November Interview with Author Wayne Jordan

GB: Hello, Wayne! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and doing an interview. From the looks of things, you are a very busy man! So, I'm glad you could find a minute to stop by and chat. With that said… You are a teacher in Barbados. You're a writer with two published novels under your belt. You're the editor of the fantastic review site, Romance in Color. You host the Kimani boards at e-Harlequin. You also host the Kimani authors' website and yahoo groups. I'm getting tired just listing all the wonderful and amazing things you do. So, my first question is, how do you find time to do it all and do it all so well. And please let me know if I have left anything out!

WJ: Yes, you've left out singing in my church choir and being Director of the Performing Arts Department at my church. I teach Literature, Theatre Arts and Communication. It takes skillful planning, proper time management and very little sleep.

GB: I know that men can appreciate romance just as much as women. My husband pretends to put up a struggle when I get him to go to a romantic movie. And then he is just as engaged and captivated by a good romance as I am when it's all said and done. But society makes it so that we're almost trained to buy into stereotypes about what men and women are supposed to like. You have been very open about your love for romance novels and the years you have spent reading and appreciating the genre. Can you tell us a little bit about what it has been like to be both a reader and a writer in this genre as a man?

WJ: Initially, it wasn't easy. For years, I was a closet romance reader, and then when I reached my mid-twenties, I said "%#%$$ it. I can't change who I am. Of course, some people are amazed when I say I write romance, but the people who count, my family, friends, colleagues and students are proud of me.

GB: What has your journey to publication been like? Can you tell us a little bit about your journey from aspiring writer to published author?

WJ: It wasn't an easy journey, but I also believe I was fortunate. Many years ago, I submitted a manuscript to Harlequin and it was rejected. I gave up writing and concentrated on my academics. In the late 1990s I joined an online writing community and started to write again. I discovered Romance Slam Jam thanks to all the wonderful authors and readers I met online and entered the Heart and Soul contest in 2002, won, submitted my manuscript to BET/Arabesque a few years later and sold. Of course, I am forever thankful to Demetria Lucas who read my manuscript, loved it and decided she wanted me to be published under my own name. No female persona, thank God. I, along with R. Barri Flowers, became Arabesque's first male authors.

GB: I have to say that I've read both of your novels and I enjoyed them both immensely. I found the prose in both to be very poetic almost lyric... just beautiful really. Can you talk a little bit about your use of language? I know you have a background and an advanced degree in linguistics. Does this training influence your very captivating use of prose?

WJ: I love the language of poetry and find the writers of the romance period appealing. I love the sensuous nature of the romantic poets, in particularly, Keats. I also, being a linguist by academic qualification, believe that characters' uniqueness comes of the language they speak, so I pay special attention to that.

GB: Still on the language note, let's talk about the titles of your first novels: Capture the Sunrise and Embracing the Moonlight, as well as the location they are set in. Both titles are really very beautiful and call to mind such wonderful natural images. I know that both novels are set on your beautiful island home of Barbados. Can you tell us a little about how you came up with these titles? Also can we expect a third installment set in the same lovely locale?

WJ: The title for Capture the Sunrise actually came because it connected to the central theme of the book. I wanted each of the main characters, who had experienced darkness, to find the joy and happiness. I actually included a scene in the book where Alana, the heroine, sits waiting until the sun rises so she can compete a painting. Embrace the Moonlight, changed to Embracing the Moonlight by my editor, was in keeping with the previous book. There will be a third installment, Chasing Rainbows, which will be Daniel's story. At the end of Embracing the Moonlight, readers discover that Daniel's wife and child were killed in an accident. Chasing Rainbow, will be an inspirational fiction/romance, since Daniel, a man of God, will lose his faith. That story is currently just a synopsis since I'm working on a three book series, THE KNIGHTS OF BARBADOS. One Gentle Knight will be on sale July 2007, and To Love A Knight, November 2007. I'm not sure about the schedule of book three yet. Of course, as the title of the series indicate, the stories will mainly take place in Barbados.

GB: The novels each have an element of suspense in them. Do you think romantic suspense is an area of romance that you will continue to write in?

WJ: Romantic Suspense is my favorite genre and I definitely intend to continue writing in that genre.

GB: What are you working on now? What can readers expect from you in the future?

WJ: Opps, I jumped the gun and answered that question above. One Gentle Knight is one month away for being in my editor’s hands. Don't you just hate deadline?

GB: Yes. I do hate deadlines... On another note, you provide a wonderful service to readers and writers with Romance in Color. What made you create such a site? What kinds of exciting things can we expect from Romance in Color and your other important service, the Kimani Boards, in the future?

WJ: Romance in Color now has a full compliment of reviewers so readers can expect most of the books listed to be reviewed.

Expect to continue to see book discussions on the Kimani boards as well as online reads. Kimani TRU, our young adult series launches in February 2007. I would, however, like to see more fans of AA romance to frequent the boards.

GB: What are you reading right now?

WJ: Shirley Hailstock, My Lover, My Friend. Ms. Hailstock is a talented story teller. Wish she would give us books more frequent. After that, I'll be reading Catherine Mann's latest Intimate Moments, Fully Engaged.

GB: Do you have any advice that you would like to share with aspiring writers?

WJ: Hold on to your dream, write the best book you can, know the line you want to write for, and don’t be afraid to submit.

GB: How can readers best contact you?

WJ: author@waynejordan.com or visit my website at www.waynejordan.com, or visit me on the eharlequin.com Kimani Community Boards

GB: Thanks so much for the interview, Wayne. I'm looking forward to more of your wonderful stories in the future! Take care!