I am Jan Krause Greene. I explore the vast capacity of the human heart as a novelist, poet and storyteller. My first novel was released in August of 2013. I currently have three other works in progress.
Thought I would share this. Author and playwright, Alex Clarke interviewed me for her blog. You should check out her other blogs. She is a very fascinating person!
https://alexclarkewriterdotme.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/talking-writing-scheduals-with-jan-krause-greene-author-of-i-call-myself-earth-girl/
Look on the Books page of this website for news about my already published book and my books in progress. Every so often I will be giving free books to people who come to this page, so check in now and then!
I CALL MYSELF EARTH GIRL (released August, 2013)
What if you discovered you were pregnant and you believed you conceived this child in a dream? What if you tried to end the pregnancy and failed? Gloria’s world is turned completely upside down when she discovers she is pregnant and she knows her husband can not be the baby’s father. Her recurring dreams about a young girl who calls herself Earth Girl initiate a quest for understanding that leads her to question the nature of time and the possibility of reincarnation. As she is exposed to mystic wisdom through the voice in her dreams, she learns not only about herself, but also the many facets of family love and acceptance. Her journey of self-discovery ultimately connects her to the future in a way that she could never have imagined.
I am currently working on two more novels and one true story.
Both novels have tentative titles – In Earth Girl’s Time is the sequel to I Call Myself Earth Girl, and The Valley of the Free People, a historical novel about St. Lucia.
The true story is about Michael Bardellini, a young man from Milford, MA who was the victim of a hit and run driver while riding his bike. His incredible determination to overcome his debilitating injuries and to live a life of meaning and purpose inspires me every day. I feel honored that he has chosen me to share his story.
I Call Myself Earth Girl has received some great reviews!
Check them out on my Amazon. com page using the tiny url above.
Here’s an excerpt from one of my recent reviews on Amazon.com:
“From the moment I picked this book up I could hardly put it down (but with three young kids, I had to – quite often). It is rare to find a combination of witty writing and gripping plot in a first novel, and it is not easy to turn spiritual themes into a fun and inspiring read. I call Myself Earth Girl does just that, and takes readers on a journey of discovery that keeps them on their toes until the very end. Highly recommended as a summer read, something to take on your vacation and to savour as you have time to reflect on life and what might be awaiting beyond it. Inspiring, entertaining and thought provoking.” Daniela Norris
This week I was a guest blogger on B.C. Brown's Books site. Her home page says "Because weird is good...."
Not sure what that says about me, but I am open to all interpretations!
Here are a few excerpts, but please go to B.C's page and read the whole thing. Even better, please leave a comment there to show your appreciation to B.C. for sharing her blog.
Excerpts (don't look for continuity...these are just sentences picked out of the actual blog.
A funny thing happened to me last night. Funny as in strange or unexpected. Not "funny ha-ha" as my dad used to say.
So, there I was working hard at not thinking. The only problem is that when I work hard at something - no matter what it is, even relaxing - I end up wide awake. Last night was no different, except that I was wide awake and really angry.
I could literally feel the anger in my forehead....
I was filled with anger and I hated myself for it. Not because I am such a good and kind person and I knew the anger was mostly about feeling sorry for myself. Equally, not because some of the anger was justified and righteous and I was mad at myself for not expressing it to those who deserved to hear it.
And then something shifted. I decided to think about love. Not romantic love, but the other, bigger, broader kind of love - love of life, love of nature, love of the universe.
Yes, I do have a sort of love affair with the universe - all that space with stars and planets and energy and possibility that somehow brings people and ideas together and fuses their energy into something new.
Within minutes, I had a feeling that I have not had since my book was picked up by a publisher more than a year ago. I felt peace. Most particularly, I felt peace about the book and its potential readers...the people who would appreciate it would somehow find it. The message that I hope to spread would be heard by those who will respond to it.
It doesn't have to be a bestseller... It can simply exist. I can let it go out into the world without me. I can focus on the next thing I write, instead of trying so hard to promote this one book. I can let it do its own thing.
In a way that I can't really explain, a sleepless, angry night brought me insight and peace of mind. Sure, I hope people want to read my book. But I no longer need them to.
http://www.bcbrownbooks.blogspot.com/2014/01/guest-post-jan-krause-greene-i-call.html
Funny thing is I had no idea what I would write about when B.C. offered me a guest blog spot. I didn't think it would be about not worrying about how well my book does. I thought I would write some lofty words on what it means to be a writer. Yet, I ended up writing about not needing my book to sell.
