Why I Write Fantasy - Jane Toombs

Welcome Jane Toombs, author of dark paranormal fantasy.

Amber: Why do you write fantasy?

Jane: I’ve been thinking about this and I’ve decided what started me off was that even as a child I loved reading fantasy--which predisposed me to want to write it. I grew up reading fairy tales, also E.A. Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, A. Merritt and Andre Norton. Loved them all, even though some of the stories ranged into horror. The problem with horror was it never had a happy ending and, though, I enjoyed being scared, I missed the HEAS.

So, my love of fantasy ranges from fairy-tale-like stories to those with heavy paranormal elements, to sometimes dark. Which is what I write. For example, the first book in my UNDERWORLD Series, Unwise, from Eternal Press (October) has many fairy-tale elements. While the first book in my DARKNESS OF DRAGONS Trilogy , Dragon’s Pearl, from Devine Destinies (June) is far more paranormal.

Then again my DEADLY DECEIT series from Red Rose Publishing (first book sometime in 2010) is far darker than either of the ones I’ve mentioned. So sometimes .my fantasy stories can also be dark, But all have happy endings, because I’m addicted to HEAS.

My first published book was a gothic romance, Tule Witch, published by Avon in 1973. Gothic is often a combination of romance and fantasy and always has a happy ending. The heroine in Tule Witch really was a witch, and paranormal elements combined with dangerous reality threads through the book.

So, yes, I enjoy writing gothics as well, such as my recent Null and Void, the first book in Red Rose Publishing’s SHADOWED HEARTS Series.

Which means my interpretation of fantasy is very broad. Basically, it boils down to the unreal--writing about events and/or characters that don’t exist in the real world we live in.

Amber: Why do you think readers enjoy fantasy?

Jane: These books take them away from the mundane world and offer glimpses of a different world where strange and wonderful happenings occur--plus the ending is always a happy one.

Amber: Would you write fantasy even if no one read it?

Jane: I enjoy it so much I used to try to sneak in into my Special Editions when I wrote for Harlequin/Silhouette. Usually the editors spotted and removed it, but once in a while a hint slipped past them. Other major publishers weren’t so picky, so many of my books that aren’t strictly fantasy, do have fantasy elements in them.

But I’m a practical Capricorn so I might not write fantasy if no one wanted to read it. Writers want to share their books with readers, which is part of the fun of writing--you get to share with others. Besides the practical aspects of writing a book no one would want to read, I’d also have no one to share it with. A real bummer.

Here’s to fantasy in all of its different forms!

Jane Toombs, author of 70 plus published books, enjoys reading and writing--especially paranormal fantasy. In the winter she admires the beautiful swans on mid-Florida lakes. In the summer, she lives where she grew up, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula wilderness where the wolves prowl. Jane has always been fascinated by wolves and she's thrilled by the occasional sight of one crossing the road near her house.  

Jane Toombs website 

has more information about her numerous 

paranormal and fantasy books.

Jane's Giveaway (you can't lose)
Win a copy of Seacliff House, 
a paperback gothic romance full of fantasy (Champagne Books. 
Jane will let her calico cat, Kinko, pick a winner from those who leave a comment.
She'll write names on slips of paper, curl them up, and put them in a basket. Kinko loves to pick them out one my one and  scatter them. The first name she chooses wins.
Other commenters will receive a CD with excerpts of all her recent books - covers and all. 
Include an email address where she can reach you.
Ends Saturday, June 26th.