Stopping by The LUV'NV today is Jen Minkman, author of Shadow of Time.
She shares a little about the inspiration behind writing her book, which you can download for FREE, from now until March 5th on all Amazons!
She shares a little about the inspiration behind writing her book, which you can download for FREE, from now until March 5th on all Amazons!
Shadow of Time
Jen Minkman
Publication: January 1st 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
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All Hannah needs is a nice and quiet vacation after her first year of teaching French at a high school. She joins her brother Ben for the summer in their mom’s log cabin in Arizona. There, she meets Josh again, Ben’s childhood friend from the Navajo reservation. The little boy from the rez has grown up fast, and Hannah can’t help but feeling more for him than just friendship.
But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?
Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.
But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?
Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.
Real Chemistry
by Jen Minkman
When I was a teenager, I used to read romance novels by Leni Saris. (Mind you, she is a Dutch author, so not many of you will know her books.) The funny thing is that these books were already around during my mom’s teenage years, and so she recommended them to me. Even my gran knew the books and liked them! Needless to say, the romance in these books was always squeaky-clean. I don’t even think there was kissing involved until the end of the book, and of course, the two protagonists always ended up married.
The whole chemistry between the boy and girl (or young man and woman) in Leni Saris’s books relied on dialogue and the occasional opportunity for the man to help the woman in trouble (or the other way around, even). Within these dialogues, the author used small-talk, arguments, pride and prejudice, humor, laughter, you name it. And I’ve been longing for this kind of chemistry in books in recent years. I truly love the YA paranormal romance genre, but at some point I was starting to get mildly irritated by the phenomena of insta-love, lust-disguised-as-love and these-people-are-in-love-because-the-author-says-so when reading books by YA paranormal authors. Whatever happened to getting to know each other? Why gush over the boy’s abs when he could also have an interesting character? (I know, I’m probably starting to sound like my gran now…)
Anyway, I decided to start writing a YA/NA paranormal book of my own – a romantic book with dialogues, a good plotline, a slowly developing relationship and a minimal amount of swoony descriptions of the boy’s physical appearance. I also wanted to make the paranormal element original, so I chose to include Native American (Navajo) mythology and lore.
After I finished writing my book, I sent the manuscript to a few Dutch publishing houses. I was overjoyed when one of them accepted the book, but I didn’t stop there. I set myself to the task of translating the book into English. This is why Shadow of Time is a self-published title across the Dutch border, while ‘Schaduw van de Tijd,’ the Dutch original, is traditionally published (and will, due to my publisher postponing the publication date for six months, come out later than the English self-pubbed version).
So far, reviewers are loving it for the exact same reasons I originally decided to write it. No insta-love, an original plot, believable characters and dialogues, and a gradual build-up of relationship between Hannah, the female protagonist, and Josh, her love interest from Navajo Nation.
Curious about the book? Well, this is your lucky day!
Shadow of Time is FREE between March 1st-5th on all Amazons.
Grab your copy of Shadow of Time here and let the author know what you think!
Shadow of Time is FREE between March 1st-5th on all Amazons.
Grab your copy of Shadow of Time here and let the author know what you think!
Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English, career counsellor and teenage coach at a secondary school in Voorburg, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!).
In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.
In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.
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