About Me
For information about Vanessa Cavendish or Ien Nivens, please check out the Masthead.
As for me … J.S. Chancellor (Breanne)
So you want to know more about me, hmmmm? Not much to tell really, but since you clicked on this page I’ll do the best I can to at least give you a glimpse of who I am beneath the ‘public figure’ that J.S. Chancellor has become.
For starters, my real name is Breanne Rowe. I currently have six books under contract with Rhemalda Publishing (look here for more info), and as of February 2012, I am in school full-time for Massage Therapy. Why massage? Because in my mind, as a holistic writer, it seems like the perfect day job to accompany my writing career. That, and I love helping others and the power of natural medicine.
I wish I could tell you more about me personally … and eventually I will come back and update this page again. For right now, know that I live in Columbus, GA with my two beloved dogs, a ridiculously adorable cat and my best friend.
I love to meet other authors and hear about their stories. You are more than welcome to email me at batman0762@gmail.com … but know that I have a bad habit of taking forever to answer emails. It isn’t personal … I’m just super busy with school these days.
Although I prefer Chic-lit (I know, I know), I LOVE your writing style! I’ve been just catching up with you and your brood on Facebook, so I’m new to this blog! Keep up the good work & tell the hubby I said hello!
Snap! Well, almost. A fellow fantasy fan and writer, I quit the day job in October 2009, and having just stumbled across your blog on a Facebook page (Publishing Talk, if you’re interested), I think I love you…
Ha ha!..I think that comment just made my day!
I’m always interested in knowing how people found out about me. I’m glad you did, but more than that, I’m glad you too took the leap into full time writing. For me, it’s been frightening and well…sort of profitable (in a non-profit sort of way)…lol. More like, I’ve been doing a whole lot of low paying work that will likely pay off in the near future. Sometimes you’ve just gotta jump off a cliff; either that or spend your whole life wandering along the edge and wondering. I’ve never been very good at regretting things (regrettably) so I forge on with a whole lot of faith that this will work out swimmingly.
Cheers to us both!!! (P.S. I’m sending you a friend request on Facebook. JS Chancellor isn’t my real name. It’s a pen.)
For me, there was a fortunate conjunction of ill health and the offer of publication. When the gods of writing show me a six-foot-high flashing neon sign, I do not stop, do not pass go, do not collect $200!
Oh, Elspeth Cooper’s my pen name, so all you’ll find on Facebook will be my fan page.
To have the courage to leap instead of wonder is a wonderful thing! I have quit my job, but not for writing purposes. I quit to stay home with my kids, however it has opened up a whole new world and one in which I decided to start trying to make a career of my illustrations and writing. Good luck to all who have the courage to follow their dreams and the speed to outrun regret! (I refuse to take the time, what’s the point of looking back and wishing you had when you can look forward and do?)
While you may feel that you have been in the south for far too long, please do not neglect to consider that the misplacement has perhaps made you the writer that you are. I have long held the theory that many great writers have come from New England because it’s too cold for distractions. Of course, you could take out the word “writers” and replace it with any other profession someone from that area has driven themselves into, but nonetheless the point remains. I live in the southern states as well, but I am a native. I can say for certain that between the warmer weather, the strong family bonds that bring many responsibilities, and the predominant religion (SEC football), there are many distractions to keep one from a blossoming literary career. So first and foremost, be proud that you have accomplished your goal of becoming a writer despite dwelling in a culture that doesn’t do much to encourage it. Also, remember that if there was not a startling contrast between yourself and your surroundings, you may not have ever felt the need to develop your creativity. If that’s the case, I can certainly relate.
Just encountered your blog, Ma’am, by typing in “writing” in the WordPress Search Box. And I must say: Have I enjoyed reading it!
Every post is filled to the brim with thought-provoking ideas and speculations. You are a true inspiration for budding writers.
Thank you very much!
There must be something in the water. I hail from Columbus as well. I stumbled across your site through the ‘new posts’ section of wordpress… I’ll be subscribing and taking a look when I have some time away from my own projects.
Hey,
I’m a teen who wants to make it big in the writing world one day, and this summer I’m hoping to finish the first draft of my novel I’m currently working on. I write fantasy as well. I love finding out about new authors and aspiring writers. I think I’m gonna have to scrounge up some money and buy a few more books this weekend…
I found out about you from calebbreakey.com, and you seem pretty awesome! Not to mention, you have some looks going for you.
I am a young author with a passion for the written word. My dream is to be a New York Times Bestselling Author. I have not read most of your posts, though the titles suggest they could be very useful to me. Before I begin reading, is there any advice you have to offer me? Which of your pages do you suggest I visit? Do you know any other good websites I could go to? I know you probably get comments like this all the time, but I would love if you would look over the Prologue for my book and give me some feedback!
