About the Author

A relatively blank display greets you. It has only a handprint in the stone with a single phrase written above it: "Touch me."

You raise an eyebrow with a smug smile as more than one anecdote comes to mind, and you pause a moment, considering. Yet, glancing around, you decide this mundane aisle of a room shouldn't produce anything you can't handle, so you place your hand in the imprint.

Your vision blurs and you close your eyes against an odd sensation of pressure all over your body. Your thoughts change. You have new memories of a different world... a different time.
 

An Author's Brief Tale

I have always loved to read - a passion I imagine you share. My favorite genre (though many are enjoyable) is Fantasy, or Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Excited to write, I began my very first story at the age of five, adding to it and adding to it, until my interests took a different turn: fantasy.

In February 2000, I wrote a short story called "A Ray of Hope" for a contest (and won). The new story and world in this composition intrigued me, and I began fleshing it out. Yet, at the end of my junior year in 2002, I wrote 2 sentences as a yearbook entry... and couldn't get them out of my mind. I transferred them to paper and just kept writing. This new tale became Queen of Thought (whose world incorporated some of my lore from "A Ray of Hope"), and I believe I finished the novel's first draft circa 2009.

Until 2012, the bulk of my writing centered on fantasy (mostly focused on Queen of Thought). I had battled depression and anxiety my whole life, and I felt God's pull to specifically write something I was thankful to Him for each day. So, putting my fantasy writing on pause (excepting occasional jaunts), I began a blog called "A Thankful Heart." I self-published my first book in 2013: "My Thankful Beginning ~ A Shift in Focus," which compiled  my 100 thankful things into a devotional journal meant to aid others to experience the joy of Christ bestowed on me through the practice of intentional thankfulness to Him. I later decided to separate my fiction writing from my real-life writing, so I re-published the book under the name "Jen Kramer."

To clear any confusion: Jenari Skye is my fantasy pen name. The book entitled "My Thankful Beginning ~ A Shift in Focus" was originally written under this pen name, but I have moved my christian ministry under Jen Kramer and the Thankful Heart blog.

In 2019, I reconnected with a friend - also a mother of young ones - and discovered she wanted to consult as an editor. Excited, I asked if she'd like to take a look at Queen of Thought. To my delight, she shared in my excitement and jumped at the opportunity for some experience! Not only did her advice and point of view help me up my writing game, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to switch my main focus back to fantasy. I have since continued to work on Queen of Thought's organization, outlining, backstory, editing, and honing my writing skills - in those moments I can snatch away.

I married my high school sweetheart at the age of twenty. Six years later, we had our first child and began the journey of parenthood. Three years after that, we had a second child. Care for these two has taken center-stage, but hasn't completely halted progress on my compositional works.

I have many and sundry hobbies (another reason it's taken so long to work on Queen of Thought!), including singing, writing, knitting, role-playing games, creating "waive" art, and toying with graphics. Once upon a time, I also acted and danced, but have found adults (especially parents) have this disease called "time constraint."

Whether you fancy my short stories, devotional journal, novel, or blog, my hope and prayer is that my compositions would bless you. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13

You feel your mind fuzz a little, memories slipping away, difficult to retain. A rushing in your ears... wind? You feel a pressure release from your skin and you draw a deep cleansing breath, vision coming into focus. You realize you have lifted your hand from the impression in the display. You look around and recognize the hole-in-the-wall museum you just entered. Green eyes peek over a book at you, glittering with amusement: the lady at the counter. You consider glaring back, but decide you'd do the same in her position. Well, that was... odd.

You straighten, square your shoulders and turn to the room's other side.

Jenari's Works

 

Books

Queen of Thought

Set in motion May 2002

At the end of my junior year, I wrote a yearbook entry for a friend inspired by her own imaginative style of writing. I wrote a few sentences in the present tense that depicted an elven warrior stalking... something. My friend had the idea to leave the reader hanging so that the next year, she would write a little more, creating a mini story over a few signings. (Rather clever, I thought.) It turns out that I liked my elven warrior... so I transferred the sentences to my own piece of paper and wrote more... and more... and finally finished the first full draft of the novel circa 2009. I am constantly adding backstory and revision, but completing that first draft felt like an accomplishment that has helped spur the drive to continue working on it.

