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The characters I create feel like real people to me. Over the years of crafting stories and developing personas, my fictional friends have taught me invaluable lessons that I’ve been able to apply to my life. The most important things I’ve learned from my characters are to have courage in the face of adversity, to stay true to yourself, and to keep an open mind. In this blog post, I’ll elaborate on these key takeaways and how various characters have shaped my perspective. The lessons we learn from fiction can be just as profound as those we gain from real relationships if we keep an open heart. Though my characters only live on the page, their effects reverberate far beyond.

I have been working on The Witches Prophecy for a decade so I know them intimately to where I can pinpoint what they’d say and how they’d react to certain topics and experiences. Perrish is a character. It houses many secrets and has a rich vibrant history just as an aged human would have. Yes, there are cold, austere buildings and even colder streets but the things that have occurred there left imprints on it.

Speaking of characters, there is a bevy of them in The Witches Prophecy. Of course, there is Lydia Ferell, the protagonist. Xaivier Christopher Stalphe the best friend and love interest of the protagonist. The spunky, fun-loving free spirit Digits or Sasha and the sweet geek that you can bring home to mom, Zander Tsui. My fictional friends have taught me important lessons that I’ve been able to apply to my life. The most valuable insights I’ve gained from my characters are to appreciate the journeys of others, to embrace my creativity without fear, and to handle adversity with grace. They maneuver through the pages in the driver’s seat, kicking butt and taking names.

Now, let us talk about Lydia or Trouble, as I prefer to call her, the spirited protagonist of my dark fantasy romance series. Trouble’s young life was rife with tragedy and sadness, but what is being blocked is all the fun she had which will be discovered in later books. She was born a witch. How is that? Well, the way it is explained in the book is that you come back in the form that is the strongest and the prevailing form for Trouble was an all-powerful witch. She must reckon her duality; light and dark. Trouble and Lydia. She considers one weak and one strong. Through Trouble’s experiences as the “chosen one”, I learned to empathize with those who feel marginalized for their talents, race, and gender. Trouble also taught me to unleash my creativity without self-doubt, holding me back.

Another impactful character of mine is Xaivier. He started out completely different from the iteration he is now. At first, he was a womanizer. Ew. Yeah. I changed him into my ideal mate, with the looks of Superman (I have a thing for superheroes real and imagined) with a good sweet heart. Xaivier spent years trapped in northern Perrish. Perrish is a modern place where racism is rife even in present day. Xaivier or X, as Trouble calls him, is a superhero without a cape. He learned from his youth as the cruelty of adults that should have known better taught their offspring. But X had his father, Xaivier Stalphe the first and his maid Loula. Loula was black, and she taught him that love has no color and no man was above any other. His father taught his to be a man and how to judge a man by character before jumping to incorrect assumptions.

Of course, when X meets Trouble, he immediately wants to save her. From what? Everything. Including herself. Xaivier inspired me to handle adversity with resilience, drawing on inner strength I didn’t know I had.

As an author, I’m grateful for the diverse perspectives my characters have revealed to me. Through giving each of them a story, I’ve grown. Their hard-won lessons now shape my worldview and approach to overcoming challenges. I learned to follow your own path and to be brave. The connections I’ve forged with my own characters reinforce that stories have profound power to change us. Which of your own characters has resonated most deeply for you as their creator? Please share in the comments!

Within the shadows, a prophecy-bound assassin emerges, holding the fate of our world in their lethal grip – the key to salvation or the catalyst of our downfall.

Trouble Ferell is your average gun toting assassin, never once caught she revels in anonymity. But she can’t face the demonic force that has come for her. She can no longer trust herself but burgeoning from her is that what you’d call magic. Now, as a sorceress with divine lineage she must face creatures from other realms in a race against time.

Confronting the truth, she must rise to the occasion of becoming the most formidable witch throughout history. She is tasked with banishing abominable entities back to the depths of the Underworld, all while ensuring her own survival.

Pity. It’s on Tuesday.

Read an Excerpt

When Darkness looms, the world finds its hero…

In “The Witches Prophecy,” Trouble Ferell, a renowned assassin, yearns for normalcy and acceptance. However, her world turns upside down when she discovers her involvement in an ancient prophecy and unlocks her long-dormant magical abilities. Doubt and uncertainty fill her mind as she grapples with her newfound identity and the visitations of a powerful deity.

With her best friend turned lover by her side, Trouble must confront monstrous beings in human bodies and an impending apocalypse orchestrated by Chaos, an entity seeking her as his bride. As interdimensional gates creak open, Earth dangles on the edge of peril. Trouble must embrace her role as both a Demi-goddess and witch, rallying against her half-sister’s ascent and thwarting Chaos’s pursuit of the formidable Darkveil Talisman.

In a race against time, Trouble and Xaivier unravel the tapestry of their shared history, hurtling towards an epic clash that pits good against evil. ‘The Witches Prophecy’ weaves a spellbinding tale, where ultimate victory tips the scales for but one contender. Pity. It’s only Tuesday.

About the Author:Janae’s family is from Louisiana and Georgia. She is the middle child of three. She began her writing career as a teenager in high school writing steamy love scenes for her classmates. She wasn’t convinced as a writer until her English teacher found her stories and told her she should be a writer. She treasured those words for all of her adult life. She has a bachelor’s degree in information Technology. She is a dedicated mother, friend and writer. She is usually found hunched over her laptop dreaming of different ways to entertain. She lives in Savannah, Ga with her cat Persephone and son. She loves dogs and wants to own a Husky and loves making people laugh and feel comfortable. She has a podcast called How Not To Write with Janae and her favorite color is blue. She is a Cancer.

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