JANIE FRANZ WITH A SAGA

Hello, Janie,

You have some good news for us today and I think I'm as excited as you are. Please, shout out the announcement to all of us.

As I’m about to engage in content edits for Coda, the last book in The Lost Song Trilogy, I am so very pleased to announce that the entire Bowdancer Saga will now be housed under one publishing roof. I just received contracts from MuseItUp Publishing for the first three books in the series. Originally published under another company, these books will flesh out the early years of the Saga’s heroine, Jan-nell, who has had more than her share of struggles as an intelligent woman tied to roles that culture has placed her.

 Coda becomes book 6 in the Bowdancer Saga and finishes up the task laid upon Jan-nell by a dying woman to find the origins of the famed Warrior Women, the women who live apart high on a lonely mountain, hidden from the rest of the world.

 Verses and Refain begin Jan-nell’s search for answers to who the Warrior Women are and how they came to find refuge for two hundred years high on a mountain. She and her companions follow whispers of clues found in the verses of a song.

 The entire Bowdancer Saga has much song and dance, herb lore, and much foraging and feasting of wild edibles. There is a cast of characters, each rich in his or her own cultural practices (yes…more songs, dances, spiritual beliefs, food, and art).

 Having a degree in anthropology, I’ve tried to create Jan-nell’s world as completely as possible. Lifeways---customs, beliefs, taboos, music and art, and food—flesh out any created world. I’ve tried to introduce herbs and foods that readers can recognize, though by other names. I’ve choreographed dances and written words to chants and tavern ditties. I’ve explored a wide range of belief in those that Jan-nell encounters that is quite different from her own. Yet, Jan-nell seems to find meaning in those differences as well as common ground for understanding.

 The people Jan-nell meets are vastly different from the simpler folk on the horse plains where we first see her in The Bowdancer (Book 1 out early next year). I have loved and gritted my teeth at these characters. Sometimes I just want to knock one upside of the head because he or she just didn’t understand Jan-nell, and sometimes I wanted to sit Jan-nell down and give her a good talking to.

 The whole Bowdancer Saga deals with difference, isolation and not being understood, a constant struggle for belonging, and the transformative power of faith and companionship—all seen through the eyes of a woman coming to understand herself and her purpose.

 Step into Jan-nell’s world in Verses, book 1 of The Lost Song Trilogy. Her journey continues through Refrain, and Coda (which will be out in November).

 See where it all began in The Bowdancer, The Wayfarer’s Road, and Warrior Women---all due in early 2014.

 

 

 

Eleven summers after Jan-nell the bowdancer left her daughter Mira-nell with the sisterhood of hunters on the mountain and came to live with Khrin to raise their son, Bearin, she is called by the sisterhood to find their origins.

The first clue is a bit of song Jan-nell learns at the deathbed of the oldest woman in the sisterhood’s village. Jan-nell and her companions seek the origins of the mysterious women on the mountain through the verses of a song.

Master hunter Bekar and master trackfinder Chandro accompany Jan-nell and Bearin on a quest for the lost song that takes them from their local inn out across the landscape of their world as they meet bee spinners and kings and risk their lives to achieve their goal.

 

 

As Jan-nell, her son Bearin, the sensuous hunter Bekar, and trackfinder Chandro continue their quest for the lost song, they make alliances with the virile dark-skinned sword dancers, who serve as bodyguards to a king, and the exotic, handsome beast trainers of the desert. Jan-nell is beset with jealousies, new sexual stirrings, deepening spiritual practices, and a growing bond with one of her companions.

I'm looking forward to reading this saga, Janie. So intriguing. The historical facts  you must have woven in have to be an education considering your bio below. let me say, I'm very impressed.

 

 

Janie Franz comes from a long line of liars and storytellers with roots deep in east Tennessee. Honed by the frigid Northern Plains and the high desert of New Mexico as well as a degree in anthropology, her writing skill and curiosity have generated thousands of feature and cover articles over a vast range of topics for a hundred regional, national, and international publications since 2000.

She has co-written two books with Texas wedding DJ, Bill Cox (The Ultimate Wedding Ceremony Book and The Ultimate Wedding Reception Book), and has self-published a writing manual, Freelance Writing: It’s a Business, Stupid!  

She is a book and music reviewer. She ran her own online music publication, was a booking agent/publicist for a groove/funk band, a radio announcer, and a yoga/relaxation instructor.

 

BUY LINKS: VERSES
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=577&category_id=60&manufacturer_id=68&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

http://www.amazon.com/Verses-Lost-Song-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0099XMEL2/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369187343&sr=1-3&keywords=Janie+Franz

 

 

BUY LINKS: REFRAIN
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&product_id=704&flypage=flypage.tpl&pop=0&manufacturer_id=68&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

http://www.amazon.com/Refrain-Lost-Song-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CF6UVGK/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1369187343&sr=1-4&keywords=Janie+Franz

Let me add my congratualations for writing this soon to be released saga. I'm sure it will be a winner for you.

We love to hear from readers. Please leave a comment for Janie below.