Marin Sinclair, Book 2
Date Published: 09/15/2025
Publisher: RabbitHole LLC
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
The Marin Sinclair series is about family... how bonds
formed through shared experiences (even terrifying ones!) can be as meaningful
as those of blood, encouraging readers to look beyond traditional definitions
of family and see that it’s the people who support, challenge, love, and shape
you throughout life who really make up family.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
From
a purely technical level, I find staying consistent in POV (point of view) to
be especially challenging, but I’m learning! Also, I am not a native Dineh
language speaker, so I work to make the language usage in my books authentic…there
are online classes and several Dineh instructors I follow (DayBreak Warrior is
a favorite) to keep me on my language toes!
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
Only
two so far: Rabbit Moon and Changing Woman’s Hair. The Marin
Sinclair series is a continuous story, and any ‘favorite’ aspect is that of
working hard to improve my writing with each book.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from
Scarlett
Johansson would be a great Marin Sinclair—she is so good at action roles and
playing intense characters!
When did you begin writing?
I
think I have always been a ‘writer’—the earliest story I remember writing was at
around age ten or so. I often made up and wrote my own stories about characters
in books or on television, and I wrote stories on request for middle school
friends who wanted to ‘star’ in a story--usually with a favorite TV actor. I charged one dollar per story for
those…
Later,
I wrote short stories for school projects or contests. I even won a few awards!
Rabbit Moon came about from how much I loved the stories my mom and dad
and Texas relatives would tell about their growing up years. I decided to write
my own memories of reservation life, though they’ve been greatly modified!
How long did it take to complete your first book?
My
‘day’ job and career then didn’t allow for full-time writing, so Rabbit Moon
took years. It also has gone through several evolutions. Only when I decided to
turn the book into a series did it become Book One of the Marin Sinclair series
and become the story it is now.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
Oh, there are so many… I’ve always been an avid reader. The western authors I read growing up were Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, and Tony Hillerman (who came out to the reservation many times!) In school there were the classics, of course. I loved Edgar Allan Poe and William Faulkner and John Steinbeck. I also read/collected all of Agatha Christie’s novels…but if I had to pick ONE author and the book that inspired me to write, it would have to be Leif Enger’s ‘Peace Like a River’—that book made me want to write.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
The way the characters can suddenly become real
people—that moment they take over the narrative and begin to write their own
story! I love that!
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
That’s
a tough one! How about: nail-biting, otherworldly,
character-driven, and redemptive
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the
future for your writing?
I am currently working on Book #3 of the Marin Sinclair
series and hope to write more, so a big ‘THANK YOU’ to all the readers
out there!
About the Author
Jan is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West. She and her husband live in northern Minnesota with their three big dogs—Kaibab, Rudi, and Orrin. Visit her website at: jandpayne.com
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