Ironically, at the very same time that I was writing about not worrying about how the book does, I was also getting a lesson in how to promote it. B.C. provided me with a really simple, obvious, straightforward, no-gimmicks method. I can't believe I had overlooked it. She included a description of the book and she posted the buy links! And, guess what, sales picked up again! Genius.
So from now on, I will post them at the end of my blog too. Only makes sense, right? If someone, clicks on a link and buys the book, fantastic. If no one, does, that is not quite fantastic, but it is no longer something to lose sleep over!
Being a writer is sometimes described as lonely or isolating. In some ways, I suppose it can be both lonely and isolating, but that has never really been my experience as a writer. Perhaps, that is because I share almost everything I write, almost as soon as I write it. For me, writing is all about communicating and sharing with others. I feel the same way about reading. When I read something written by another person, I have a strong desire to talk to that person, especially if the writing touched me deeply. I used to write a newspaper column and that was the perfect forum for me because I knew people would see my column within the next 24 hours. Whether I knew who was reading it or not, I knew someone was reading it. Expressing my thoughts, feelings, reactions, or even my version of events with at least one other person was very satisfying to me.
Of course, I could have done the same by talking to a friend, or writing a letter, but knowing that I was writing for public consumption made me much more reflective. When I wrote a column I was always looking for the meaning of the experience, or the irony in it, or even just the funny ending. When I poured my heart out to a friend it was more random - a stream-of consciousness sharing of thoughts, feelings and experiences. If it had more emotion than a column, it probably also had less organization.
Recently, I wrote my first novel. 
Writing a novel was definitely more isolating than writing a column simply because a novel is so much longer and requires more sustained concentration. Still, I had the desire and the need to share it with others way before I even began looking for a publisher. I know that most novelists have early readers whose insights are invaluable to them. This was true for me too, but what was most valuable was knowing that there was someone out there who would read this way before it would be seen by the general public.
I guess as a writer I have a need for immediate gratification (just like I do as a dieter, a gardener, and anything else that takes more than 24 hours.). I am not good at waiting for feedback. I know this is a weakness and shows either a lack of discipline or a lack of maturity on my part, or maybe even both. Probably both.
So now I find my inpatient, immature, undisciplined self being challenged by the inevitability of the LONG WAIT. My publisher told me the book would be released at the end of August, but Amazon.com does its own thing. I was shocked and delighted to find it listed on Amazon as available for pre-order. (I may have to write a whole blog on the strange term "pre-order.") I allowed myself to believe the wait was already over.
The first 48 hours of pre-order status was amazingly fun! I told friends via Facebook and emails. Orders started rolling in, and for 48 hours the book was in the top 10 bestsellers in the Angel category on Amazon. It went up to number 3 for a few hours.
At number 5
It even had the status of Number 1 Hot New Release in the Angel category. It confused me a little because the book is not actually about angels, but it does have a character that could be an angel and it certainly could make a reader think about angels.
Now, 4 days later, the book has dropped to 63 in the Angel category. I knew that would happen after the initial flurry of orders from friends, but here's the hard part. People will not receive their copies until August. Books stores won't get copies until August. I won't get copies until August. So what can I do other than wait?
My son and his wife solved this problem for me. I don't have to sit around and wait. I can promote my book by driving! They had large car magnets made from images of the front and back cover of the book. I can now shamelessly promote my book every time I drive!
The shameless-self-promotion-mobile!
Just yesterday, I drove all away across Massachusetts, and when stuck in a long un-moving line of traffic on the Mass Pike I was secretly thinking what a great chance it was for people to see my car magnets. When I got off the Pike in Lee, I was again stopped in traffic. There was no one beside me, so I wasn't really thinking about who could see my car. But I should have been thinking about it, because the woman in the car behind me apparently could not see my car at all. She rear-ended me and lifted the back of my car off the ground. Apparently horrified to see what she had done, she backed up and my car slammed onto the ground. It all happened quickly and I was pretty shook up.
But when we exchanged information, she DID notice the magnets and I casually mentioned that she could pre-order the book on Amazon. After all, she had just rear-ended me. It seemed like the least she could do. Especially, since I have to take off my beautiful magnets now. When she rammed underneath my car, she broke the muffler and now I attract attention just by driving....negative attention. So, for the time being, the self-promotion-mobile will simply be the please-don't look-at-me-like-that-I-can't-stop-this noise-until-my-insurance-company-sends-out-an-adjuster-mobile.
