Marin Sinclair, Book 2
Date Published: 09/15/2025
Publisher: RabbitHole LLC
Interview with Jan D Payne, author of Marin Sinclair series Book Two: ‘Changing Woman’s Hair’
What is your favorite part of the book?
I think any author can tell you how their characters often surprise them with unexpected opinions or actions. Some of my favorite scenes are the unexpected ‘philosophical’ conversations: like Marin telling Mac that ‘light doesn’t compete with darkness—light is an entity in itself’, or when she is arguing with Lewis George about evil and he tells her that ‘to mankind has been given the gift to choose’ and that ‘all the ‘Creator’s good gifts may be twisted from their intended purpose and thus cause evil.’
Marin’s horseback rescue by Garret, Marin’s teenaged ward, was also a surprise, especially as Garret has made it plain throughout the book he wants absolutely nothing to do with Marin. His unexpected, and daring, rescue turned out to be a pivotal, and emotional, point in their acceptance of one another. Who knew?!
Does your book have a lesson? Moral?
The Marin Sinclair series in essence is really all about family... how bonds formed through shared experiences (even terrifying ones!) are as meaningful as those of blood, encouraging us to look beyond traditional definitions of family and see that it’s the people who support, challenge, love, and shape you throughout your life who really make up family.
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
No doubt there were people in my past who shared the same personality traits, but the characters are not real; I’d say they are amalgamations of those people and traits.
Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?
Hard question, as all of them are ‘real’ to me! I’d say the most interesting is Lewis George. He is the perfect foil for Marin’s seriousness, her absolute belief in order, and her desire to live only in the concrete world. I love his somewhat irreverent treatment of the supernatural and his refusal to be a reliable partner to Marin in her desire for ‘normal’. I also love that he talks to Mac’s dog, Bear! I often wish I could hear what my own dogs are thinking!
What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?
Probably Lewis George…I’m not good with unreliability.
What would the main character in your book have to say about you?
I’d like to think Marin and I would get along (!) but I’m afraid I would have little patience with her or she with me. She tends to dwell on the past—worrying over past regrets and wishing things were different—I’m more likely to say ‘let it go and move on with your life!’
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
The books are intended to be read as a series —there are connections between each book and on-going characters, and each book pertains to a specific issue relevant to life on the Dineh reservation. That said, each book may be read as a stand-alone, as I try to recap the general storyline with each new book. I’m currently working on Book #3 in the series…and I can’t wait to see who Marin is going to choose as her life partner—or IF she is going to choose!
About the Author
Jan is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West. She and her husband live in northern Minnesota with their three big dogs—Kaibab, Rudi, and Orrin. Visit her website at: jandpayne.com
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