This week’s Friday Five focus is on Samyann, author of historical and romance novels.
Samyann is a Chicago native. A lifelong fascination with the rich history of her city, coupled with an abiding curiosity about the intersection of past, present, and future, have led to the creation of a speculative masterpiece, Yesterday.
In modern day Chicago, deja vu draws together a handsome mounted policeman and the beautiful young woman who saves his life. A tender love story pulls the reader back to previous lives and a time richly elegant. Yesterday is also a harrowing tale of escape through the American Civil War and The Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In this historical romance, Mark fights through Amanda’s rejection to prove that she will love again as she once loved – Yesterday.
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1. What author has influenced your writing style/subject the most and why?
In that my focus is historical fiction with a romantic twist, there are a few. Jude Devereaux, Nora Roberts, Nicholas Sparks, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Jakes, Ludlum, Michener … too many to list. These are a few that trigger the imagination. I like stories that are historically accurate tales built around fictitious characters. It has always been a way to vicariously live through the character life. For example, in Yesterday, which has an American Civil War history factor, a Great Chicago Fire factor, I was always asking myself “What would I have done?” These types of authors have obviously done the same.
2. Thinking about the stuff you’ve written, who’s your favorite character and why?
My favorite character is one from a current work in progress. Her name is Melanie Benson and she’s in her late 50s. There is a ‘been-there-done-that’ toughness about Melanie, a sage wisdom that she is likely to volunteer at any time … even in inappropriate moments, and it is usually laced with a bit of her humorous outlook on life in general. She’s a favorite of mine simply because she’s fun to write and I sometimes speak vicariously through her. :-)
3. What do you want your readers to take away from your works?
My dream is for readers to close the book after the last chapter, stare at nothing in particular, and ask themselves, “What if…..”. I’d like readers to remember the story and characters, long after finishing the book.
4. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
I’d like to have a genie that would grant my wishes. I’d think first, unlike Zeke. :-)
[ED’s note: Zeke is the main character in my upcoming novel, A Handful of Wishes.]
5. How much of your published writing is based on personal experiences?
Not much beyond character idiosyncrasies, mine or those of someone I know. My stories are based on reincarnation. I’ve never been there and been reborn to a new life.
Yet.
That I know of….
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Yesterday – A Novel of Reincarnation is available via Amazon.com in Kindle and paperback format and Audible.com in audiobook format read by Darlene Allen. It is also available via Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Audiobooks.com, and Downpour.com.