Hi Abbey,
If you look at the pages below the header, you’ll see one that says, ‘useful posts’ and my suggestion to to go there first and read through those. Then, if you want, go back to the beginning and read from there. But, definitely go to the ‘useful’ tab and go through those first.
And if you look to the right, under “Great Stuff’ you’ll see a link to ‘Novel Pro.’ Go there, read through those posts and check out his book. It’s got great information and has a ton of practical advice on writing. Some other books you might want to invest in:http://astore.amazon.com/rhemalda-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=10
That whole page lists books that I have on my desk at home and have read more than once.
I’m flattered that you’d even want me to look at your prologue for advice, but I’m afraid that I can’t. It’s just not something I’m comfortable doing for writers that aren’t clients of my coaching service, and even then I don’t give direct advice on their writing—I just help coach their creativity and help folks move past writing blocks, etc.
But, I’m here for any other advice you might need and I’m happy to listen. If you want, you can email me at batman0762@gmail.com.
I understand why you can’t look over my prologue. Over twenty of my friends are or have already read it and have given me tons of feedback, but all they say is that it’s great and won’t tell me what needs worked on.
By the way, I am currently reading your book Guardians of Legend: Sons of Ereubus (that’s where I learned about your website), and I think it’s amazing! I found your biography in the back very interesting because I am going to be a freshman in high school next year and I came up with the idea for my book while playing the piano in my dad’s work room at our house!
Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to check out those books!
Aw, thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying my book, I don’t often hear from readers, so this totally makes my week.
One thing to keep in mind when looking for feedback from others: Don’t seek it out till you’re done with the first draft, and don’t take feedback from someone who hasn’t read the whole book.
I think it’s beyond important that you stick to your writing, especially since you’re starting out at a young age. I wish someone had told me to really focus on it … if they had, I might have been published sooner. So, try to set a weekly word count for yourself and don’t let yourself slide or give excuses. I’d say, shoot for 2500 a week for starters. If you write 5 days a week, that’s only 500 words a day. Totally doable. If you get in the habit of doing it now, it’ll be that much easier later on in life, plus you’ll have hundreds of thousands of books under your belt.
Oh, and get a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style. Really. That sounds lame, but it’s something I wish I’d done earlier. I didn’t learn the mechanics of grammar until after high school. I’m still learning them. But, the earlier you start, the better off you’ll be and the more your future editors will love you.
Yeah, there’s something about pianos … I don’t even play anymore, but they just bring out the muse in me.
I really wish I had time to write that much. I’m not home a lot because I take ballet 12-15 hours a week. Since it’s summer, I’m having a lot more time for writing, but as soon as school starts back up, I’ll have to work around ballet, homework, and any other extra curricular activities I’ll be signing up for in high school. When I’m out of the house, I actually use my itouch notes to add to my book and email it to myself later!
The only other thing I can think of to ask you about is research. Right now, I’m trying to learn a little about sword fighting. I’ve gone through hundreds of websites, but they all say different things. I also don’t know what kind of sword fighting was used during the time period in which my book was written (around the same time as in Guardians of Legend). What would you even call that time?
That’s a ton of dancing! I applaud you for your dedication to it, that’s wonderful.
Most epic fantasy novels take place in medieval times, but you can’t rightly call Guardians medieval for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is plumbing. Though it doesn’t widely exist in Adoria, it’s present in Eidolon in the same way that it was in ancient Rome. So, if I had to put a time frame on Guardians, I’d say the time of the Roman Empire. Though, some history buffs might disagree with me there.
As for sword fighting, unless you’ve got a darn good reason to go into the nitty gritty details, I’d just do some general research on the basics of the differing types of swords (Broad Swords, etc) and how they were used and how they were carried. The reason you keep reading different things on websites is because the details depend on the people who used the weapons. The Scots vs the British for example … the Scots preferred axes. Here’s a site for that, in case it helps:http://www.tartansauthority.com/highland-dress/highland-weapons
There are also some fairly detailed books on sword fighting techniques that you can find on Amazon, but the best thing really … if you need the details … is to find an expert and see if they won’t walk you through what you need. You’d be surprised by the number of ‘authorities’ in any given field are willing to help out when asked about their speciality.
Oh, and about finding time to write. Since you’re limited, you might be better off setting a certain amount of time per day. Like, maybe half and hour? You can fit it into your day in small increments if you have to.
I cannot thank you enough for all your help!
Dear Ms. Chancellor,
We at Magic Cat Press are great admirers of your novels. We would love to interview you for our website, if you’d be interested.
Sincerely,
Magic Cat Press