Welcome to our blog, a Glimmer of Gold. This blog represents the blood, sweat, and tears of writers Jann Rowland, Lelia Eye, and Colin Rowland. Well, minus the blood, perhaps.

We first ventured out into the publishing world by publishing variations on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but our interests are varied. While many of our works contain the common thread of romance, we have no intention of limiting ourselves to that. The sky’s the limit, so to speak, but we will emphasize romance here and there.

What about our name?

In a world that is often full of strife and grief, it can sometimes be hard to find something good to focus on. But that is part of our goal here–we wish to find the glimmer of gold in even the darkest of skies, the beauty in a sky where you can see only the merest tinge of the sun remaining in your field of vision. But oh, what glorious colors that gleaming golden sphere can produce!

Who are we?

Jann Rowland

Jann was the first to venture out into the publishing world, though not the first to begin writing. His first forays in the writing sphere were in the fantasy genre, a long, rambling manuscript that never saw the light of day and was, in a word, boring. Since then, that manuscript has been revamped with a full outline and may even be written at some point. In the meantime, he graduated to Jane-Austen-related works based on her masterpiece Pride and Prejudice and has become a prolific writer in that space, publishing more than fifty books, both alone and in collaborations. As a reader, Jann has long loved fantasy fiction as his first love, though over the years he has developed something of an eclectic taste. He grew up in the worlds of Tolkien, Eddings, and Kurtz and, more recently, Robert Jordan’s brilliant creation, though he has also enjoyed Frank Herbert, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, and others. When not scribbling new stories, Jann loves music, both singing in a barbershop quartet and directing his congregation’s choir. Jann and his Japanese wife of thirty years have two sons, a daughter, and a loveable little dog.

Lelia Eye

Lelia Eye soon followed Jann into the publishing world, jointly publishing the Waiting for an Echo duology with him. She enjoys reading supernatural romance, fantasy, books inspired by fairy tales, the occasional horror book, and dystopian works. Magic intrigues her, and she loves to see a hero overcome despairing circumstances to shine above it all. Some of her favorite books are Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia, Stephen King’s Misery, Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games series, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, The Lord of the Rings books, Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars books, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series (to name a few)! She is a self-titled geek who loves Star Wars, K-dramas (AKA Korean dramas), and her family. She has a husband, two daughters, a son, three dogs, and a cat. She is an American, and though she has never met Jann or Colin, the internet makes many things possible!

Colin Rowland

Colin Rowland was the last of the trio to dip his toe into the world of self-publishing, the journey starting when his brother, Jann, suggested he give it a try. Colin has been an avid reader since the first grade, so he took Jann’s advice and penned his first great manuscript. How hard could it possibly be, he wondered? Well, of the two main parts of immersing oneself in the glory of the printed word, creation is a lot harder, as he soon discovered upon asking his youngest daughter, who is also a voracious reader, to offer her opinion. The three or four years since that first inglorious foray have been somewhat of a steep learning curve. He tries, with each new release, to improve on the previous, and if his editor and beta readers are to be trusted, he is getting better.

When it comes to what he reads on those rare occasions when he’s not creating his next masterpiece, Colin tends to read shorter novels that can be absorbed in a couple of days. In high school, he was a huge Tolkien fan and devoured The Hobbit and his Lord of the Rings series. He also loved Asimov and still considers his Foundation series some of the best science fiction ever written.

Colin is a dog lover and cannot imagine himself without a furry companion, specifically a border collie. He loves the sheer genius of the breed as well as their insatiable desire to be out of doors doing something, anything, to keep themselves and their minds busy. Part of the attachment is selfish, as with a hyperactive dog in the house, daily walks are an absolute necessity.

A GLIMMER OF GOLD

We thank you for stopping by! What’s the glimmer of gold in this post? Why, it’s getting to know us, of course! We would love to hear from you, so please drop us a line or leave a comment! We won’t bite. (We’ll leave that to our dogs!)