A Thousand Words

There is a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, then over the last year I have written over 15,000 words. Not quite a novel, but respectable. You see, I started a challenge on the first day of 2011 - a picture a day. Most days I took far more than one picture, although I usually only posted up one on my own blog. (there is a link to my blog on my homepage at www.jennakayfrancis.com)

I have also joined a photo group at Live Journal and sometimes certain pictures just leap out at me. They demand a story be written. One such had a small boy, walking near a fence. There was a shadow of a huge deciduous tree on the fence, while other trees peered over the fence from an adjoining yard. It looked, to me, like the tree was reaching out to shelter and protect this wee warrior, encouraging him to begin his long journey into adulthood, but always there to protect against evil.

Another photo was of an elderly man watching a ball drop on New Years Eve. It was only a side view of the man, but so much emotion was in that view! He eyed that distant ball, somewhere off camera, his gaze holding hope, resignation, relief, disbelief...all of that. Was he happy that he had made it thus far? Was he saddened that he was alone, having lost most of friends and family to old age? Was he reflecting how much the world had changed since his youth? What were his thoughts?

There was a beautiful shot of a sunset in Hawaii. Some of the comments mentioned how lucky the person was to call Hawaii home. And then a short discussion ensued about how we sometimes overlook our own surroundings because we yearn to see what is in the distance. I was envious of a co-blogger planning her summer vacation in the south of France, while she was envious of me living in the USA. For her, France was a done deal. For me, it was exotic.

When I write, I try to transport my readers to another place, another time. I try to allow them to escape their own surroundings for a brief period of time, knowing that they can return to the safety of their own home at any given moment. Such is photography. We can experience another world through the eye of the lens, or through the pages of a book.

As I head into my second year of Photo A Day, I need to keep in mind the beauty that surrounds me right here, in my own world. I need to use my lens to create a world, just as I use my pen to do so. Either way, I hope it's exciting.

Dreaming My Life Away

Do you dream? I don't mean daydream, those wishful thinking, what-if dreams of the daylight. I mean the dreams that take hold at night, during the hours of dark and quiet.

Sometimes I dream very vividly, almost startingly so. If I wake during the dream, I always believe that I'll surely remember "this" one because it is so strange/powerful/meaningful etc. And I seldom do. Oh on occasion, I will remember bits and pieces, but rarely the whole thing. And it's always interesting to me when something stirs the memory of a dream. It's like being in fog - you can sort of make out the objects around you, but they aren't quite clear.

Once, though, when I was hospitalized and on pain meds, I had a dream to beat all other dreams. I "saw" one of the main characters in my books, standing next to the bed. He chatted softly with me. I wasn't alarmed at all, but rather comforted by his presence. In the books, he is a wise and gentle man. So, it was not a surprise to find him so once he had stepped from the pages of the book into "reality". I have had other dreams about "him" as well. You see, I have a 6 foot mannequin in my room of this character that I take to Ren Faires to grace my booth. And occasionally I have dreams about him just moving about a bit, coming to life. I respect his wisdom, his knowledge, his compassion.

It makes it sound like he is a "real" person. Perhaps he is, on another dimension or something. Sometimes when I read his dialogue, I wonder where it came from. I don't have that sort of command of language. I am not that wise. I am not near that patient. So, it always surprises me to read his dialogue. What inner part of me is that coming from? Is it coming from the same places the dreams come from?

I have heard many, many authors who claim that their characters are, in fact, real, not merely a figment of their imagination. And sometimes I wonder - where are these characters? Are they existing in another dimension that we can only touch during our dreams?

JennaKay Francis author of The Guardians of Glede fantasy adventure series
http://www.jennakayfrancis.com

New Release - The Fane Queen

It's officially released! Book 11 of The Guardians of Glede YA fantasy series. Here is the blurb:

Attempting to escape one’s past can have devastating consequences.

Ask Tavin Sylvain, who is trying to forget all about the abuse he suffered at the hands of the trolls six months earlier.

Ask Kitiara, who would like to escape her sordid past in Kartonn, where she was known as the Princess of Pleasure.

Or ask King Jansson van Tannen, who would like nothing better than to keep his family intact and not have to face the possibility of losing one of his own beloved children to fate.

When the past rears its ugly head, all three are thrown into turmoil. Tavin, Brann and Kitiara are lost in Karsaba, without magic, without direction, without hope. And in the middle of a troll invasion. In a race against time, King Jansson and King Kyel gather their closest friends and allies to find the children before the trolls find them first.

I posted a teaser earlier on, but you can read a larger excerpt on my homepage at: JennaKay Francis and you can read the entire first chapter on my publishers page at: Readers Eden

Enjoy!

Jenna