Guest Post | Orphan’s Cry by Jaymie Wagner

Guest-Post

We have Jaymie Wagner on a visit, and today she’s gonna let me ask her some questions! Let’s jump right in, shall we?

Why do you write?

In the words of Adam Savage: “You have to do the thing you can’t not do.”

I have been writing down stories, ideas, and characters since I was old enough to do it! That energy’s been channeled into different places over the years – schoolwork, my thesis, D&D games and online spaces – but I always keep writing. It’s a way I de-stress, and it’s part of how I hang on to my sanity.

When I was going through my divorce, writing stories (including the manuscript that became my first novel!) was a big part of how I kept my spirits up and my brain from dwelling on the nastier things going on. I didn’t even think of it that way at the time – I just knew I needed to write something – but I can see it in hindsight.

At the end of the day, it’s just who I am.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an astronaut so badly! I was nuts about space and space travel, and I even managed to get money saved up (with more than a bit of help from my grandparents) so that I could go to Space Camp! I still have 13 year old me’s old flight suit in my closet! It’ll never fit me again, but I just can’t imagine parting with it.

Unfortunately it turns out that being really good at X-wing and Microsoft Flight Simulator are not adequate qualifications to go down to NASA and apply, and my skill at math and physics did not equal my talent for writing.

Still love space, though. I got the Lego ISS set for my birthday last year!

What are you working on right now?

I just turned in the manuscript for Outcast’s Song, the next book in the Sing For Me trilogy, and I have beta reader feedback for the final book, Herald’s Call to go through and incorporate into my draft before sending it in to JMS books!

I have some smaller stories that I’ve made a few notes for, but the next ‘big’ project is going to be a story set in a Mediterranean influenced fantasy world, and I have some fun ideas for where it’s going to go…

Can you share with us something about the book that isn’t in the blurb?

Even though Orphan’s Cry is very much the story of Leah, our heroine, adjusting to life as a more social werewolf, there are a lot of seeds planted in these pages that will begin to sprout in book two, and truly flower in book three.

Also, there’s a very persistent woodpecker, and an American werewolf in London who might have some useful things to say about the whole affair!

What are your ambitions for your writing career?

In a personal sense? Tell good stories that people connect with and enjoy. I think in some ways a short story is easier for me than writing novels, but I’ve really enjoyed the work and challenges in writing these books, so we’ll see!

Professionally, I will be very pleased if my royalties every quarter increase from “Treat yourself to a fancy coffee” to “Dinner’s on me” money. 🙂

Blurb:

Two years ago Leah Corbyn was bitten by a “dog.” A few weeks later, the full moon’s rise revealed that she had become a werewolf.
After months of trying to hide her secret in the city of London, Leah is about to learn she isn’t alone…