Plano Profile February 2010 : Page 86
reading room Plano author spawns urban fantasy series i t’s no grave secret that america’s youth have been bitten by the vampire bite since the release of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.Well, beware! The Sabina Kane series, written for a mature audience, promises a heart-stopping journey into the paranormal realm. The second book in the series, The Mage in Black, releases april 1. Written by Plano author JayeWells, the Author JayeWells. Profile photo series spotlights Sabina Kane, a half-vampire, half-mage assassin who is caught in the middle of a brewing war between two races, vampires and mages. (Mages are magicians.) “Coming from mixed blood, Sabina is an outcast and she is thrown into a profession that marginalizes her,” said the author. “assassins are enforcers under the control of the Dominae. When Sabina is asked to kill someone—a friend of hers—she begins questioning her loyalty to the Dominae. Will Sabina join the mages? Book 2, The Mage in Black, is the fallout of her decision.” The Sabina Kane series falls under the urban fantasy genre, and while sparks fly between Sabina and a mage, the author explained that her books are not romance novels. “in a romance, you have a happily-ever-after and some of the characters that are mentioned in the first book are probably mentioned in more detail in the next; whereas in urban fantasy, readers follow one story over a span of books. Sabina Kane is the main character in Book 1 as she is in books 2 and 3.” To better understand the context of Sabina’s story and her dysfunctional family history,Wells recommends reading Book 1, Red-headed Stepchild. The urban fantasy genre grabbedWells for its compelling mix of folklore and mythology set in modern day reality. at first, the author had hesitations about writing books about vampires because she didn’t want people to presume she was dark and Gothic. “obviously i’m not,” she said. “i’m a mom to a 7-year-old and i live in the suburbs.” Wells has lived in Plano for five years. She worked for a publishing company writing and editing magazines before switching to fiction. “i talked about writing fiction forever and i finally did,” she said. Wells credits her art history degree from Southern Methodist University for the symbolism found in her books. for example, the vampires in the Sabina Kane series all have red hair, which is taken from folklore and the Bible. “after Cain killed abel, he was punished by God and sent out to wander alone for the rest of his days,” saidWells. “God marked Cain so that no one would kill him, thus he regained his immortality in a sense. People debate what this mark actually was. Some say it was red hair.…” Because Sabina comes from mixed blood, she has black hair with red streaks. She also has an 8-pointed star birthmark, another symbolic trait. “The number 8 represents rebirth and regeneration,” saysWells, then jokes, “i had it first.” (Wells has a tattoo of the star.) The author’s wit is conveyed in her books through funny one-liners from Sabina’s minion Giguhl, a scaly green demon with horns. “Giguhl gets the best lines,” saidWells. “He keeps the plot from getting too heavy.” (You can follow Giguhl on twitter.com/ giguhl. no joke.) 86 Plano Profile February 2010
Reading Room
Plano author spawns urban fantasy series
It’s no grave secret that America’s youth have been bitten by the vampire bite since the release of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries. Well, beware! The Sabina Kane series, written for a mature audience, promises a heart-stopping journey into the paranormal realm. The second book in the series, The Mage in Black, releases April 1.
Written by Plano author Jaye Wells, the series spotlights Sabina Kane, a half-vampire, half-mage assassin who is caught in the middle of a brewing war between two races, vampires and mages. (Mages are magicians.)
“Coming from mixed blood, Sabina is an outcast and she is thrown into a profession that marginalizes her,” said the author. “Assassins are enforcers under the control of the Dominae. When Sabina is asked to kill someone—a friend of hers—she begins questioning her loyalty to the Dominae. Will Sabina join the mages? Book 2, The Mage in Black, is the fallout of her decision.”
The Sabina Kane series falls under the urban fantasy genre, and while sparks fly between Sabina and a mage, the author explained that her books are not romance novels. “In a romance, you have a happily-ever-after and some of the characters that are mentioned in the first book are probably mentioned in more detail in the next; whereas in urban fantasy, readers follow one story over a span of books. Sabina Kane is the main character in Book 1 as she is in books 2 and 3.”
To better understand the context of Sabina’s story and her dysfunctional family history, Wells recommends reading Book 1, Red-headed Stepchild.
The urban fantasy genre grabbed Wells for its compelling mix of folklore and mythology set in modern day reality. At first, the author had hesitations about writing books about vampires because she didn’t want people to presume she was dark and Gothic. “Obviously I’m not,” she said. “I’m a mom to a 7-year-old and I live in the suburbs.”
Wells has lived in Plano for five years. She worked for a publishing company writing and editing magazines before switching to fiction. “I talked about writing fiction forever and I finally did,” she said.
Wells credits her art history degree from Southern Methodist University for the symbolism found in her books. For example, the vampires in the Sabina Kane series all have red hair, which is taken from folklore and the Bible. “After Cain killed Abel, he was punished by God and sent out to wander alone for the rest of his days,” said Wells. “God marked Cain so that no one would kill him, thus he regained his immortality in a sense. People debate what this mark actually was. Some say it was red hair.…”
Because Sabina comes from mixed blood, she has black hair with red streaks. She also has an 8-pointed star birthmark, another symbolic trait. “The number 8 represents rebirth and regeneration,” says Wells, then jokes, “I had it first.” (Wells has a tattoo of the star.)
The author’s wit is conveyed in her books through funny one-liners from Sabina’s minion Giguhl, a scaly green demon with horns. “Giguhl gets the best lines,” said Wells. “He keeps the plot from getting too heavy.” (You can follow Giguhl on twitter.com/ giguhl. No joke.)
