Meet the Author: Christine Jayne Vann!
Today's author has a vibrant mix of talents and hobbies. She loves animals and the outdoors, and is also a busy mom who runs her own website. Somewhere in there, she still finds the time to write great novels and short stories full of diverse and engaging characters. There is likely to be something for everyone from this skilled writer, so please welcome Christine Jayne Vann!
Tell us a little about yourself. What made you choose to be a writer and who are you when you aren't writing?
I’ve always made up stories, but had difficulty sharing them. I didn’t make a choice to write - that’s something I have to do to keep myself mentally healthy - but I have chosen to share my work now it is at a decent standard.
I live in Oxfordshire, with my partner, son, dog and a variety of other animals. I run Crittery Exotics, which an exotic pet resource website. My current animals include african pygmy dormice, southern flying squirrels, mouse-like hamsters and a long-eared hedgehog called Truffles.
I work as a web developer and also enjoy Geocaching. If you are after a way to get out exploring more, then it’s definitely something I recommend! My son has some additional needs, so having a low pressure environment and a clear purpose can be hugely useful.
Tell us about your book!
My latest offering is the Sci-fi adventure Tacenda:
Can a unique partnership discover who is stealing the minds of children? Life isn’t easy when you don’t own yourself, not all humans are aware that other species exist, and your ship is semi-sentient. Kerris and Arucken are an interspecies messenger team, tasked with aiding communication across the galaxy. Haunted by the grief of her sister's murder and stranded, Kerris must discover who is stealing the minds of children.
I do love the two main characters, a human-alien pairing that communicate telepathically. I’m looking forward to picking up the next book now I’ve moved house and have time again, last time I left them they were up a gigantic tree!
What made you choose Indie publishing?
A review of Tacenda recently pointed out I’m an author that “celebrates diversity”. I think that is the crux of it, and for a lot of other indies, When a lot of traditional routes now demand authors run their own marketing and social media, it makes a lot more sense to be going Indie - giving yourself more freedom. One thing Tacenda touches among is neurodiversity, for example, an issue close to my heart.
What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m a big fan of short stories, it’s a good way to hone your skills. A lot of these are going into indie anthologies where the proceeds will be going to a named charity, so do keep an eye out for those. My most recent one is a paranormal short called The Pity Rose, which was included in the Words With Heart anthology by Elderflower Press. Profits from this go to Girls Not Brides, so very much worth supporting.
For novels, I have several in various forms. I’m editing my Young Adult Dsytopia that came from NaNoWriMo last year, Deluge that follows a girl and her brother who live in a world that is slowing sinking underwater.
I’m also writing the followup to Tacenda which is a lot of fun to see where those two are leading me. Another project is a comedy story called The Time Distortion Cler, about a woman which has some trouble with reality. It has such potential this tale, but this is one where I will very much need more beta readers. Those are invaluable, and I may need to balance out my odd sense of humour a bit more!
What is the hardest part about being an Indie author?
The noise. Whilst there are a fantastic amount of talented authors out there, these are often hidden over ones that could have done with more cooking time. One thing I also find disheartening is how undervalued books are. There are people making successful business models from selling advertising to help authors sell free books!
What else do you want us to know about you?
I offer free social stories in .mobi and .pdf format on my portfolio website: christinejayne.co.uk
These have been very useful for my child and I do take requests. If I can source the images I’m quite happy to setup a new social story for anyone that needs them.
If you want more information on Christine's current and upcoming projects, you can follow her on the following sites:
Website: http://www.christinejayne.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinejaynevann/ Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Vann/e/B00U5XBXS0 GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13562054.Christine_Jayne_Vann
Author Bio Christine Jayne Vann was born in the Outer Hebrides and is a multi-genre author. Christine works as a web developer, and lives in Oxfordshire with her family, hedgehog and various squirrels. She runs the exotic pet resource website Crittery, and also enjoys geocaching.