It took a number of years before I was willing to change the first paragraph from the present tense to the past tense in which the rest of the story is related; I was rather sentimentally attached to it, since it had been the genesis of the entire story. Yet, after years of serious consideration, I felt it better for the novel to have a uniform tense, and remain content to tell the story behind it here. You may read my current revision of its first chapter at the button below!

My Thankful Beginning ~ A Shift in Focus

2013 under Jenari Skye / 2019 under Jen Kramer

I republished this book under "Jen Kramer" to separate my fiction from my real-life writing. This book is a devotional journal intended to help pave the way toward freedom from depression and anxiety through thankfulness to God. For more information about this and other non-fiction works, click the button below!

Short Stories

 

A Ray of Hope

February 2000 (Updated May 2007)

My second venture in creating a novel (my first was at the age of five) started my freshman year of high school, with the submission of a short story for a writing contest. I was proud of the story, but was also both surprised and pleased to receive first place! Most of my stories grow with time, since I continue to imagine background and explanation, and this was no exception. One day, I plan to finish this story as a full novel - likely within the same world as Queen of Thought.

Tempest of Doom

November 2001

My junior year saw a distinct surge in the volume of my creative writing; it helped that my junior English class focused on and encouraged it! After a fashion, I was given prompts and then free reign, and this was the product of the first of those prompts. We had been studying Beowulf - an epic story comprised of nearly all male characters. The prompt I chose was to compose a short story of similarly epic proportions casting nearly all female characters. (Just to clarify, my teacher was male.) As it happens, the magical battle I wrote in this story is what set me on the path to creating "thought magic" in Queen of Thought.

The cliche themes and styles - even the title - were fully intended. Don't worry - you won't find overt dramatics in Queen of Thought... unless a character intends to be...

Circle of Darkness

March 2002

Also written my junior year, Circle of Darkness was my response to a different writing prompt: create a hook in your first paragraph. I decided to use the idea of a storyteller in my hook. Per usual, my story was bigger than I had time for, and this short story didn't necessarily do the idea justice. However, I found myself rather attached to the character of the storyteller in this composition, and couldn't quite find it in myself to edit him out. In this tale, I experimented with the chemistry between characters, adding depth and backstory to the adventure.

Having just finished a cliched story in Tempest of Doom, and deciding to focus more on the chemistry between characters, I admit I continued overt dramatics in this story. This one leant itself to your typical over-the-top action/adventure. It wasn't intended to be original... just a way to have fun while I experimented!

Poetry

I'd like to make a comment on this section, as I don't think my poetry would technically be classified as fiction. This would place my poetry under Jen Kramer, but there are certain poems I feel are written in a more fantasy-style verse, and thus, have difficulty deciding where to place them. If poetry isn't your thing, by all means, explore otherwhere on the isle!

A Writer

June 2009

I actually wrote this in response to a prompt as content for a writing site (Helium, if you've ever heard of it). I believe the prompt simply had to do with writing a poem about writing... and I had often considered, but never put to paper, expressing the way I thought about writing.

Shelter Not the Shadows

March 2010

The first two lines of this poem came to me late at night, and I had to finish the thought. The line "Shelter Not the Shadows" is me telling myself not to dwell on the darkness in life. To some degree, I realized I wasn't just allowing myself to think of the darkness - I was encouraging myself to do so. I was sheltering my shadows and steeping in their gloom instead of bringing them to the light and joy of Christ.

On a more technical note, I recognized alliteration in my first two lines (without original intention, but by a "happy accident," as my art teacher would have said). I decided to take on the challenge of alliterating nearly each line thereafter - and I quite enjoyed the exercise!

 

What shall you do?