AUTHOR PROFILE
Jolayne C. Baldwin is an Ontario writer. She writes short stories. Her stories are full of vivid, real-life experiences. Imagination softens their edges. Her style is unique. It blends the real with the fantastical. This creates captivating narratives.
Jolayne crafts suspenseful novels across genres like literary fiction, thrillers, horror, and crime. Her creative nonfiction comes from meaningful stories gathered during her varied life. Notable publications such as *Half Hour to Kill*, *The Write Launch*, and *Half and One* have showcased her work, an interesting mix of vivid imagery and sharp wit. She received an honourable mention in the 24-Hour Writing Contest, which had entries submitted to the Globe Soup Short Story Competition. For months, Jolayne's backyard becomes her writing haven, the crickets' chirping a steady backdrop to her work. A loyal friend rests at her feet. Her passion is scenic backpacking trips involving various outdoor activities. She loves active adventures like biking, hiking, swimming, and kayaking, especially on long trails where she can carry her gear. For a fortnight every other year, her family vacations in seclusion in a Central American nation. A charmed life sums up Jolayne’s life well. |
Jolayne's work appeared in Pond 92
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Why do you write?
I write because I have a traumatic brain injury, and my therapist suggested it. Therapy is a road to self-expression and reflection on life and can be for profit if done for the proper market.
What other creative activities are you involved in?
Creativity extends beyond writing for me. I enjoy designing and personalizing cards, invitations, yard cards, T-shirts, and other projects with my Cricut cutting machine. Vinyl signs are my specialty, and I am working on combining imagination with hands-on craftsmanship. I also take dance lessons, where I challenge myself to learn new skills, build confidence, and express myself in a different way, with the goal of competing one day. Outside my creative pursuits, I stay active by playing pickleball daily, golfing weekly, and playing on a weekly softball team. Whether I am writing, creating with vinyl, dancing, or playing sports, I am happiest when I learn, create, challenge myself, and connect with others.
Who is your favorite author and why?
I write science fiction and horror, so I admire Margaret Atwood and Stephen King. Choosing between them is impossible. Both can make the impossible seem inevitable by weaving the extraordinary into ordinary lives. Their stories begin by grounding the reader in familiar people and places. Then, the narratives introduce unsettling elements until the unbelievable feels plausible. They have taught me that the greatest horror does not come from monsters but from the possibility that the impossible could happen tomorrow. That is the fiction I hope to write. Their stories endure because they remind us that the ordinary world is never as safe or predictable as it first appears.
Tell us about the mechanics of how you write.
I write with paper and pen first. Let it sit for a week or two. Then revisit it and edit. And after that stage, I let it sit for a second time and edit it again. Then I read it aloud and listen to my words. After that, I type it out and decide where I want to send it.
Finally, what do you think about Carp, the fish, not our website?
Enviable
Carp reminds us that evolution could have heard a lunch whistle and simply never returned. It’s no surprise that nobody looks at carp and thinks, Now there’s a success story! Their perpetually disappointed expressions, combined with their whiskers and bottom-feeding habits, paint a picture of aquatic uncles searching for the TV remote they're already sitting on in one’s mind.
A carp’s emotional range is not too far off from a boat bottom: enviable.
Carp tolerate murky water; remember the hook that fooled them last summer, and still arrive late to every feeding as if punctuality were beneath them.
Carp reminds us that evolution could have heard a lunch whistle and simply never returned. It’s no surprise that nobody looks at carp and thinks, Now there’s a success story! Their perpetually disappointed expressions, combined with their whiskers and bottom-feeding habits, paint a picture of aquatic uncles searching for the TV remote they're already sitting on in one’s mind.
A carp’s emotional range is not too far off from a boat bottom: enviable.
Carp tolerate murky water; remember the hook that fooled them last summer, and still arrive late to every feeding as if punctuality were beneath them.