What advice would you give to beginning writers?
JLW: Keep writing. The more you write the easier it becomes.

Forgotten Dreams

Blurb:

Chad Morgan is tired of his Hollywood life and his role as action hero, Storm. He’s ignoring the contracts for two more movies in the franchise. He wants to take a different direction and make a movie of his friend’s book. He has bought the rights. But his agent and the studio want more Storm. His personal life is also bouncing from one woman to another. His thoughts have turned to Emma Grassi, the woman he left behind in his quest for fame. He decides to return to Fern Lake and speak to his friend and renew his friendship with Emma.

Emma is now a nurse practitioner sharing an office with her doctor friend. She has waited for Chad to return and has decided this isn’t going to happen. She’s decided to confront him and put an end to the dream she has remembered and he has forgotten. Life takes a twist when Chad ‘s auto accident on the outskirts of Fern Lake bring them together. She wants out. He wants in.

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Bio:

Janet Lane Walters has been published for fifty years. Not in a continuous stream as she returned to work as a nurse to help when children reached college age. She lives in the scenic Hudson River valley. She writes romances, contemporary, historical, paranormal and fantasy. She also has a cluster of cozy mysteries, and a suspense. Among her writings are also poetry and short stories and non-fiction. She worked as a ghost writer for a few years. She is an award winning author and her non-fiction book Becoming Your Own Critique Partner written with Jane Toombs won an EPIC Award.

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